Combined heating and cooling system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current energy distribution grids for heating and cooling in cities are inefficient, leading to increased environmental impact and high investment costs, with waste heat energy in district cooling grids not being utilized effectively.
Innovation Solution
A combined heating and cooling system that integrates a district cooling grid with local heating and cooling systems, where the district cooling grid serves both purposes by using its return conduit heat energy to preheat the heat pump inlet and reuse waste heat energy from the heat exchanger outlet, reducing the load on both systems and investment costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate district heating grid and district cooling grid are implemented, then heating and cooling can be provided independently, but investment costs and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The district cooling grid is designed to serve dual purposes: providing cooling during warm periods and providing heating during cold periods. The return conduit that carries warmed cooling fluid is redirected to serve as a heat source for the heating system, allowing one infrastructure to replace two separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating and cooling systems are merged by connecting the heat pump of the heating system to the return conduit of the cooling grid. This integration allows the cooling grid's return fluid to serve as the heat source for heating, combining previously separate functions into a unified system.
2Loss of energy
If waste heat energy in the district cooling grid return conduit is not utilized, then the cooling system operates simply, but energy efficiency decreases and environmental impact increases
Solution Approach 1:
The warmed cooling fluid returning from the cooling system, which would normally be discarded as waste heat, is captured and redirected to the heat pump inlet. This converts the harmful waste heat into a useful resource for providing building heating, eliminating energy loss and improving overall system efficiency.
3Temperature
If the heat pump inlet temperature is lower, then cooling performance improves, but heating efficiency decreases due to higher energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary heating of the heat pump inlet fluid by utilizing the warmed return fluid from the cooling grid. This pre-heating action occurs before the heat pump processes the fluid, reducing the energy consumption required for heating while maintaining optimal cooling performance when needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This integration reduces energy consumption and investment costs by utilizing waste heat energy, allowing existing district cooling grids to be used for heating, thereby enhancing energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
a heat exchanger having a heat exchanger inlet and a heat exchanger outlet... the heat exchanger inlet is connected to the feed conduit of the district cooling grid
Implementation Method 2
a local heating system being configured to heat the first or a second building and comprising a heat pump having a heat pump inlet and a heat pump outlet; wherein the heat pump inlet is connected to the return conduit of the district cooling grid
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention refers to a combined cooling and heating system (100) connectable to a district cooling grid (1) comprising a feed conduit (5) and a return conduit (8), the combined cooling and heating system (100) comprising: a local heating system (200) being configured to heat the building (2) and comprising a heat pump (10) comprising a first heat exchanger having a heat pump inlet (15a) connectable to the return conduit (8) of the district cooling grid (1) and a heat pump outlet (15b) connectable to the feed conduit (5) of the district cooling grid (1), the heat pump inlet (15a) and the heat pump outlet (15b) forming part of a first heat pump circuit (13a); a local cooling system (300) being configured to absorb heat from a building (2) and comprising a heat exchanger (9) having a heat exchanger inlet (14a) connectable to the feed conduit (5) of the district cooling grid (1) and a heat exchanger outlet (14b) connectable to the return conduit (8) of the district cooling grid (1), the heat exchanger inlet (14a) and the heat exchanger outlet (14b) forming part of a second heat exchanger circuit (9b); wherein the heat pump outlet (15b) is connected to the heat exchanger inlet (14a) and the heat exchanger outlet (14b) is connected to the heat pump inlet (15a) thereby the first heat pump circuit (13a) and the second heat exchanger circuit (9b) at least partly overlap.