How It Works

A heat pump takes the naturally occurring energy from the environment (low temperature) and with mechanical work of a compressor, pumps this heat to higher temperature using a standard vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Heat exchangers are used to extract energy from the cold source and deliver it to the warmed media. While heat pumps can be configured many different ways, in the case of Ilios, the cold source is the outdoor environment and the warmed media is the building’s hot water. In a conventional heat pump, the compressor is driven by an electric motor. But with Ilios, a natural gas or propane-fired engine provides the shaft power. As a result, the refrigeration cycle heat is supplemented with the engine waste heat for added efficiency.