Coefficient of Performance (CoP)
The coefficient of performance (CoP) is a foundational metric used to evaluate the energy efficiency of thermal systems, particularly heat pumps. It represents the ratio of useful heating or cooling output to the amount of energy input required to achieve it.
In industrial settings, understanding and optimizing CoP is critical for reducing energy costs, improving efficiency, and lowering carbon emissions. Systems with a high coefficient of performance, such as Skyven Arcturus, use a fraction of the energy typically required by conventional systems.
What Is the Coefficient of Performance?
COP Definition
At its core, the coefficient of performance measures how effectively a system converts energy input into useful thermal output.
A COP greater than 1 indicates the system produces more energy in the form of heat or cooling than it consumes—making it more than 100% efficient. Because of the low-temperature heat input, steam-generating heat pumps can produce more steam than an electric boiler while using the same amount of electricity or less.
COP vs. Other Efficiency Metrics
Several other metrics are used to gauge energy efficiency in HVAC and thermal systems. These include energy efficiency ratio, seasonal energy efficiency ratio, and heating seasonal performance factor.
While these are tailored for residential and commercial systems, COP is the most universally accepted metric in industrial environments due to its precision and flexibility across varying temperatures and operating conditions.
How Is COP Calculated?
COP Formula and Variables
Coefficient of performance is calculated by dividing the delivered thermal energy of a system by the energy the system consumes.
For instance, if a heat pump provides 10,000 BTUs/hr of heat and consumes 2,930 watts, the COP is:
COP = 10,000 / 2,930 = 3.41
This means the system delivers 3.41 times the amount of energy it consumes—an indication of high efficiency.
Factors Influencing COP
Several variables can influence COP in industrial heat pumps:
- Temperature Lift: Larger differences between the heat source and heat sink can reduce CoP.
- Refrigerant Type: Systems using water (as in Skyven Arcturus) avoid emissions and can improve CoP.
- Design and Controls: Multistage compression, bypassable heat exchangers, and real-time optimization can significantly raise performance.
- Maintenance: Dirty filters, degraded insulation, or aging compressors lower CoP over time.
Importance of COP in Industrial Heat Recovery
In manufacturing, a higher COP directly translates to lower energy costs and fewer emissions. Technologies like mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) steam-generating heat pumps (SGHP) have high coefficients of performance because they reclaim waste heat and upcycle it to usable process steam.
Industries such as food and beverage, pulp and paper, and chemicals benefit immensely, as energy-intensive steam systems can account for a large portion of operating costs. Optimizing COP in these processes results in significant energy savings while improving sustainability.
Enhancing COP for Industrial Efficiency
One of the most effective ways to enhance COP of heat pumps is to integrate them with reliable sources of low-grade waste heat, such as dryer exhaust or hot process fluids. Overall design is also an important factor.
With industrial energy modeling tools, manufacturers can match systems to facility-specific steam loads to achieve the highest performance.
Routine cleaning, calibration, and inspection of components—especially heat exchangers and compressors—is also essential to maintain peak performance over time. Even small improvements in COP can result in substantial reductions in energy consumption.
Skyven’s Approach to COP Optimization
Skyven Technologies has engineered its Arcturus steam-generating heat pump to achieve the highest possible coefficient of performance (COP) in demanding industrial environments.
As a mechanical vapor recompression steam-generating heat pump, Arcturus uses multistage turbofan compression and water as a zero-emissions refrigerant, delivering COPs ranging from 2.1 to over 8, depending on the facility’s specific heat source temperature, steam demand, and operating conditions.
This is significantly more efficient than other industrial heat pumps.
Skyven’s Commitment to Energy Efficiency
Skyven empowers manufacturers to achieve higher efficiency and reduce emissions through a combination of standardized, modular system designs that streamline integration, a zero-CapEx Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model that removes financial barriers, and its proprietary modeling software, which uses digital twins of facilities for rapid design and front-end engineering.
This approach recovers more waste heat with less energy and delivers a stronger return on investment.
If your facility is ready to transform waste heat into a competitive advantage to optimize operations and reduce emissions, schedule a discovery call with us.
Frequently Asked Questions About Coefficient of Performance (COP)
What does a higher COP indicate?
A higher COP means a system delivers more thermal energy per unit of input energy and is more efficient.
How does COP affect energy costs?
Systems with higher COPs consume less energy (electricity or fuel) to deliver the same amount of heat, significantly lowering operating expenses.
Can COP be greater than 1?
Yes. Unlike combustion systems and electric boilers (max efficiency ~1), the Skyven Arcturus COP can exceed 1 due to the waste heat input.
How is SCOP different from COP?
SCOP (Seasonal COP) averages performance across a season, whereas COP measures it at a specific operating point.
What factors can decrease COP?
Poor system maintenance, high temperature lifts, inefficient controls, or improper installation can all reduce COP.
How does Skyven help improve COP?
Skyven Arcturus achieves high COPs at higher temperature lifts than other IHPs through the following design features:
Arcturus directly compresses water, which allows for multiple efficiency gains. Arcturus also uses multiple discrete compression stages to compress water/steam. This keeps steam temperatures close to saturation and limits system inefficiencies at high temperatures.
Is COP important for sustainability goals?
Yes. Higher CoP systems reduce energy consumption and Scope 1 emissions—key to meeting ESG and decarbonization targets.
Can COP be used to compare different systems?
As an expression of efficiency, SGHP COP can be directly compared to boiler efficiency.