Lennox has announced that its commercial cold climate heat pump rooftop unit (RTU) was the first to successfully complete laboratory validation for the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Commercial Building HVAC Technology Challenge.
Lennox completed validation in the commercial unitary equipment category for 15-25 tonnes.
Designed to produce innovative HVAC technology, this accomplishment helps provide customers with access to high-efficiency heat pumps in cold climates, improving performance and solving long-standing defrost limitations for greater comfort and reliability.
According to the DOE, commercial building space conditioning accounts for approximately 40 per cent of commercial energy use in the United States.
Led by its Texas Product Development and Research laboratory, Lennox developed a cold climate heat pump RTU that meets and, in many cases, exceeds the stringent performance requirements of the challenge, as validated in an independent lab by the DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Lennox CTO, Prakash Bedapudi, said the company approach technology development with the intent to deliver practical, real-world solutions, and the successful validation of its rooftop cold climate heat pump brings Lennox another step closer.
“This unit reflects years of focused research and development to overcome cold-climate limitations, particularly around defrost, and deliver consistent comfort in the toughest conditions,” he said.
“Our team is proud to be the first to complete the challenge while meeting the evolving needs of our customers.”
Lennox is one of eight manufacturers participating in the Commercial Building HVAC Technology Challenge.
Later this year, the Lennox prototype will be installed in a US commercial building to validate the cold climate heat pump's performance, efficiency, and comfort through severe winter conditions.
This achievement follows Lennox Residential HVAC's successful participation in DOE's Residential HVAC Challenge, where the company was also the first to complete Phase 1 testing in 2022.