Samsung Electronics to develop next-generation cold-climate heating technology with US national lab

Samsung Electronics is teaming up with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, an arm of the US Department of Energy, to develop next-generation heating technology capable of operating in extreme cold.

According to Samsung Electronics on Sunday, the research project — titled "Cold-Climate Vapor-Compression Heating and Multi-Solution Development" — aims to deliver efficient and reliable heating performance in temperatures below minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Samsung plans to complete the research by the first half of next year, then validate the technology's performance and reliability in the extreme conditions of Alaska before applying it to a range of heat pump heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products.

Cold-climate regions such as those in North America and the Nordic countries endure prolonged periods of temperatures below minus 30 C, creating demand for next-generation vapor-compression technology with higher heating performance and reliability.

Samsung intends to advance vapor-compression technology, which compresses and circulates refrigerant to transfer heat from outside into a building. The improvements are designed to enable air-conditioning units that offer high energy efficiency along with heating, cooling and hot water supply.

Refrigerant that has absorbed heat from outside is compressed into a high-temperature, high-pressure gas as it passes through a compressor. The heat generated is then transferred indoors as air or water through a heat exchanger. The refrigerant, having released its heat, reverts to a liquid state and begins absorbing heat from outside again. This cycle repeats to provide heating, cooling and hot water.

Vapor-compression technology, however, loses efficiency as outdoor temperatures drop. Samsung plans to address this by applying a rotary scroll mechanism to its compressors. Unlike conventional piston-based systems, in which a piston moves in a straight line to compress refrigerant, the scroll method uses two interlocking scrolls that rotate to compress the refrigerant. The approach reduces energy loss and improves stability, making it well suited for cold-climate heating applications that require long-duration operation.

Samsung will also incorporate "flash injection," a refrigerant-volume control technology that prevents compressor overheating and optimizes performance. The system detects a drop in thermal efficiency during extended operation and injects additional refrigerant into the unit to compensate.

The company plans to validate the technology at the field test laboratory of the National Laboratory of the Rockies in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks is a cold-climate region where monthly average low temperatures hover around minus 40 C.

Researchers will verify heating performance, energy efficiency, long-duration operational stability and hot water supply capability in extreme cold, assessing whether the technology can be reliably used in real residential environments.

Samsung said the research will strengthen its leadership in vapor-compression heating technology. The company plans to expand the technology's application across a range of HVAC products, including dual-function system air conditioners and heat pump boilers.

"This collaboration will be an important opportunity to demonstrate Samsung's unrivaled high-efficiency technology and device reliability in actual cryogenic environments," said Lim Sung-taek, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics' Digital Appliances Division. "Based on the research data, we will introduce heat pump products to the global market that maximize performance and energy efficiency while reducing carbon emissions."