To solve the idle problem of chillers and the frosting problem of air-source heat pumps in winter

a heat pump system based on heat-source tower was proposed.The structure and work process of this system were analyzed in detail

and an experimental device of heat-source tower heat pump was built.The heating experiments with the variation temperature difference of solution between the heat-source tower inlet and outlet were carried out.The experimental results showed that the heating capacity of the heat pump and COP were decreased

the power consumption of compressor changed little

and the difference between air temperature and evaporating temperature was enlarged when the temperature difference of solution between the heat-source tower inlet and outlet increased. The COP of heat pump declined from 3.02 to 2.72

and the difference between air temperature and evaporating temperature enhanced from 7.64℃ to 11.96℃

when the environment temperature was -1.2℃

and the temperature difference of solution between the heat-source tower inlet and outlet changed from 1.5℃ to 3℃. The operation of this system was stable and reliable during the whole experiment

and the frosting problem was avoided.The results indicate that the heat-source tower heat pump is a very promising scheme for heating/cooling.