Solar heating and central air conditioning with heat recovery system

Abstract

The present invention discloses a solar heating and cooling central air-conditioning with a heat recovery system. The system includes a solar heating subsystem for providing supplementary energy to a heat pump, a buffer water tank for storing and minimizing energy loss, a domestic water heater for recovering unused heat, and an air handler ventilation and exchanger subsystem. All parts of the system are connected by antifreeze circulation pipes. The present invention combines the solar technology with the heat pump technology, making it work in extreme cold climate. The system is high energy efficient, versatile, safe, reliable, intelligent and flexible in installation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 771,547, filed on Mar. 1, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to heat pump for providing heating and central air conditioning, and specifically relates to solar heating and central air conditioning with heat recovery system.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Heat pumps are commonly used as heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) or heating and cooling systems. A heat pump works as a two-way system, in either heating or cooling mode. It uses the principles of reversed Carnot cycles, and uses a working medium to transfer the energy stored in the environment from outdoor to indoor. This process only consumes a small amount of power in comparing to the power required to heat or cool a place with pure electricity. Therefore, heat pump technology can save a lot of “high-grade” energy, e.g. e...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]A high energy efficient heat pump heating and cooling system, integrated with solar and heat recovery system, is provided. According to the present invention, a heat recovery exchanger and a solar heat exchanger are integrated with the heat pump system. In heating mode, the working medium comes out of the compressor as hot high pressure gas. The heat recovery exchanger cycles some of the heat from the high pressure gas to a domestic water heater providing hot water for normal household use. The medium coming out of the heat recovery exchanger is still warm enough to heat the inside of the building. Further, the solar exchanger uses the heat collected from a solar panel to provide supplementary heat to the system, thus reduce the workload of the heat pump system, making it more energy efficient. In cooling mode, the compressor converts the working medium into hot high pressure gas. This heat is recycled by the heat recovery exchanger to provide a heat source for the domestic water heater, while helping reduce the load of the heat pump by reducing the temperature of the working medium.

Problems solved by technology

This process only consumes a small amount of power in comparing to the power required to heat or cool a place with pure electricity.

Commercial systems, however, still suffer from less than ideal performance, measured by coefficient of performance (COP).

Further, as the heat pump extracts heat from outdoor air, moisture in the air may condense and possibly freeze on the outdoor coil.

In extreme cold weather, for example, around −18° C., the COP of a heat pump will approach 1, which is less advantage than a simple electric based heater, thus it is not a commercially viable option.

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