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• Energy efficiency in 6 % to 13 % concentration and 4 m3/h to 7 m3/h flow rate was studied. • The high-volumetric flow rate had the minor influence on the ice formation stage. • Energy consumption was primarily dependent on separation effect. • Increase in segregation efficiency corresponded to an increase in COP. • Effective utilization heat rate was related to the proportion of latent heat. Freezing concentration has a good energy efficiency during regeneration operation. Under the variational regeneration conditions, the icing and melting operation has direct influence on the overall system performance. In this study, a solution regenerator unit using freezing concentration with a heat pump system was built to test the heating performance and energy efficiency under varied concentrations and volumetric flow rates. Results showed that the energy efficiency was inversely proportional to the latent heat ratio. With the growth of ice layers, the influence of volumetric flow rates on heat capacity decreased. At the ice thickness was 0.6 cm, the heat capacity was consistent at all volumetric flow rates. Under the melting process, the effect of melting ratio on energy efficiency under the low concentration was more significant. The average effective utilization heat rate which concentration was 6 %, 8 %, 10 % and 13 % was 0.63, 0.67, 0.70, and 0.74, respectively. The relationship between the effective heat utilization and the distribution of the ice layer was studied. Results showed that the energy efficiency performance was directly proportional to average percentage slopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]