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US 10,648,711 B2Granted
DC refrigeration system controls
AssigneeSolarXWorks, LLC
InventorsScott Brown, Blake Barthelmess, Tor Hartmann, Donald McGraw
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A DC-powered refrigeration system may include controls configured to switch between available DC power supplies and manage the refrigeration system in accordance with one or more methods. The one or more methods of the control system may include multiple tiers of power management, including, e.g., maximization of power usage when on a photovoltaic power supply to subcool a refrigerated load.
Claims23
A refrigeration control system comprising:
- one or more processors;
- a memory comprising one or more storage devices;
- and
- a control program including a plurality of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to:
- compare a direct current (DC) bus voltage of a DC power bus of a refrigeration system to a selected threshold, wherein the DC power bus is continuously electrically connected to a photovoltaic (PV) DC source and a non-PV DC source, such that the DC bus voltage is automatically supplied by whichever DC source has a higher output voltage;
- in response to the DC bus voltage being greater than the threshold, determine that DC power is provided to the refrigeration system by the PV source, and automatically transition the refrigeration system to (or maintain the refrigeration system in) a first mode, in which power consumption is maximized by causing continuous operation of one or more electrical motors of the refrigeration system, such that cooling of a chamber of the refrigeration system is limited only by a refrigerant capacity of the refrigeration system;
- and
- in response to the DC bus voltage being lower than the threshold, determine that DC power is provided by the non-PV source, and automatically transition the refrigeration system to (or maintain the refrigeration system in) a second mode, in which power consumption is managed by cycling the one or motors to maintain a temperature range in the chamber.
5 more elements
A refrigeration system comprising:
- a chamber;
- a refrigeration circuit coupled to the chamber and configured to remove heat from the chamber;
- a plurality of electrical power sources coupled to the refrigeration circuit, including at least one photovoltaic (PV) source and at least one non-PV source;
- and
- a control system configured to compare a direct current (DC) bus voltage of a DC power bus of the refrigeration system to a selected threshold, wherein the DC power bus is continuously electrically connected to the PV source and the non-PV source, such that the DC bus voltage is automatically supplied by whichever DC source has a higher output voltage;
- and automatically operate the refrigeration circuit using electrical power from whichever DC source has a higher output voltage;
- wherein the control system is operable in a first mode, in which the refrigeration circuit runs continuously in response to the DC bus voltage being greater than the threshold, and a second mode, in which the refrigeration circuit cycles to maintain a temperature range in response to the DC bus voltage being lower than the threshold.
4 more elements
A refrigeration method comprising:
- cooling a space using a direct current (DC)-powered refrigeration system;
- comparing a DC bus voltage of a DC power bus of the refrigeration system to a selected threshold, wherein the DC power bus is continuously electrically connected to a photovoltaic (PV) DC source and a non-PV DC source, such that the DC bus voltage is automatically supplied by whichever DC source has a higher output voltage;
- automatically changing to whichever source of DC power has a higher output voltage, the sources of DC power comprising the photovoltaic (PV) source and the non-PV source;
- using a controller of the refrigeration system, automatically maximizing power usage by running the refrigeration system continuously, in response to the DC bus voltage being greater than the threshold;
- using the controller, automatically managing power usage by cycling the refrigeration system based on a temperature of the space, in response to the DC bus voltage being lower than the threshold.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.