Heat Pump Water Heating Exchanger for Better Flow-Matched Heat Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat pump heating and hot-water systems face inefficiencies in hot-water supply due to poor heat transfer performance of coil-form pipes and maintenance challenges, leading to suboptimal operation efficiency and maintainability.
Innovation Solution
A heat pump system with a water heating heat exchanger and flow path switching mechanism, where the heating medium pump operates at a higher volumetric flow rate than the water pump, allowing efficient heat exchange and improved maintainability by isolating the water heating heat exchanger from the hot-water storage tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a coil-form pipe heat exchanger is installed inside the hot-water storage tank, then the system can heat water using the heat pump, but the heat transfer performance is poor and maintenance becomes troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the water heating function from the hot-water storage tank by installing a separate water heating heat exchanger outside the tank. This allows the heat exchanger to be independently maintained or replaced without draining or disrupting the storage tank, directly resolving the maintainability issue while preserving the water heating capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: the hot-water storage tank for storage, the separate water heating heat exchanger for heating, and the indoor heating heat exchanger for space heating. This segmentation improves maintainability of each component while optimizing their respective functions.
2Productivity
If hot water is heated by the hot-water-supply heat exchanger in the hot-water storage tank, then the system can provide hot water, but the heat accumulated in the storage tank cannot be utilized without waste
Solution Approach 1:
The heating function is extracted from the storage tank and placed in a separate water heating heat exchanger. This enables the system to utilize the accumulated heat in the storage tank more effectively by controlling the heating process externally, reducing energy waste and improving hot-water supply efficiency.
3Temperature
If high-temperature hot water is stored in the hot-water storage tank, then the system can meet hot water demand, but the heat transfer performance of the coil-form pipe is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The water heating heat exchanger is taken out from the storage tank and installed separately with optimized heat transfer surfaces and configurations. This external placement allows for better heat transfer performance while maintaining the required hot water temperature storage capability.
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 configuration enhances hot-water accumulating operation efficiency by optimizing heat transfer and simplifying maintenance, reducing energy losses and operational costs while ensuring reliable system performance.
Implementation Method 1
a water heating heat exchanger for heating water by heat exchange between the heating medium and the water
Implementation Method 2
an indoor heating heat exchanger for warming a room by the heating medium
Data Source
AI summary
A heat pump heating and hot-water system includes a water heating heat exchanger for heating water by heat exchange with a heating medium heated by a heat pump unit, an indoor heating unit, a heating circulation circuit for selectively pumping the heating medium to either of the water heating heat exchanger and the indoor heating unit using a heating medium pump, and a hot-water accumulating circuit that sends water in a hot-water storage tank to the water heating heat exchanger and returns water having passed through the water heating heat exchanger to the hot-water storage tank using a water pump. The volumetric flow rate of the heating medium pumped to the water heating heat exchanger by the heating medium pump is higher than or equal to the volumetric flow rate of the water pumped to the water heating heat exchanger by the water pump.