Area-Registered HVAC Control for Refrigerant Leak Ventilation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In air conditioning systems, independent installation of air conditioners and ventilators without a secure communication system can lead to accidents due to uncontrolled refrigerant leaks, as the ventilators may not operate effectively when refrigerant leaks occur, potentially causing oxygen deficiency, fire, or toxicity issues.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioner with a centralized controller that performs an area registration process to allocate indoor units and ventilators to specific areas, ensuring that operations are only allowed if ventilators are allocated to the areas, thereby establishing a secure communication system between the air conditioner and ventilators to manage refrigerant leaks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If air conditioners and ventilators are installed independently by different suppliers, then installation flexibility and device selection freedom are improved, but communication system connection reliability deteriorates, making it impossible to operate ventilators when refrigerant leaks occur
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilator is designed with dual functionality: it can operate independently as a standalone ventilation device, and simultaneously serve as a refrigerant leak response device when connected to an air conditioner via communication system. This multi-functionality allows the same device to satisfy both independent installation requirements and integrated safety operation requirements.
2Device complexity
If air conditioners and ventilators are operated independently without communication system, then device complexity and installation requirements are reduced, but safety against refrigerant leak accidents deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary registration of the correspondence relationship between air conditioners and ventilators during installation. This advance registration ensures that when a refrigerant leak occurs, the communication system can immediately identify and activate the appropriate ventilator without requiring complex real-time detection and matching algorithms, thus reducing operational complexity while maintaining safety.
3Reliability
If communication system is securely connected between air conditioner and ventilator, then refrigerant leak response reliability is improved, but installation complexity and system configuration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs the registration of correspondence relationships between air conditioners and ventilators through self-service mechanisms. During initial operation, the air conditioner and ventilator automatically exchange identification information and establish communication links without requiring manual configuration or complex wiring, thereby reducing installation complexity while ensuring reliable communication for safety operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner includes a plurality of indoor units of a refrigerant circuit to perform air conditioning of a space, and an air conditioning controller that controls operations of the plurality of indoor units by allocating the indoor units individually to a plurality of predetermined areas of the space. The controller performs an area registration process of allocating the indoor units individually to a plurality of area identification frames corresponding to the areas, and allocating a plurality of ventilators individually to the area identification frames where the indoor units are allocated. The ventilators perform ventilation of the space. The controller does not allow the operations of the plurality of the indoor units when there is an area identification frame to which none of the ventilators is allocated, in the plurality of area identification frames where the indoor units are allocated.