Heat exchanger

Abstract

The heat exchanger (9) proposed here for transferring heat from a condensing refrigerant to potable water comprises a vessel (5) with an inlet (3) and an outlet (4), and a line (6) suitable for a condensing refrigerant, arranged in contact with the vessel (5). The vessel (5) has a cylindrical shape, and the inlet (3) and outlet (4) are each arranged at opposite ends of the cylindrical shape. The vessel (5) includes at least one auxiliary heater (7) arranged at one end together with the inlet (3). The line (6) can be arranged on the vessel (5) such that a substantial portion of the outer surface of the vessel (5) is covered to ensure a large heat flow from the line (6) to the vessel wall. The line (6) can, in particular, be wound around the vessel (5) or arranged in a meandering pattern to at least partially enclose it in contact with the vessel.In particular, the heat exchanger (9) proposed here is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a heat exchanger, a method for manufacturing a heat exchanger and a heating system.

[0002] Heat pumps are increasingly used as heat generators in heating systems. For heating domestic hot water, a heat exchanger is required to transfer heat from the heat pump's refrigerant circuit to the water. Plate heat exchangers are typically used for this purpose.

[0003] To prevent contact between drinking water and refrigerant, suitable heat exchangers often need to be double-walled. However, a double-walled plate heat exchanger requires considerable installation space and is also expensive to purchase. Furthermore, plate heat exchangers often have fine channels for water flow, which can become clogged with impurities, especially limescale, significantly reducing their service life.

[0004] In the event that the heat pump cannot supply sufficient heat flow to meet a hot water demand, an auxiliary heater is typically integrated into the plate heat exchanger. According to current technology, this auxiliary heater, for example in the form of an immersion heater, is integrated into the plate heat exchanger. This integration requires an additional storage flange and an insulated storage flange cover, which incur additional costs.

[0005] US Patent 5,228,505 A discloses a heat exchanger comprising a vessel surrounded by a spiral tube, enabling heat transfer to the vessel. Coil-type heat exchangers have been used for many years in a variety of applications, including cooling systems and heat pumps.

[0006] In summary, it is noted that the heat exchangers known from the prior art for heating domestic hot water using a heat pump are disadvantageously subject to high installation space requirements and / or costs, and may also have a short service life or insufficient energy efficiency. A heating system for a room, wherein this room is equipped with a thermodynamic water heater, is described in FR 3 088 990 A1, which discloses the features of the preamble of claim 1. This includes a storage tank with a condenser for a heat pump refrigerant in the lower, colder section and optionally a heater in the upper, warmer section.

[0007] Based on this, the object of the invention is to at least partially alleviate the problems described with reference to the prior art and, in particular, to propose a heat exchanger for heating drinking water by means of a heat pump that is simple in design, can be manufactured cost-effectively and has only low standby losses or a long service life.

[0008] Furthermore, a manufacturing process for a heat exchanger should be specified that enables simple and cost-effective production of a heat exchanger.

[0009] These problems are solved by the features of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments of the solution proposed here are specified in the independent claims. It should be noted that the features listed in the dependent claims can be combined with one another in any technologically meaningful way and define further embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, the features specified in the claims are further specified and explained in the description, which also presents further preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0010] The heat exchanger proposed here for transferring heat from a condensing refrigerant to drinking water has a drinking water tank with an inlet and an outlet and a line arranged in contact with the tank and suitable for a condensing refrigerant.

[0011] For characterizing and using the heat transfer system, reference can be made to the explanations in the introductory section. The tank can be located essentially centrally and surrounded by the (at least one) refrigerant line. Preferably, only a single tank is surrounded by only a single line. The at least one inlet and the at least one outlet of the tank (for drinking water) are preferably arranged opposite each other.

[0012] According to a preferred embodiment, the conduit is arranged on the container such that a substantial portion of the container's outer surface is covered, in order to ensure a large heat flow from the conduit to the container wall. The conduit can, in particular, be wound around the container or arranged in a meandering pattern to at least partially enclose it in contact with the entire surface.

[0013] A contact arrangement between the pipe and the container is intended to ensure good heat transfer between the pipe and the container. For this purpose, the pipe can preferably be attached to the container by soldering or a soldered connection, creating a material bond.

[0014] To be suitable for a condensing refrigerant, the pipe must be pressure-resistant. For example, the pipe can be made of copper, as copper has excellent thermal conductivity and is also sufficiently pressure-resistant. The pipe material can be any material that possesses the required properties, particularly metals, steel, aluminum, and / or suitable plastics.

[0015] According to a preferred embodiment, the container is made of steel.

[0016] The container has an auxiliary heater. An electric auxiliary heater is particularly preferred. The auxiliary heater can, for example, be rod-shaped and attached externally in an opening of the container. This makes the auxiliary heater easy to maintain and replace if necessary.

[0017] The container has a substantially cylindrical shape, in particular the shape of a right circular cylinder. The conduit can preferably be arranged on the outer surface of the cylindrical shape, especially wound around it. In this context, winding around the container is advantageous. A container with a circular cylindrical shape is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

[0018] Furthermore, an inlet and an outlet can be arranged on opposite ends of the cylindrical shape. It is understood that multiple inlets or outlets are also possible. Arranging the inlet and outlet on opposite ends of a container advantageously results in a defined flow through the container and homogeneous heat transfer.

[0019] The auxiliary heater is located at one end, together with an inlet. Advantageously, this arrangement allows the auxiliary heater to deliver maximum power, as the water in the inlet area has a minimum temperature.

[0020] In a further preferred embodiment, the heat exchanger can have an outer heat-insulating casing. The heat-insulating casing can, in particular, completely enclose the heat exchanger and have openings for inlets and outlets. Advantageously, the heat-insulating casing can prevent unwanted heat losses.

