Producting electricity, heat and refrigeration by means of heat pumps
A heat pump functions as a power plant by extracting thermal energy from air and water. For example, by supplying 1 kW electrical energy to a heat pump it will produce 4 kW heat energy. In addition the pump produces refrigeration.
Heat energy can be transformed into electrical energy by use of turbines or heat engines. By developing technologies that in an efficient way can transform heat energy it will be possible to use heat pumps to supply electricity in addition to heat and refrigeration.
The water or air cooled by the heat pump may be used for refrigerating purposes like refrigeration plants, air conditioning or local refrigeration of outdoor areas.
Energy plants based on heat pumps can also be used to reduce the global temperature. One way to achieve this is to transform thermal energy into electrical energy and thereafter generating light, which contains electromagnetic energy, which can be sent away from Earth by means of lamps directed towards space. Another way is to use the electrical energy for purposes that to a low extent generate heat, e.g. pumping water in an irrigation system.
Thermal energy plants based on heat pumps can be used to produce more environmentally friendly energy since thermal energy sources are available everywhere.