A thermoacoustic heat pump?

In 2017, Cédric François founded the company Equium with the mission of developing revolutionary heat pumps.

In fact, Equium has designed a thermoacoustic heat pump using acoustic waves amplified in a helium chamber. These waves compress and expand the helium, generating heat or cold efficiently. According to Equium, this approach allows for high-performance heat pumping, with no moving parts and using no greenhouse refrigerant gases.

This technology represents a revolution in the field of heat pumps, replacing traditional boilers considered energy-consuming. Current heat pumps, although modern, operate with air compression systems and refrigerant fluids, including HFC fluorinated gases, classified as powerful greenhouse gases. European F-Gas regulations aim to restrict their use by 2025 and 2030.

Equium's thermoacoustic heat pump, considered a breakthrough technology, is based on the self-generation of acoustic waves by temperature gradients, a phenomenon studied for years by the CNRS. The vibrations generated by specific speakers are channeled into tubes filled with helium, a neutral and non-toxic gas accelerating the propagation of sound.

Available in a 6 kW thermal version for 2.3 kW electrical absorbed, this heat pump displays a high seasonal energy performance coefficient (COP). It does not have an inverter but integrates a little power electronics to regulate the sound in single frequency.

"With this speaker, we create a fundamental harmonic that we put into resonance, passing between two heat exchangers: one outside which captures the calories, and the other inside, connected to the heated floor or to radiators in the home."

With a sound output of 200 dB, the device produces kilowatts of heat transfer, providing the flexibility to set the temperature by adjusting the sound, unlike conventional on/off mode heat pumps.

Equium's solution, simple, robust and silent, heats water from 35 to 70 degrees. Made from recycled stainless steel and aluminum, its life cycle promises a 50% reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional models.

The Equium Arkteos couple plans to test several thermoacoustic heat pumps in the field at the end of 2024, in houses built by Bouygues Immobilier in Montreuil-Vignier, near Angers.

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12/02/2024

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