Air-water heat pump type series with energy efficiency staging

Abstract

The invention relates to an air-water heat pump series, comprising several product classes classified according to their energy efficiency, each containing air-water heat pumps of a graded housing size and a graded nominal heating output, wherein in each product class, starting from the heat pump in the position of the stage with the highest nominal heating output to the heat pump in the position of the stage with the lowest nominal heating output, the same stage position is occupied with the same heat pump housing size and the same heat exchanger, which provides a different nominal heating output of the heat pump in relation to the energy efficiency of the respective product class.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a series of air-water heat pumps, comprising several product classes classified according to their energy efficiency, each containing air-water heat pumps of a graded housing size and a graded nominal heating output.

[0002] An air-to-water heat pump is an environmentally friendly and efficient solution for extracting heat from the outside air. It absorbs heat from the ambient air and raises it to a higher temperature using a refrigerant circuit. The heat extracted from the ambient air is then used for both heating and hot water production. An air-to-water heat pump operates efficiently even at low outside temperatures and reduces energy consumption and CO2 emissions compared to conventional heating systems. It is capable, for example, of sustainably extracting heat from the ambient air, which can easily meet the heating and hot water needs of a single-family home.

[0003] The air-to-water heat pump draws in outside air via an integrated fan. The heat from the air is transferred to a refrigerant via an evaporator. A compressor compresses the refrigerant, thereby raising it to a higher temperature. This refrigerant, now at a higher temperature, transfers heat energy to the heating water in a home's heating circuit at the condenser, heating it. Air-to-water heat pumps use refrigerants that demonstrate high efficiency for their application, even at cold outside temperatures. For example, R290 (propane) has proven to be a suitable refrigerant.

[0004] The primary function of an air-to-water heat pump is to provide heating or hot water. However, they can be equipped with a circuit reversal and thus used for room cooling. This uses the principle of active cooling, where heat energy is absorbed from the interior and released into the environment via the refrigerant circuit.

[0005] There is a growing desire to replace less environmentally friendly heating systems, such as those based on oil and gas, with more environmentally friendly heating systems. Since conventional heating systems are in widespread use, the relevant industry is required to produce a correspondingly large number of environmentally friendly air-to-water heat pumps at a purchase price that does not overburden household budgets, taking into account government subsidies.

[0006] The industry is therefore required to provide high-quality air-to-water heat pumps with the aforementioned required components at affordable costs for customers. The design of the air-to-water heat pump series plays a crucial role in this. To date, smaller series have been implemented and no distinction has been made in the class classification. This is associated with high development costs, which increases the costs of air-to-water heat pumps. This leads to the use of air-to-water heat pumps with a low specific nominal heating output, since only a small number of different nominal heating outputs are available. This, in turn, results in oversized heat pumps being used in cases of doubt, since the required heating output is significantly below the provided nominal heating output if no "more suitable" heat pump with a nominal heating output matching the heat demand is available.This increases the costs for the users of the heat pump.

[0007] Until now, performance variation was limited to narrow ranges. Accordingly, a multitude of different heat pumps, each with individual development effort, were necessary for different performance and efficiency requirements.

[0008] A disadvantage of the current state of the art is that the cost-saving potential of standardized series of air-water heat pumps has not been fully exploited.

[0009] During the development of a new air-to-water heat pump series using R290 as the refrigerant, it was recognized that as unit volumes increase, price pressure on the devices will continue to increase. To counteract this, there is a need to standardize the devices across the entire performance, energy efficiency, sound, and cost spectrum.

[0010] One object of the invention is therefore to create a production-optimized, simple, cost-effective and very broadly positioned heat pump series.

[0011] This object is achieved by the subject matter of claim 1. The dependent claims relate to expedient and inventive developments of this invention.

[0012] According to a first aspect, the invention therefore provides a series of air-water heat pumps comprising several product classes classified according to their energy efficiency and noise emission, each containing air-water heat pumps of a graded housing size and a graded nominal heating output.

