低全球变暖潜能值（GWP）制冷剂具有显著的环境效益，但它们是易燃的。为了安全起见，最好将其保存在建筑环境外的工厂密封热泵机组中。通过这种方法，需要二次流体在空气处理器（AH）内的空气和室外的制冷剂之间传递热量。在这项研究中，利用微通道技术和塑料添加剂制造（AM）的进步，开发了一种低成本、高效的微通道塑料HX（MPHX），用于替代传统的水盘管。对于给定的热负荷，MPHX会导致更紧凑的AH或更低的AH风扇功率消耗。使用薄壁塑料对于高效换热器是可行的，因为空气处理器换热器的主要传热阻力在空气侧。设计并制造了一个小尺寸MPHX，其交叉管道面积为5.08 cm x 10.16 cm（2 in x 4 in），估计热负荷高达100W，并在水和空气流量范围内表征了其热性能。 实验数据用于验证MPHX热流体模型。验证后的模型进一步用于比较MPHX设计相对于FTHX的性能优势。引用:2020年虚拟会议论文

Low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants have significant environmental benefits, but they are flammable. In the interest of safety, they are best kept in hermetically factory-sealed heat pump packages outside the built environment. With this approach, a secondary fluid is needed to transfer heat between the air within the Air Handler (AH) and the refrigerant outside the home. In this study advances in microchannel technology and additive manufacturing (AM) of plastics is used to develop a low-cost, high-effectiveness Microchannel Plastic HX (MPHX) to be used in place of traditional water coils. For a given thermal load, the MPHX results in a more compact AH or lower AH fan power draw. The use of thin-walled plastics is viable for high effectiveness HX because the dominant resistance to heat transfer in the air handler HX is on the air side. A subscale MPHX with cross duct area of 5.08 cm x 10.16 cm (2in x 4in) and estimated heat load up to 100W is designed and fabricated and its thermal performance is characterized over range of water and air flow rates. The experimental data are used to validate the MPHX themo-fluidic model. The validated model is further used to compare the performance advantages of the MPHX design relative to a FTHX.