Residential heat pumps

Smart residential heat pump systems with sensing, control, and connectivity

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Overview

The first heat pump was installed in the first half of the 20th century. So, the concept of using energy from the environment to heat and cool is nothing new. But modern heat pumps are much more efficient, smaller and of course smarter than its predecessors. With the commitment to reducing CO2 emissions, traditional heating systems like gas and oil boilers must be replaced with more sustainable ones such as heat pumps.

Benefits

  • Intelligence
  • Highest efficiency
  • Smallest form factors
  • Smartest power designs
  • Reduction of CO2 emissions
  • Reduction of losses
  • Highest reliability

Block diagram

About

Introduction to the residential heat pumps

Heat pumps use a motor drive that operates a compressor to convert electricity into heat in the vapor-compression cycle. The heat from the environment is transferred to the refrigerant cycle using a fan (air type) or a pump (water and ground type). To make use of that heat, a heat exchanger transfers it to the hydronic heating system via a circulation pump. All components, circulation pump, fan, and compressor, are operated by a motor drive to increase energy efficiency and reduce losses. Furthermore, the heat pump is connected to the smart home and can be easily controlled via a touch screen. Connectivity, both to the smart home and the internet, will play an important role in enabling the energy transition. Using the heat pump as a means to store energy via the water tank is an important method of balancing loads and saving money. Our solutions bring more intelligence and efficiency to modern heat pumps: Achieve the highest efficiency levels and the smallest form factors using our smartest power designs. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of single- and three-phase solutions across all power classes, making it easy for you to choose the most suitable solution for your heat pump.

Product guide for residential heat pumps

CIPOS™ IPMs and Easy Modules are the best solutions for highly integrated compressor drives. Discrete solutions such as our discrete IGBT are the best choice when layout flexibility and thermal performance optimization are your major concern. They can all be combined with iMOTION™ motor controllers with its code-free Motion Control Engine, containing the relevant algorithms for heat pumps such as high pressure start-up & vibration suppression at low-speed. EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs offer a comprehensive product portfolio with a variety of configurations to drive a broad range of power switches (IGBTs, MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs, and GaN HEMTs). Power Factor Correction (PFC) is another important building block to increase efficiency. Again, we offer you all design degrees of freedom with it IGBTs, diodes, EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs, CIPOS™ IPMs and Easy Modules. The combination of PSoC™ microcontrollers for system control, AIROC™ Wi-Fi & Bluetooth® combo products, and XENSIV™ sensors enable highly innovative and easy-to-design systems with a rich user interface. For the auxiliary power supply, the CoolSET™ rounds up our power portfolio by offering increased robustness and performance.

More about power devices
More about microcontrollers
More about AIROC™
More about sensors
IGBT modules and CIPOS™ IPMs

Both, the compressor and fan are at the heart of every heat pump. And both need to be driven by an inverter to maximize efficiency. Infineon has many solutions to develop both, the power stage as well as the Power Factor Correction (PFC). 

Infineon's Easy and Econo modules integrate the power stage, the rectifier and sometimes the PFC in a single device. It´s an ideal solution for heat pumps between 3 kW and 20 kW. High reliability and performance, but also having the largest inhouse capacity make us the number 1 in this market. 

CIPOS™ Intelligent Power Modules (IPMs) are the best solution for all compressor drives and fans up to 3 kW. IPMs integrate the gate driver and power stage in a single package.

More about CIPOS™ IPMs
More about IGBT modules
Motor controllers

You need a motor controller that suits your needs in terms of speed, memory, pins, size and many other features. Look no further, we have it all. Looking for a high performance motor controller to control several motors at once? Go for the XMC7000. Very simple and inexpensive motor control, XMC1300 is your choice. You don´t want to spend any effort in programming a motor controller, iMOTION™ motor controller can do just that. And whenever you want to integrate functions such as touch sensing or connectivity with motor control, the PSoC™ microcontrollers were built for exactly that!

More about microcontrollers
More about iMOTION™ motor controller
Controllers, Connectivity, sensing, and security solutions

Heat pumps, especially the indoor unit becomes smarter and smarter. That means: Touch displays, predictive maintenance, sensors, and connectivity are added to increase the user´s convenience. Our PSoC™ microcontrollers are the number 1 solution in the market for touch sensing. They are the ideal choice for everyone who needs more than a microcontroller but doesn´t need an application processor yet. Modern heat pumps are equipped with connectivity and security. Infineon offers a large portfolio of Wi-Fi 4, 5, and 6 as well as Bluetooth® options. Hardware security can be implemented with our OPTIGA™ Trust secure element. To sense what is going on inside and outside of the heat pumps, we can offer a variety of sensors to either make the interaction with the heat pump easier or to detect the status of the heat pump.

More about microcontrollers
More about Connectivity
AC-DC integrated power stage and EiceDRIVER™ gate driver solutions

Infineon's latest generation of fixed frequency CoolSET™ AC-DC integrated power stages with a quasi-resonant switching scheme offers increased robustness and excellent performance. Infineon's fixed frequency CoolSET™ offers higher efficiency and lower switching frequency at medium and light loads, enabled by an integrated frequency step-down.

