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UMD Team Develops More Efficient Heat Pump for Wood Drying

Two CEEE graduate research assistants work on building a heat pump protype for wood drying. They are wearing safety googles and using tools in a laboratory chamber.
Former CEEE graduate research assistants Tamoy Seabourne and Dhahyun Kang were part of the UMD research team that designed and built a heat pump prototype for industrial wood drying.

Eco-friendly heat pumps continue to gain market share in residential HVAC, but their use in  industrial processes such as wood drying remains limited, with conventional combustion-based systems dominating the field. Now, a University of Maryland research team has developed a wood-drying heat pump prototype that delivers 26% more heating capacity than a state-of-the-art commercially available system — bringing the technology one step closer to broader adoption in the wood-drying industry.

In the October issue of Applied Thermal Engineering, researchers at the UMD Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) describe their approach to developing an improved dehumidification heat pump for wood drying and present their testing results. 

“Wood drying is an energy-intensive process,” says the lead author Tamoy Seabourne, who recently graduated from UMD with an M.S. in mechanical engineering. “We want to reduce this energy consumption and fossil fuel use so that we can provide a more environmentally friendly solution.” 

Co-authors include Dhahyun Kang, M.S. ’26, graduate research assistant Zhongdong Liang, Research Professor Bao Yang and Research Professor Yunho Hwang, director of CEEE’s Consortium for Energy Efficiency and Heat Pumps.  

“Wood drying is an energy-intensive process. We want to reduce this energy consumption and fossil fuel use so that we can provide a more environmentally friendly solution.”

Tamoy Seabourne, M.S. ’26

Developing a heat pump for wood drying poses unique challenges because temperature and humidity must be adjusted throughout the drying process. In the early stages, the wood contains a lot of moisture, which can be removed at relatively low temperatures and humidity levels. As the wood dries, the remaining moisture becomes more difficult to remove, requiring higher temperatures and carefully controlled humidity to maintain effective drying rates.

Because moisture removal and temperature range are critical to the process, the researchers considered these factors when developing their upgrades. Testing showed that the CEEE system offered a 9% higher specific moisture extraction rate (SMER) than the baseline unit, in addition to the 26% improved heating capacity. It also operated stably at 63°C, significantly expanding the operating range beyond the typical upper limit of approximately 49°C for conventional dehumidification kiln systems.

Among the upgrades, the team replaced the baseline refrigerant with one that has a low global warming potential; installed updated evaporator and condenser heat exchangers; and upgraded the fan system to a motor-driven coupled fan for expanded operating temperatures.

Rather than using actual lumber to test their drying systems, the researchers used a virtual load that mimics the way moisture is released from wet wood. As a next step, they recommend validating the virtual load method against real-wood tests, using different species, board thicknesses, stack arrangements and initial moisture distributions.

Download the paper: “Integrated modeling and experimental evaluation of a dehumidification heat pump for wood-drying.”

Published October 19, 2026