Free cooling operation of a chiller
AssigneeTyco Fire & Security GmbH
InventorsCameron S. Nelson, William L. Kopko, David A. Bradshaw
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and/or refrigeration (HVAC&R) system (10) includes a vapor compression system (14) having an evaporator (38), a condenser (34), and a compressor (32). The compressor (34) is configured to guide a refrigerant therethrough in a normal operating mode of the vapor compression system (14) and in a free cooling mode of the vapor compression system (14). The HVAC&R system (10) also includes a controller (40) configured to enable supply of power to a motor (50) of the compressor (34) in the normal operating mode and to suspend supply of power to the motor (50) of the compressor (34) in the free cooling mode.
Claims20
A heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and/or refrigeration (HVAC&R) system, comprising:
- a vapor compression system comprising an evaporator, a condenser, and a compressor, wherein the compressor comprises an impeller and the compressor is configured to guide a refrigerant through the impeller in a normal operating mode of the vapor compression system and in a free cooling mode of the vapor compression system;
- and
- a controller configured to enable a supply of power to a motor of the compressor in the normal operating mode and to suspend the supply of power to the motor of the compressor in the free cooling mode.
A method of operating a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and/or refrigeration (HVAC&R) system, comprising:
- supplying power to a motor of a compressor of a vapor compression system in response to a normal operating mode of the HVAC&R system, such that the compressor is driven by the motor and biases a refrigerant between an evaporator of the vapor compression system and a condenser of the vapor compression system;
- disabling the power to the motor of the compressor of the vapor compression system in response to a free cooling mode of the HVAC&R system, such that a rotor of the compressor is levitated;
- and
- enabling the refrigerant to pass through an impeller of the compressor during the normal operating mode and the free cooling mode of the HVAC&R system.
A chiller system, comprising:
- a compressor configured to receive a vapor portion of a refrigerant corresponding to a refrigerant circuit from an evaporator during a normal operating mode of the chiller system and a free cooling mode of the chiller system;
- a motor of the compressor;
- and
- a controller configured to enable a supply of power to the motor of the compressor in response to the normal operating mode of the chiller system and disable the supply of power to the motor of the compressor in response to the free cooling mode of the chiller system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.