Johnson Controls has recently expanded its lineup of high-temperature heat pumps (HTHP) in Australia and is seeking pilot projects for a water (R718)-based steam heat pump, according to Terry Presley, Technical Sales Leader for Industrial and Refrigeration at the company.
Presley detailed Johnson Controls expanded HTHP lineup in the country during a presentation at ATMO Australia 2025, held May 12–13 in Sydney and organized by ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com. In addition to the York PACO steam generating heat pump, Presley also spoke about Sabroe-branded ammonia (R717) chillers and heat pumps and butane (R600) heat pumps.
“Johnson Controls is committed to providing innovative, natural refrigerant solutions to meet the demands of industrial and commercial HVAC applications,” said Presley. “The development of these products is being driven by the European PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] discussion and by the direction our customers want to move.”
In the pipeline: The soon-to-be-released York PACO modular steam heat pump uses magnetic bearing centrifugal technology and produces steam at temperatures up to 140°C (284°F) at pressures up to 4bar (58psi) in a multi-stage design. It has a heating capacity of 1‒2MW (284.3‒568.7TR).
- “We’ve conducted over 15 years of extensive testing on this [new] unit,” Presley said. “We are currently developing a full range of sizes and temperatures for the line, aiming to achieve a COP of 3 across the system.”
New to the market: Equipment recently released by Johnson Controls in Australia includes ammonia heat pumps and chillers and a butane HTHP.
- With an ultra-low ammonia charge of 37g per kW of capacity, new Sabroe-branded R717 HicaHP heat pumps and ChillPAC Air chillers provide capacities up to 14MW (3,981TR). “We can deliver 95°C [203°F] in this space,” Presley said.
- The 10 models of the single-stage R600 HTHP with reciprocating compressors offer a capacity range from 150 to 1,200kW (42.7 to 341.2TR) with an outlet temperature of up to 125°C (257°F).
Expanding the lineup: The company has extended the range of its water-based York absorption chillers and HTHPs to “maximize energy utilization and transform waste heat” in process applications, with capacities ranging from 150kW to 15MW (42.7 to 4,265.2TR) and outlet temperatures from −5 to 140°C (23 to 284°F).
- The heat transformer arrangement takes 100 units of waste heat at roughly 80°C (176°F) in industrial operations to produce 47 units of usable heat at up to 140°C and 53 units at 25‒30°C (77‒86°F).
- “The heat amplifier arrangement combines 130 units of waste cooling tower heat at 25‒30°C and 100 units of low-grade steam at 0.5MPa [5bar/73psi] to make 230 units of up to 95°C hot water,” Presley said, with a COP of 1.7 to 2.3.
Quotable: “To drive the uptake of natural refrigerants, we need to deliver systems that are cost-effective, easy to use, easy to install and, of course, safe,” Presley said. “We believe that the way to do this is to have a range of standard packaged products.”