Our EiceDRIVER™ gate driver IC solutions are the expert's choice for three-phase drivers to control power devices like MOSFETs or IGBTs in a three-phase topology. We provide three-phase gate driver ICs with advanced Infineon silicon on insulator (SOI) technologies. With excellent ruggedness and noise immunity, these gate drivers are perfect for motor drives, home appliances, and heat pumps.

More about CoolSET™
More about gate driver ICs

Introduction to the residential heat pumps

Heat pumps use a motor drive that operates a compressor to convert electricity into heat in the vapor-compression cycle. The heat from the environment is transferred to the refrigerant cycle using a fan (air type) or a pump (water and ground type). To make use of that heat, a heat exchanger transfers it to the hydronic heating system via a circulation pump. All components, circulation pump, fan, and compressor, are operated by a motor drive to increase energy efficiency and reduce losses. Furthermore, the heat pump is connected to the smart home and can be easily controlled via a touch screen. Connectivity, both to the smart home and the internet, will play an important role in enabling the energy transition. Using the heat pump as a means to store energy via the water tank is an important method of balancing loads and saving money. Our solutions bring more intelligence and efficiency to modern heat pumps: Achieve the highest efficiency levels and the smallest form factors using our smartest power designs. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of single- and three-phase solutions across all power classes, making it easy for you to choose the most suitable solution for your heat pump.

Product guide for residential heat pumps

CIPOS™ IPMs and Easy Modules are the best solutions for highly integrated compressor drives. Discrete solutions such as our discrete IGBT are the best choice when layout flexibility and thermal performance optimization are your major concern. They can all be combined with iMOTION™ motor controllers with its code-free Motion Control Engine, containing the relevant algorithms for heat pumps such as high pressure start-up & vibration suppression at low-speed. EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs offer a comprehensive product portfolio with a variety of configurations to drive a broad range of power switches (IGBTs, MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs, and GaN HEMTs). Power Factor Correction (PFC) is another important building block to increase efficiency. Again, we offer you all design degrees of freedom with it IGBTs, diodes, EiceDRIVER™ gate driver ICs, CIPOS™ IPMs and Easy Modules. The combination of PSoC™ microcontrollers for system control, AIROC™ Wi-Fi & Bluetooth® combo products, and XENSIV™ sensors enable highly innovative and easy-to-design systems with a rich user interface. For the auxiliary power supply, the CoolSET™ rounds up our power portfolio by offering increased robustness and performance.

More about power devices
More about microcontrollers
More about AIROC™
More about sensors

IGBT modules and CIPOS™ IPMs

Both, the compressor and fan are at the heart of every heat pump. And both need to be driven by an inverter to maximize efficiency. Infineon has many solutions to develop both, the power stage as well as the Power Factor Correction (PFC). 

Infineon's Easy and Econo modules integrate the power stage, the rectifier and sometimes the PFC in a single device. It´s an ideal solution for heat pumps between 3 kW and 20 kW. High reliability and performance, but also having the largest inhouse capacity make us the number 1 in this market. 

CIPOS™ Intelligent Power Modules (IPMs) are the best solution for all compressor drives and fans up to 3 kW. IPMs integrate the gate driver and power stage in a single package.

More about CIPOS™ IPMs
More about IGBT modules

Motor controllers

You need a motor controller that suits your needs in terms of speed, memory, pins, size and many other features. Look no further, we have it all. Looking for a high performance motor controller to control several motors at once? Go for the XMC7000. Very simple and inexpensive motor control, XMC1300 is your choice. You don´t want to spend any effort in programming a motor controller, iMOTION™ motor controller can do just that. And whenever you want to integrate functions such as touch sensing or connectivity with motor control, the PSoC™ microcontrollers were built for exactly that!

More about microcontrollers
More about iMOTION™ motor controller

Controllers, Connectivity, sensing, and security solutions

Heat pumps, especially the indoor unit becomes smarter and smarter. That means: Touch displays, predictive maintenance, sensors, and connectivity are added to increase the user´s convenience. Our PSoC™ microcontrollers are the number 1 solution in the market for touch sensing. They are the ideal choice for everyone who needs more than a microcontroller but doesn´t need an application processor yet. Modern heat pumps are equipped with connectivity and security. Infineon offers a large portfolio of Wi-Fi 4, 5, and 6 as well as Bluetooth® options. Hardware security can be implemented with our OPTIGA™ Trust secure element. To sense what is going on inside and outside of the heat pumps, we can offer a variety of sensors to either make the interaction with the heat pump easier or to detect the status of the heat pump.

More about microcontrollers
More about Connectivity

AC-DC integrated power stage and EiceDRIVER™ gate driver solutions

Infineon's latest generation of fixed frequency CoolSET™ AC-DC integrated power stages with a quasi-resonant switching scheme offers increased robustness and excellent performance. Infineon's fixed frequency CoolSET™ offers higher efficiency and lower switching frequency at medium and light loads, enabled by an integrated frequency step-down.

Our EiceDRIVER™ gate driver IC solutions are the expert's choice for three-phase drivers to control power devices like MOSFETs or IGBTs in a three-phase topology. We provide three-phase gate driver ICs with advanced Infineon silicon on insulator (SOI) technologies. With excellent ruggedness and noise immunity, these gate drivers are perfect for motor drives, home appliances, and heat pumps.

More about CoolSET™
More about gate driver ICs

Documents

Documents

Design resources

Developer community

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