Sorption heat pump and control method
AssigneeStone Mountain Technologies, Inc.
InventorsMichael A. Garrabrant, Roger E. Stout
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method operates an absorption heat pump system, specifically the flow of hydronic cooling fluid through the condenser during system start-ups, or when the cooling fluid temperature is low. To minimize the time for an absorption heat pump to reach full cooling or heating capacity, it is desirable for the high side pressure to increase as fast as possible, and the low side pressure to decrease as fast as possible. Since the high side pressure is a function of the temperature of the refrigerant exiting the condenser, if the condenser cooling fluid temperature is low, the corresponding high side pressure will be low, which may not permit adequate working fluid flow rates from the high pressure side of the system to the low pressure side.
Claims11
A method of controlling a sorption heat pump comprising a condenser and absorber, the absorber and condenser being arranged in parallel with respect to the hydronic flow, the method comprising:
- a) measuring the temperature of hydronic fluid entering or existing in the condenser;
- and
- b) controlling a flow rate of the hydronic fluid entering the condenser in response to the temperature measured in a) to reduce the flow rate of hydronic fluid entering the condenser relative to a total possible flow rate and proportionally increase the flow rate of the hydronic fluid entering the absorber when the temperature is below a pre-determined value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.