Cooling, air-conditioning or heating system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat pump systems face challenges in defrosting the outdoor unit's evaporator, particularly in installations with low water volume, leading to the risk of freezing and energy inefficiency, especially during mid-season or when domestic hot water production is the primary load.
Innovation Solution
An automatic control system redirects the secondary fluid from the temperature modification circuit to the hot water tank's condenser during defrosting, ensuring the evaporator is defrosted using stored hot water, thereby preventing freezing and optimizing energy use by utilizing the domestic hot water circuit or temperature modification circuit based on need.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the heating circuit is used to provide defrost energy during domestic hot water production, then defrosting can be performed, but the condenser risks freezing due to low water volume and complete closure of the heating circuit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a buffer tank as an intermediary element between the condenser and the heating circuit. This buffer tank maintains a minimum water volume in the condenser loop even when the heating circuit is completely closed during domestic hot water production, thereby preventing condenser freezing while allowing defrosting operations to proceed
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer tank pre-stores water in the condenser loop before defrosting operations are needed. This beforehand cushioning ensures that sufficient water volume is available to prevent freezing during defrost cycles, even when the heating circuit cannot provide additional water flow
2Reliability
If electrical back-ups are used to preheat the heating loop to guarantee sufficient energy for defrost, then defrosting can be performed safely, but energy is wasted and the solution is restrictive and badly experienced by installers
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tank enables the heating loop to serve itself by maintaining adequate water volume and temperature through the thermal mass already present in the system. This eliminates the need for additional electrical backup heating, as the system uses its own thermal resources to ensure safe defrosting operations
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a buffer tank is placed on the return of the condenser to ensure minimum water volume, then condenser freezing is prevented, but the system complexity increases and installation becomes more restrictive
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer tank is designed to serve multiple functions: it maintains minimum water volume in the condenser loop to prevent freezing, provides thermal mass for defrosting operations, and can integrate with existing heating circuit configurations. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity compared to dedicated solutions for each problem
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 solution enhances operational safety by preventing condenser freezing, reduces energy waste, and improves efficiency by using stored hot water for defrosting, allowing for flexible defrosting strategies that minimize overall system consumption.
Implementation Method 1
The invention relates to a cooling, air conditioning or heating system for a building based on the heat pump principle
Implementation Method 2
an evaporator, an air inlet on a first face and an air outlet on a second face opposite the first
Implementation Method 3
the internal unit having a condenser and intended to heat a secondary fluid circulating alternately in the heating circuit
Implementation Method 4
defrost can be provided by a cycle reversal by means of a 4-way valve on the refrigeration circuit. Said valve performs the permutation between the evaporator and the condenser
Implementation Method 5
through an exchanger thermally connecting the secondary and tertiary fluids
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a system for cooling, air conditioning or heating a building (1) comprising a circuit for modifying the temperature of said building (2) and a hot water heating circuit (3) provided with a hot water tank (4), said system being based on the principle of the heat pump using air as an external source and comprising an external heat exchange unit (6) provided with an evaporator and an internal unit having a condenser (8) and intended to heat a secondary fluid circulating alternately in the temperature modification circuit (2) and the hot water heating circuit (3) where it ensures the heating of a tertiary fluid (13 ) supplying the balloon (4), through an exchanger (12) thermally connecting the secondary and tertiary fluids. The main characteristic of a system according to the invention is that it comprises an automatic control device making it possible, during evaporator defrosting operations carried out by reversing the cycle of the outdoor unit (6), to stop the circulation of the secondary fluid in the temperature modification circuit (2), and to redirect said secondary fluid to the exchanger (12) in order to maintain the secondary fluid at a certain temperature by means of a tapping of energy heat required for said cycle in the hot water tank (4) via the condenser (8) of the internal unit.