Performance of a scroll compressor with vapor-injection and two-stage reciprocating compressor operating under extreme conditions

•Testing of a vapor-injection scroll compressor with R407C refrigerant.•Performance comparison between two compressor technologies.•Determination of the seasonal performance for cooling and heating applications.•The vapor-injection scroll compressor can be used in heat pumps that work under moderate temperature conditions.•The two-stage reciprocating compressor presents better efficiency operating at high pressure ratios.

The current paper presents a comparative study between a scroll compressor with vapor-injection (SCVI) and a two-stage reciprocating compressor (TSRC) operating under extreme conditions. The present work is divided into two parts: in the first part, both compressors are compared in terms of compressor efficiency, volumetric efficiency, coefficient of performance (COP), and cooling capacity with R407C refrigerant; in the second part, the seasonal performances of both compressors working in cooling and heating modes are estimated and analyzed. Results show that the SCVI presents better efficiency and COP than the TSRC for pressure ratios below 7.5. This compressor can be used in air conditioning systems and heat pumps which work under moderate temperature conditions. For higher pressure ratios, the TSRC has better efficiency which subsequently gives higher COP. This type of compressor is more suited to be used in sanitary hot water systems operating in harsh climates and in low-temperature freezing systems (under −20°C).