[0013] The heat pumps therefore have different housing sizes. Typically, the housing size correlates with the rated heating output; a larger housing is therefore designed for a higher rated heating output.

[0014] According to the invention, the same housing or the same housing size is used in several of the product classes. Heat pumps of the same housing size differ between the product classes in that they are designed for different nominal heating outputs.

[0015] Heat pumps of the same housing size are therefore designed in different product classes with different nominal heating outputs. This allows a broad product range to be covered with a single housing development. Development costs for individual heat pumps can be reduced, and a broader product range can be offered.

[0016] In particular, a first air-water heat pump with a first of the graduated housing sizes and a first heat exchanger of a first heat exchanger size achieves a first nominal heating output in a first of the product classes, and the first heat pump with the first housing size and the first heat exchanger achieves a second nominal heating output different from the first nominal heating output in a second of the product classes.

[0017] Advantageous developments of the invention are defined in the subclaims. - The product classes differ from one another not only in the graded nominal heating output and the graded housing sizes, but also in the sound emissions of the air-water heat pumps, with heat pumps in a product class with higher energy efficiency having lower sound emissions than a product class with lower energy efficiency. The series comprises three product classes with different energy efficiencies and / or noise emissions. If the second rated heating output is greater than the first rated heating output, the energy efficiency of the second product class is lower than the energy efficiency of the first product class. The first heat pump with the first casing size and the first heat exchanger delivers a third rated heating output in a third of the product classes that is different from the first and second rated heating outputs. If the third rated heating output is greater than the second rated heating output and the second rated heating output is greater than the first rated heating output, the energy efficiency of the third product class is lower than the energy efficiency of the second product class, and the energy efficiency of the second product class is lower than the energy efficiency of the first product class.A second heat pump with a second of the graded housing sizes and a second heat exchanger of a second heat exchanger size in the first product class delivers a fourth nominal heating output and in the second product class a fifth nominal heating output, wherein the fourth nominal heating output is smaller than the first nominal heating output and greater than the second nominal heating output. This development of the invention has the effect that, although the second heat pump is smaller than the first heat pump, it delivers a higher nominal heating output than larger heat pumps in the other product classes.

[0018] The inventive series approach allows for production-optimized, simple, cost-effective, and very broadly based heat pump production using many common parts. The relatively low design effort required to implement the series allows for a broader product portfolio than with the state of the art. Furthermore, the application area of air-to-water heat pumps can be optimally adapted to specific needs by specifically selecting the heating output spectrum of the air-to-water heat pumps. The same heat pumps, albeit with different nominal heating outputs, are used in housings of the same size in the respective product classes.

[0019] The invention is explained in further detail using the exemplary embodiment shown in the single drawing. The figure shows, in diagram form, an example of an air-water heat pump series designed according to the invention. The x-axis of the diagram shows the heating output of the heat pumps, and the y-axis shows three product classes classified according to the heat pumps' energy efficiency.

[0020] The air-to-water heat pump series shown in the figure comprises three product classes: "Trend," "Plus," and "Premium," classified according to the heat pumps' energy efficiency and / or noise emissions. The "Trend" product class is characterized by the fact that it includes the air-to-water heat pumps in the series with the lowest energy efficiency and, simultaneously or alternatively, the highest noise emissions. The "Premium" product class is characterized by the fact that it includes the air-to-water heat pumps in the series with the highest energy efficiency and, alternatively or simultaneously, the lowest noise emissions. The "Plus" product class is characterized by the fact that it includes the air-to-water heat pumps in the series with energy efficiency that lies between the energy efficiency and / or noise emissions of the "Trend" and "Premium" product classes.Of course, the names of the three product classes are only examples and in other cases more than three product classes are conceivable.

[0021] Each product class contains a number of air-water heat pumps with a graduated heating output spectrum and graduated housing sizes 1 to 7, where 1 denotes the largest and 7 the smallest housing.

