与任何其他天然气加热/冷却系统相比，天然气热泵概念在效率方面具有显著优势。与目前的高效冷凝炉相比，气体热泵可实际节约50%左右。实现这种高效率的最成熟概念是天然气内燃机热泵系统。其中数百个系统正在西欧运行。只有一个已知已在美国运营多年，这是本文的重点。 1980年，从西德获得了一套仅用于供暖的内燃机水对水热泵机组。该系统经过改造、安装仪表并集成到住宅中央空气加热/冷却系统中，为佐治亚州亚特兰大的一座3200 ft2（3202）的住宅提供全空间空调。自1981年6月以来，该系统一直提供100%的空间加热和冷却，并从1982年1月开始提供生活热水。对季节性供暖和制冷输出以及天然气消耗进行了监测。 由此得出的季节性加热系数和冷却系数分别为1.47和0.57。这些已证明的现场效率约为传统燃气炉的两倍，比传统吸收式空调的效率高出约50%。本文详细介绍了（1）热泵组件，（2）系统设计，（3）控制，（4）仪表，（5）季节性性能，（6）瞬态性能，（7）噪声水平，以及（8）维护和可靠性。 单位:I-PCITION:研讨会，ASHRAE交易，1987年，第93卷，pt。田纳西州纳什维尔2号

The natural gas heat pump concept offers significant advantages in efficiency over any other natural gas heating/cooling system. Compared to current high efficiency condensing furnaces, gas heat pumps offer practical savings on the order of 50%. The most mature concept available to achieve this high efficiency is the natural gas I.C. engine heat pump system. Several hundred of these systems are operating in western Europe. Only one is known to have operated in the U.S. for several years, and it is the focus of this paper.An I.C. engine water-to-water heat pump package designed for heating only was obtained from West Germany in 1980. It was modified, instrumented, and integrated into a residential central air heating/cooling system to provide total space conditioning for a 3200 ft2(3202) residence in Atlanta, GA. The system has been supplying 100% of the space heating and cooling since June 1981 and domestic hot water starting in January 1982.The seasonal heating and cooling outputs and gas consumption have been monitored. The resulting seasonal heating and cooling coefficients of performance were 1.47 and 0.57 respectively. These demonstrated field efficiencies are approximately double those of conventional gas furnaces and approximately 50% higher than those of conventional absorption air conditioning.This paper presents details of (1) the heat pump components, (2) system design, (3) controls, (4) instrumentation, (5) seasonal performance, (6) transient performance, (7) noise levels, and (8) maintenance and reliability.Units: I-P