Reversible Heat Pump Control for Heating-Cooling Demand Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional building heating and cooling systems rely on primary high-grade energy sources like electricity and fossil fuels, converting them into low-grade waste heat that is often returned to the environment, necessitating improvements in energy utilization for heating and cooling.
Innovation Solution
A controller for a reversible heat pump assembly that selectively sets the system in either heating or cooling mode based on demand, allowing the same assembly to be used for both functions, increasing utilization and simplifying system construction and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate heat pump assemblies are installed for heating and cooling, then heating and cooling functions are reliable, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a single reversible heat pump assembly that can operate in both heating mode and cooling mode. The heat pump includes a compressor, condenser, expansion device, and evaporator that can reverse their functions through a four-way valve, allowing the same physical assembly to provide both heating and cooling functions reliably without requiring separate dedicated systems for each function.
2Device complexity
If a reversible heat pump assembly is used for both heating and cooling, then device complexity is reduced, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller continuously monitors heating demand and cooling demand signals from the building management system or thermostats, and uses this feedback to automatically determine the optimal operating mode. The control algorithm compares the magnitude of heating versus cooling demands and adjusts the heat pump operation accordingly, reducing manual intervention and simplifying the user interface despite the complex underlying control logic.
3Ease of manufacture
If a single reversible heat pump assembly is used, then ease of manufacture and installation improve, but adaptability to simultaneous heating and cooling demands decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the building into multiple thermal zones with independent heating and cooling demands. The controller segments the total heating demand and total cooling demand, then allocates the heat pump capacity appropriately between these segments. When both heating and cooling are needed simultaneously in different zones, the system can serve both by directing heated or cooled fluid to different building zones through the existing distribution infrastructure.
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
The reversible heat pump assembly enhances energy efficiency by allowing a single unit to handle both heating and cooling demands, reducing the need for multiple systems and improving scalability, while optimizing energy delivery based on demand fluctuations.
Implementation Method 1
a heat pump having a first side and a second side, the heat pump being configured to transfer heat from the first side to the second side or vice versa
Data Source
AI summary
A controller configured to selectively set a reversible heat pump assembly (100) in either a heating mode or in a cooling mode is presented. The controller comprising a control circuit (44) configured to: for a time period, determine, using a demand determining function (50), a heating demand for heat from one or more local heating circuits (140) connected to the reversible heat pump assembly (100) and a cooling demand for cold from one or more local cooling circuits (140) connected to the reversible heat pump assembly (100); generate, using a control function (52), a control signal indicative of if the reversible heat pump assembly (100) is to be set in either the heating mode or in the cooling mode, wherein the control function is configured to use the heating demand and the cooling demand as input data; and send, using a transmission function (54), the control signal to a heat pump (110) of the reversible heat pump assembly (100). Also a method for controlling the reversible heat pump assembly (100) is presented.