초록 ▼

A heat pump system uses a non-reversing refrigeration circuit having a water-cooled condenser and a counterflow chiller fed by a thermostatic expansion valve to permit operation at close to zero superheat. To protect the compressor in the refrigeration circuit from possible flood-back at this low su

A heat pump system uses a non-reversing refrigeration circuit having a water-cooled condenser and a counterflow chiller fed by a thermostatic expansion valve to permit operation at close to zero superheat. To protect the compressor in the refrigeration circuit from possible flood-back at this low superheat, a combination suction-liquid heat exchanger-suction accumulator is employed. A hold-back valve serves to maintain constant compressor suction pressure regardless of evaporator pressure fluctuations caused by changing chiller fluid temperatures. The system is designed to operate in four distinct modes: (1) water source heat pump heating; (2) direct solar heating; (3) air source heat pump heating; and (4) heat pump cooling. To switch the refrigeration circuit to heat pump mode from the cooling mode or vice versa, four three-way valves and three fluid pumps are selectively operated. The fluid circuit of the system consists of two separate coils in an air-handling unit. One coil is connected to the solar collector circuit and may be used for either heating or cooling. A second coil is connected to the condenser circuit and works during the heat pump cycle.

대표청구항 ▼

A heat pump including the combination of: an outdoor air heat exchanger for supplying heat to a fluid medium only at a high coefficient of performance, a solar energy heat exchanger for supplying heat to a fluid medium at times other than the operation of said outdoor air heat exchanger, means inclu

A heat pump including the combination of: an outdoor air heat exchanger for supplying heat to a fluid medium only at a high coefficient of performance, a solar energy heat exchanger for supplying heat to a fluid medium at times other than the operation of said outdoor air heat exchanger, means including a storage container for selectively circulating fluid medium to either of said outdoor air heat exchanger or said solar energy heat exchanger, first and second indoor heat exchangers, means forming a non-reversing refrigeration cycle for transferring the heated fluid medium between said storage container and either said first indoor heat exchanger or said outdoor air heat exchanger, and conduit means including valves for selectively circulating fluid medium between said second indoor heat exchanger and said storage container.