[0021] Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for manufacturing a heat exchanger proposed herein and comprises the following steps: a) Filling a pipe with refrigerant, and b) Attaching the pipe to a container.

[0022] Steps a) and b) are performed at least once in the specified order during a regular operating procedure.

[0023] As a first step (a), a line is filled with a refrigerant. It is understood that the line is then tightly sealed to prevent refrigerant leakage. The refrigerant can be a synthetic refrigerant, for example, R410A, R290, or R32.

[0024] According to step b), the pipe filled in step a) can be attached to the container. The attachment can be done in such a way as to ensure good heat conduction between the pipe and the container.

[0025] According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the pipe can be attached to the container by gluing, clipping, and / or clamping. Preferably, the attachment is made by welding or soldering, as this ensures very good heat transfer.

[0026] In a further preferred embodiment of the method, the line can be formed into a shape suitable for attachment to a container in a cumulative step before filling according to step a). For example, the line can already be formed into a spiral shape for arrangement around a cylindrical container. This advantageously facilitates attachment to the container.

[0027] Another aspect relates to a heating system featuring a heat exchanger as proposed here. The heating system can, in particular, include a heat pump as the heat generator, with domestic hot water preparation being achieved by a heat exchanger, as proposed here, located in the refrigerant circuit of the heat pump.

[0028] This document presents a heat exchanger, a manufacturing process, and a heating system that at least partially solve the problems described with reference to the state of the art. In particular, the heat exchanger proposed here is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture. The manufacturing process contributes significantly to this. Furthermore, the heat exchanger exhibits an excellent service life, primarily because it lacks narrow channels that can become clogged.

[0029] The invention and its technical context are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figure. It should be noted that the invention is not intended to be limited by the exemplary embodiments shown. In particular, unless explicitly stated otherwise, it is also possible to extract partial aspects of the facts illustrated in the figure and combine them with other components and findings from the present description. It should be emphasized that the figure, and especially the depicted dimensions, are only schematic. It shows: Fig. 1 : a heat exchanger.

[0030] Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a proposed heat exchanger 9. This can have an inlet 3 and an outlet 4 for hot water preparation. A pump 8 can be arranged in the inlet 3 of the hot water preparation system.

[0031] The heat exchanger 9 can comprise a container 5, which, according to a preferred embodiment, can have the shape of a right circular cylinder. The outlet 4 and the inlet 3 can be arranged at each end face of the cylindrical container 5.

[0032] Container 5 can be wrapped by a pipe 6. Pipe 6 can be connected to a refrigeration circuit, for example a heat pump (not shown here).

[0033] The line 6 can have an inlet 1, which can be located adjacent to the end face where the outlet 4 can be located. The line 6 can also have an outlet 2, which can be located adjacent to the end face where the inlet 3 can be located.

[0034] The winding of the conductor 6 preferably covers a large part of the cylindrical surface of the container 5. This advantageously allows the highest possible heat flow to be transferred from the conductor 6 to the container 5.

[0035] According to a particularly preferred embodiment, an auxiliary heater 7 is arranged on the container 5. The auxiliary heater 7 can be an electric auxiliary heater, for example designed as an electric heating element that projects into the container 5 and is sealed in the wall of the container 5.

[0036] The heat exchanger 9 can have a heat-insulating covering (not shown here) which advantageously reduces unwanted heat loss to the environment.

[0037] According to the method proposed here for manufacturing a heat exchanger 9, in a first step the line 6 can be formed into a shape corresponding to the winding around the container 5.

[0038] In step a), the line can now be filled with refrigerant. Afterwards, the filled line 6 is sealed so that the refrigerant cannot escape.

[0039] According to step b), the conductor 6 can now be arranged in the form of a coil around the container 5 and attached to it. This attachment can preferably be done by soldering, as this allows for very good heat conduction from conductor 6 to the wall of the container 5.

[0040] The proposed manufacturing method enables the simple and cost-effective production of a heat exchanger 9 according to the invention. In addition, the pre-filled line 6 also facilitates the installation of the heat exchanger 9 in a heating system. Reference symbol list

[0041] 1 Refrigerant circuit inlet 2 Refrigerant circuit outlet 3 Hot water inlet 4 Hot water outlet 5 Tank 6 Pipe 7 Auxiliary heater 8 Pump 9 Heat exchanger

Claims

1. Heat exchanger (9) for transferring heat from a condensing refrigerant to drinking water, comprising a container (5) for drinking water with an inlet (3) and an outlet (4) and at least one pipe (6) arranged in contact with the container (5) and suitable for a condensing refrigerant, wherein the tank (5) has a cylindrical shape and the inlet (3) and the outlet (4) are each arranged at one end face of the cylindrical shape, characterised in that the tank (5) comprises at least one auxiliary heater (7) which is arranged at one end face together with the inlet (3).

2. Heat exchanger (9) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one auxiliary heater (7) is an electric auxiliary heater (7).

3. Heat exchanger (9) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vessel (5) has a cylindrical shape and the pipe (6) is arranged at least on its outer surface.

4. Heat exchanger (9) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heat exchanger (9) comprises a heat-insulating casing.

5. A method for manufacturing a heat exchanger (9) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: a) filling at least one pipe (6) with refrigerant, b) attaching the at least one pipe (6) to a container (5).

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein in step b) the at least one pipe (6) is secured to the container (5) by means of gluing, clipping, clamping, welding or soldering.

7. A method according to any of claims 5 or 6, wherein, in a step c), the at least one conduit (6) is shaped into a form suitable for attachment to a container (5).

8. Heating system comprising a heat exchanger (9) according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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