830results about "Machines using solar energy" patented technology

A hybrid heating and / or cooling system may combine different energy sources (e.g., solar and geothermal) into a single system. The hybrid heating and / or cooling system may include one or more heat pumps, a heat exchanger system, a solar and / or waste energy system, and a delivery system for delivering heat (and / or cool air) to a space such as a building. These systems may be interconnected and controlled using various conduits, pumps, valves and controls. The solar energy system may provide heat (e.g., low grade heat) to the working fluid at the input to the source side of the heat pump and / or may provide heat (e.g., high grade heat) to the delivery system for direct solar and / or waste energy heating.

A sealed well direct expansion geothermal heat exchange unit, whose sealed well can be placed in ground and / or in water, consisting of a conventional direct expansion, or other heat pump, system wherein the exterior refrigerant heat exchange lines are placed within an insulated and sealed container, which container is supplied with a circulating heat conductive liquid from and to a sub-surface sealed well encasement, which container liquid may be supplemented with heat from a solar heating system, and which unit's hot refrigerant vapor line may be supplementary cooled by means of condensate water evaporative cooling, as well as a means to provide any direct expansion, and any closed-loop water-source, geothermal heat pump system with an optional solar heating supplement in the heating mode, and with an optional water-cooled vapor line supplement in the cooling mode.

The present invention relates to a directly-expanded type solar heat pump air conditioning and water-heating system, the directly-expanded type solar heat pump and ice cold-storage air conditioner are combined organically, and it is mainly formed from solar heat collector / evaporator, compressor, condenser, electronic expansion valve, four-way reverse valve, heat water storage tank, hot water tank, air conditioner tail end cover and system control component. The solar heat collector / evaporator adopts the plate type heat collector which has no cover plate and whose bottom is heat insulated and whose surface is coated with solar spectrum absorbing material, and the energy storage device adopts a closed pressure-bearing heat storage water tank whose interior is equipped with high-effective heat exchange equipment which can store heat in winter and can store ice in summer.

There is herein described energy storage systems. More particularly, there is herein described thermal energy storage systems and use of energy storable material such as phase change material in the provision of heating and / or cooling systems in, for example, domestic dwellings.

A transport refrigeration system, comprising: a compressor (22); a first electric motor (26) that provides a motive force to the compressor; at least one fan (52, 56, 82, 84, 86); a second electric fan motor (54, 56, 88, 90, 92) that provides a motive force to the fan; a solar PV electrical power source (220); an electric energy power source (230); a engine driven generator electrical power source (210); and a power management controller (40) coupled to route power selectively and concurrently from two of the electrical power sources (210, 220, 230) to provide electrical power to the first motor (26) and the second motor (54, 56, 88, 90, 92).

The present invention generally relates to heat pumps that utilize at least one thermal source operating with the same working fluids. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a hybrid solar heat pump comprised of at least one microchannel heat exchanger with integral solar absorber, at least one compression (i.e., mass flow regulator) device as the heat pump for concurrent compression to a higher pressure and mass flow regulator of the working fluid, and at least one working fluid accumulator with the entire system operating with the same working fluid. The present invention also generally relates to heat pump systems that utilize an inventory management system to provide both efficient and safe operation under a wide range of operating conditions.

A portable refrigeration unit is described. The unit has a body and a lid. The body has an outer housing and an insulated interior container that is thermally insulated from the outer housing. The insulated interior container has a bottom surface and at least one sidewall forming a cavity for receiving an article to be stored therein The lid has an outer surface and an inner surface and the lid is insulated. There is at least one solar collector on at least a portion of the outer surface of the lid. This solar collector provides electrical power to one or more cooling units and to one or more rechargeable batteries. The cooling units include an interior and an exterior heat sink, and an interior and exterior fan and an interior and exterior vent. Air in the cavity at a first temperature passes from the cavity through the interior vent to the interior heat sink where heat in the air is transferred to the exterior heat sink and where the air at a second lower temperature is transmitted by the interior fan back into said cavity. Ambient air passes through the exterior vent so that the heat in the exterior heat sink is transmitted from the exterior heat sink to the air and the air is discharged by said exterior fan.

An insulated cooler has an outer housing, an inner lining and an insulation layer between the housing and lining. The inner lining forms a first storage compartment and along one wall of the lining forms a second audio system docking station compartment. The audio system can be removed and replaced in the docking station. A pair of speakers on the exterior housing positioned within the insulation layer is connected through an amplifier to the audio system in the docking station compartment. An internal RF receiver and an external RF transmitter control the audio system. A battery power source drives the amplifier and can recharge the audio system power source. A solar cell on the outside lid of the cooler can recharge the battery power source.

