Cooling-Heating Cycle Control Using Auxiliary Heat Recovery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling and heating devices using vapor compression refrigeration cycles face inefficiencies in energy usage, particularly during operations where only cooling or heating is performed, and struggle to balance fluctuating cooling and heating loads effectively.
Innovation Solution
A cooling heating device with a vapor compression type refrigeration cycle, incorporating an auxiliary heat exchanger, channel changeover means, and control means to manage refrigerant flow based on cooling and heating operation signals, allowing for efficient simultaneous cooling and heating operations and optimizing energy use by utilizing heat from the high-pressure side of the refrigeration cycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If cooling operation is performed using conventional vapor compression refrigeration cycle, then cooling function is provided, but heat generated by refrigerant condensation is released to atmospheric air causing energy waste and ambient temperature rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful waste heat from refrigerant condensation into a useful resource by introducing an auxiliary heat exchanger that captures this heat and uses it for heating water or other fluids. The heat exchanger unit includes a condenser that receives hot refrigerant gas from the compressor and transfers its thermal energy to water or other heat transfer fluids, thereby converting what would be waste heat into useful heating energy.
2Use of energy by moving object
If heat pump operation is performed, then heating function is provided, but heat absorbing function during evaporation is not effectively used and heat is simply pumped from atmospheric air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the auxiliary heat exchanger unit serve multiple functions: during cooling operation it recovers waste heat from condensation for heating purposes, and during heating operation it can absorb heat from the environment to supplement the heating function. This multi-functionality allows the same hardware to improve energy efficiency in both cooling and heating modes of the refrigeration cycle.
3Loss of energy
If cooling heating device is configured to perform simultaneous cooling and heating, then energy saving is achieved, but cooling and heating loads are not balanced thermally cyclically and operations are not frequently performed at the same time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic operation modes that automatically adapt to the actual thermal load requirements. The system can switch between different operational states: simultaneous cooling and heating mode when both loads exist, cooling-only mode when only cooling is needed, and heating-only mode when only heating is needed. This dynamic adaptability ensures energy efficiency is maximized without being constrained by fixed operational requirements.
4Productivity
If heat is released to atmospheric air during cooling operation, then cooling function is achieved, but energy is not effectively used
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an auxiliary heat exchanger unit as an intermediary between the refrigeration cycle and the environment. Instead of directly releasing heat to atmospheric air, the heat from refrigerant condensation is first transferred to water or other heat transfer fluids in the auxiliary heat exchanger. This intermediary mechanism captures and preserves the thermal energy for later useful purposes, preventing its direct loss to the environment.
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 device achieves reduced energy consumption by effectively using heat that would otherwise be released into atmospheric air, enabling efficient operation across varying cooling and heating loads and improving overall energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the cool target is cooled by an evaporating function of a refrigerant in an evaporator
Implementation Method 2
the heat target is heated by a heat radiating function in a case where the refrigerant rejects heat to condense in the condenser
Implementation Method 3
an auxiliary heat exchanger having one end connected to a refrigerant outlet-side pipe of the condenser via the throttle means and having the other end connected to a suction-side pipe and a discharge-side pipe of the compressor and configured to perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and a heat source
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling heating device in which a suitable operation can be performed in harmony with fluctuations of cooling and heating loads to reduce energy consumption, and the cooling heating device includes an outdoor heat exchanger having one end connected to a refrigerant outlet-side pipe of a condenser via an expansion valve and having the other end connected to a suction-side pipe and a discharge-side pipe of a compressor and configured to perform heat exchange between a refrigerant and outside air; a changeover valve which executes control so as to pass the refrigerant discharged from the compressor through the condenser or the outdoor heat exchanger and supply the refrigerant from the outdoor heat exchanger to the compressor or supply the refrigerant from the evaporator to the compressor; and a control unit which controls the compressor, the expansion valve and the changeover valve based on a cooling operation signal in response to a cooling load of the cool target and a heating operation signal in response to a heating load of the heat target.