[0022] The "Trend" product class includes all housing sizes 1 to 7. The "Plus" product class includes housing sizes 1 to 6, and the "Premium" product class includes housing sizes 1 to 5. Therefore, the "Trend" product class includes a larger number of different heat pumps than the other product classes. In other versions, however, the number of heat pumps in each product class of the series may be the same.

[0023] Not every housing size is necessarily included in all product classes. However, if a heat pump of a certain housing size is included in multiple product classes, the nominal heating output of that heat pump of a certain housing size will vary between the multiple product classes. The principle is always consistent: the nominal heating output decreases from Trend to Plus to Premium, regardless of the housing size.

[0024] This allows multiple heat pumps with different nominal heating outputs to be implemented using a single housing size. The different nominal heating outputs enable product diversification while simultaneously allowing the reuse of many components, especially the housings. In particular, a relative reduction in the nominal heating output can be accompanied by an increase in the efficiency (COP) of the heat pump and a reduction in noise emissions. Thus, heat pumps in the exemplary Premium product class exhibit a higher efficiency (COP) and a lower noise emission value than heat pumps of the same housing size in the Plus and Trend product classes.

[0025] Each heat exchanger in the same stage position, i.e. with the same housing size, of the respective product class provides a different nominal heating output of the heat pump in relation to the energy efficiency of this product class.

[0026] The noise emissions of the three product classes are staggered so that the noise emissions are highest in the "Trend" product class and lowest in the "Premium" product class.

[0027] The heat pumps in the "Trend" product class manage to generate more heating output relative to the other two product classes. However, due to their slightly lower efficiency, more electrical energy is required to achieve the achievable heating output compared to the other two product classes, "Plus" and "Premium." In addition, the heat pumps in the "Trend" product class have comparatively high noise emissions. In other words, the heat pumps in the "Trend" product class are characterized by comparatively high power consumption at a lower purchase price, higher heating costs, and higher noise emissions.

Claims

1. Air-to-water heat pump series, comprising several product classes classified according to their energy efficiency and / or sound emission, each containing air-to-water heat pumps of a graded casing size and a graded nominal heating output, characterized in that a first air-water heat pump with a first of the graded housing sizes and a first heat exchanger of a first heat exchanger size in a first of the product classes provides a first nominal heating output and the first heat pump with the first housing size and the first heat exchanger in a second of the product classes provides a second nominal heating output different from the first nominal heating output.

2. Series according to claim 1, wherein in the case where the second nominal heating power is greater than the first nominal heating power, the energy efficiency of the second product class is lower than the energy efficiency of the first product class and / or the sound emission of the second product class is higher than the sound emission of the first product class.

3. Series according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first heat pump with the first housing size and the first heat exchanger in a third of the product classes provides a third nominal heating output different from the first and second nominal heating outputs.

4. Series according to claim 3, wherein in the case where the third nominal heating power is greater than the second nominal heating power and the second nominal heating power is greater than the first nominal heating power, the energy efficiency of the third product class is lower than the energy efficiency of the second product class and the energy efficiency of the second product class is lower than the energy efficiency of the first product class, and / or the sound emission of the third product class is higher than the sound emission of the second product class and the sound emission of the second product class is higher than the sound emission of the first product class.

5. A series according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a second heat pump having a second of the graded housing sizes and a second heat exchanger of a second heat exchanger size provides a fourth rated heating output in the first product class and provides a fifth rated heating output in the second product class, wherein the fourth rated heating output is less than the first rated heating output and greater than the second rated heating output.

6. Series according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the air-water heat pump of a certain housing size provides a lower nominal heat pump heating output in the case of a higher efficiency product class and a higher nominal heat pump heating output in the case of a lower efficiency product class.

7. Series according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein heat pumps of the same housing size in different product classes differ from one another not only in the graded nominal heating output but also in the sound emission of the air-water heat pumps, wherein the heat pumps of a product class with higher energy efficiency have a lower sound emission than a product class with lower energy efficiency.

8. Series according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the series comprises three product classes of different energy efficiency and / or different sound emissions.

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