The present invention relates to novel energy efficient sorption processes and systems for cooling, dehumidifying and heating using multistage liquid desiccant regenerators, or hybrid cooling systems or adsorption cooling systems involving appropriate combinations of rotating contacting devises, adsorption modules with heat transfer passages in thermal contact with the adsorption module wall and switchable heat pipes. The sorption processes of this invention help in flexible designing of compact cooling, dehumidifing, heating systems easy operability. The adsorption module of this invention leads to lower cycle times as low as 5 minutes; makes it possible to achieve high system Coefficient of Performance (COP) up to 0.9 due to reduced thermal mass; offers high specific cooling power in the range of 50 to 750 W / kg of AC; is easy to manufacture and operates at low costs. The refrigeration cum heating system of this invention with heat pipe in thermal contact with the adsorption modules increase the heat transfer rates without increasing the thermal mass leading to increase of COP and the single or multistage pressure equalisation increases the internal regeneration of heat thereby increasing the COP, reducing the cycle time resulting in increased specific cooling power (SCP), reducing the required quantity of adsorbent / refrigerant making the module compact and cost effective.

An integrated solar cell system applies energy created by a solar cell module. The integration system includes a solar cell module, a low-grade heat recovery means, and a process system. The low-grade heat recovery means recovers waste heat from the solar cell module and connects the solar cell module to the process system. The process system is powered at least partially by thermal energy derived from waste heat generated by the solar cell module.

A cold storage device includes a rechargeable battery set disposed in an inner receiving space in a case body, a thermoelectric cooling unit mounted in the case body and connected electrically to the rechargeable battery set for cooling a cold storage space in the case body, a charging mode selecting unit operable so as to select one of electrical energy converted from solar power by a solar power collecting plate, DC power from an external DC power source, and DC power obtained by converting AC power from an external AC power source to charge the rechargeable battery set, and a power output selecting unit operable so as to output one of the electrical power from the rechargeable battery set and AC power obtained by converting the electrical power from the rechargeable battery set at a corresponding one of AC and DC output ports.

The multiple heat source multifunctional solar energy heat pump consists of one solar heat collecting system and one multifunctional heat pump system. The solar heat collecting system includes full glass tube solar heat collector, large heat accumulating water tank, solenoid valve and high temperature circulating pump; and the multifunctional heat pump system includes variable frequency compressor, outdoor water cooling source heat exchanger, outdoor air cooling source heat exchanger, indoor air cooling source heat exchanger, indoor coil pipe water heating tank, condensing coil pipe, electronic expansion valve, liquid storage and two electromagnetic triple valves. The solar heat collecting system and the multifunctional heat pump system are connected through the variable frequency high temperature circulating pump and solenoid valve. The present invention can utilize both solar energy and air source as the heat source of the heat pump, and has several functions and raised COP value of heat pump system.

A thermal energy storage system (TESS) that enables the discharge of refrigerated air for cooling cargo or passengers in large compartments, such as the trailer of a semi-truck, for a period of time well in excess of several hours. The TES system is able to provide refrigeration without operating a conventional VCC unit, the truck engine, or the TRU diesel APU engine during all or a significant portion of the period of the typical range of time that a 53 foot refrigerated the truck is traveling over the road. The TES system includes a phase change material (PCM) reservoir, a cooling system-to-WF heat exchanger in fluid communication with the PCM reservoir, and a PCM-to-target heat exchanger in fluid communication with the PCM reservoir. The PCM reservoir contains a phase change material, a working fluid (WF) and a working fluid-to-PCM heat exchanger.

The present invention generally relates to heat pumps that utilize at least one solar receiver operating with the same working fluids. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a hybrid solar heat pump comprised of at least one microchannel heat exchanger with integral solar absorber, at least one compression device as the heat pump for concurrent compression to a higher pressure and mass flow regulator of the working fluid, and at least one working fluid accumulator with the entire system operating with the same working fluid.

A method and system for heating a space includes circulating refrigerant in a closed loop system having a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger. The circulating step includes pressurizing liquid refrigerant to a first pressure and heating the liquid refrigerant in a third heat exchanger to form a refrigerant vapor. The method further includes compressing refrigerant by a compressor to a second pressure, wherein the compressor is at least partially driven by refrigerant vapor received from the third heat exchanger, and supplying one of the first and second heat exchangers with refrigerant from the compressor. The method further includes supplying refrigerant from the other of the first and second heat exchangers to the compressor and selectively supercharging the refrigerant supplied to the compressor from the other of the first and second heat exchangers.

The invention discloses a bomb heat refrigerating cycle method driven by low-grade heat and a system thereof. In the system, memory alloy of a high-temperature drive group, being martensite at normal temperature and zero stress, absorbs heat from a low-grade heat source and removes heat to a normal-temperature heat sink, and memory alloy of a low-temperature refrigeration group, being austenite at normal temperature and zero stress, is driven to refrigerate a low-temperature refrigeration space.

