Eliminating or minimizing the defrost penalty of air source heat pumps will increase their energy efficiency and their market penetration. Preliminary research suggests that coating the outdoor coil of a heat pump with an icephobic coating will lead to reduced (or delayed) frost accumulation and defrosting requirements. Additionally, the coatings may allow faster shedding of ice and shorten the defrost duration. Prior research in nanotechnology has shown that a normal layer of polymer with particles for surface texture approximately 10 to 20 microns thick impacted the heat transfer characteristics of a metal substrate.
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