The invention provides a three-phase energy storage method of a solar air conditioner, and belongs to the field of solar air conditioners. An absorbing type refrigerating working pair serves as an energy storage medium, a three-phase energy storage device is connected with a generator in a solar absorbing type refrigerating system in parallel, a solar heat collecting medium provides heat for the three-phase energy storage device and the generator, surplus solar collected heat is stored in the three-phase storage device in an energy storage medium chemical potential energy mode by adjusting the flow of the heating collecting medium entering the three-phase energy storage device in real time, and good matching of a drive heat source and an air conditioner load is achieved. The three-phase energy storage method avoids the dangers brought by crystallization during serial connection of a two-phase energy storage device and a generator in the prior art, the load adjusting function of the solar air conditioner can be achieved through an energy storage system by means of gas-liquid-solid three-phase high energy storage density, and the crystallization rate of 50% enables the size of the energy storage device to be reduced by more than a half than the size of an energy storage device in a two-phase energy storage mode. The system is simple, adjustment is convenient and flexible, the amount of released cold is stable, and a common solar air conditioning system can be easily improved into an energy storage air conditioning system.

The invention provides a control method for a solar air conditioner. The control method comprises the detection step and the judgment step. In the detection step, when it is detected that the solar air conditioner enters an energy-saving control mode, the change conditions of DC voltage output by an inverter in the solar air conditioner are started to be detected. In the judgment step, according to the change conditions of the DC voltage, the operation frequency of a compressor in the solar air conditioner is adjusted so that the solar air conditioner can be charged through a solar battery. Correspondingly, the invention further provides a control device of the solar air conditioner and the solar air conditioner. According to the technical scheme, solar energy can be utilized to the maximum degree, so that the problem that a mains supply is required due to a solar power shortage is avoided, and cost is reduced.

A portable, solar assisted, temperature controlled container comprises: a body with a cavity; a lid sealable thereon; a detachable solar panel producing electric power; a thermoelectric cooling unit; an interior heat sink secured in the cavity proximate to an interior side of the thermoelectric cooling unit with an interior fan to direct cavity air thereon; an exterior heat sink secured proximate to an exterior-facing side of the thermoelectric cooling unit with an exterior fan to direct exterior air thereon. The thermoelectric cooling unit transports heat to maintain a thermostat-controlled temperature in the cavity. The interior and exterior fans and the interior and exterior heat sinks increase efficiency of the heat transport. One or more wheels rotatably attached to the body are coupled to a faraday generator to generate electrical power to replace / supplement the solar power. A rechargeable battery may also replace / supplement solar power during periods of inadequate solar power generation.

The invention discloses a gas-driven air source heat pump heat supply unit for a central heating system. The gas-driven air source heat pump heat supply unit for the central heating system comprises an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine, a compressor, a condenser and a flue gas waste heat recoverer are connected in sequence, so that a gas-heating hot water system is formed. The condenser is further connected with a first evaporator which is connected back to the compressor, so that an air source heat pump refrigerant system is formed. The flue gas waste heat recoverer is arranged on a flue gas pipeline of the internal combustion engine. A water outlet pipeline of the flue gas waste heat recoverer is connected with a water supply pipeline of a heat supply system, and the heat supply system supplies circulating high-temperature water to users. The internal combustion engine is adopted to drive a heat pump to pump heat in air, then waste heat continues to be applied to the heat supply system, the integral heat energy conversion rate can be 200%, and the heat energy conversion rate is high. The outlet water temperature of the condenser can be 60 DEG C or over by increasing the condensation pressure, water discharged out of the condenser further absorbs flue gas heat through the flue gas waste heat recoverer arranged on the exhaust pipeline of the internal combustion engine, and the water supply temperature can be up to 85 DEG C.

Energy-efficient data center cooling techniques that utilize free cooling and / or solar cooling are provided. In one aspect, a cooling system is provided including a cooling tower; one or more modular refrigeration chiller units; and a water loop that can be selectively directed through the cooling tower, through one or more of the modular refrigeration chiller units or through a combination thereof. Another cooling system is provided including a solar cooling unit; one or more modular refrigeration chiller units; and a water loop that can be selectively directed through the solar cooling unit, through one or more of the modular refrigeration chiller units or through a combination thereof.

A heat-electricity combined production system includes: a solar cell module in which a flow path through which a heat source side heating medium heated by solar heat flows, is formed and which generates electricity by solar light; a geothermal heat exchanger that absorbs geothermal heat through the heat source side heating medium; a heat pump including a heat source side heat exchanger that performs heat-exchange between the heat source side heating medium and a refrigerant and a load side heat exchanger that performs heat-exchange between the refrigerant and a load side heating medium; a controller that control the heat source side heating medium to pass through both the solar cell module and the geothermal heat exchanger; and a plurality of pipes that connect the solar cell module, the geothermal heat exchanger and the heat pump.

A thermal energy system includes a solar energy collector, a ground loop having an inlet and an outlet, and a heat pump. A first fluid conduit extends from the outlet to the solar energy collector, and from the solar energy collector to the inlet, for transporting a heat exchange fluid, from the outlet to the inlet through the solar energy collector. A second fluid conduit extends from the outlet to the heat pump, and from the heat pump to the inlet, for transporting the heat exchange fluid, from the outlet to the inlet through the heat pump. A fluid pump is provide for urging the fluid to flow from the inlet to the outlet through the ground loop, and from the outlet to the inlet through at least one of the first and second conduits. Control valves and a controller may be provided to automatically select a fluid flow mode from a number of selectable modes.

A solar-powered air conditioning system comprising an energy-storage medium made of a mixture of 5%-20% glycerin, 2.5%-10% alcohol and water in a thermally insulated container is disclosed. While frozen, the said energy storage medium becomes slurry of thin sheets of ice dispersed in liquid, which will not damage the container and the heat-exchange pipes. The system uses a solar photovoltaic panel to directly drive a vapor-compression refrigeration unit to freeze the said energy storage medium. A ventilation system forces air through a heat-exchange coil in the said energy-storage medium, to generate chilled air to cool the space. In the absence of sunlight, the energy-storage medium can keep frozen for days. With or without sunlight, the flowing air chilled by the frozen energy-storage medium continues to cool the room or the entire building.

The invention provides a solar photovoltaic-commercial power hybrid driving cold and heat accumulating heat pump unit which comprises a DC compressor and an AC compressor and is a double-power heat pump that is driven by a solar photovoltaic DC power and a common commercial AC power in a combining way. When sunshine exists, a direct current generated by a solar panel is used for directly driving a DC refrigerating compressor to obtain refrigerating capacity and heat amount. The produced refrigerating capacity and the heat amount can be stored respectively by phase-transited cold accumulating and heat accumulating media. The defects of the intermittent and the climate dependence of solar energy are remedied. When the DC power is not used, the AC power from power network is used for supplying power. The adaptability of a solar air conditioning system is greatly improved, and the initial investment of the system is obviously reduced.

The present disclosure provides for a method and apparatus of providing air conditioning from a waste heat source. A vapor state expander is provided producing mechanical work, and a compressing unit is at least partially operative responsive to the mechanical work output of the vapor state expander. In another exemplary embodiment a second liquid state expander producing mechanical work is further provided, the compressing unit operative further responsive to the mechanical work of the liquid state expander. The apparatus disclosed is further capable of providing backup heating and cooling from an additional power source when the waste heat source is insufficient.

A method, system, and apparatus for controlling the temperature within a remotely located enclosure that contains temperature sensitive equipment is provided. For some embodiments, the system includes an array of thermoelectric cooling (TEC) devices that act as an active cooling device and an active heating device. The system may also include a temperature controller that receives signals from a temperature sensor located at or near the temperature sensitive equipment. The controller may be configured to supply DC power to the thermoelectric coupling devices based on the output signal of the temperature sensor. The polarity of the DC power can be reversed by the controller in order to cause the thermoelectric device to heat or to cool the enclosure. The system also contains a passive cooling device. The system includes an independent electrical power source with a battery and solar cell to supply power to the temperature control devices and the equipment contained in the enclosure.

The invention discloses a multi-objective optimization operation method for a combined cooling, heating and power supply system, which comprises the steps of firstly establishing mathematical models respectively for equipment of a combined supply system and a separated supply system; then respectively calculating the total operation cost, the total carbon emission and the total primary energy consumption of the combined supply system and the separated supply system in allusion to each set of the equipment; building a multi-objective optimization model by adopting a weighting method, then performing single-objective optimization solving on the separated power supply by adopting a mixed integer linear programming solver, finally obtaining an optimization operation strategy of the combined supply system, and being coupled to a ground source heat pump. The multi-objective optimization operation method can effectively improve the energy utilization efficiency of terminal users, alleviate the contraction between energy supply and demand in a regional power grid, promote the local absorption of distributed renewable energy and realize social benefits of the combined supply system to the greatest extent.

The hybrid aqua-ammonia and lithium bromide-water absorption chiller is an aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration system integrated with a lithium bromide-water absorption refrigeration system. By integrating a solar-powered lithium bromide-water absorption refrigeration system into the aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration system, evaporator temperatures below the freezing point of water may be generated at lower operating pressures and lower generator temperatures than in conventional aqua-ammonia absorption refrigeration systems.

An air-cooled, single-effect, air conditioning system includes a first set of solar collectors configured to obtain energy to facilitate release of refrigerant from an absorbent-refrigerant solution in a generator. A tank is configured to store the energy for nighttime operations of the air conditioning system. One or more valves are configured to regulate consumption of the stored energy to maintain continuous cooling of at least one load.