DX System Heat to Cool Valves and Line Insulation
AssigneeEarth to Air Systems, LLC
InventorB. Ryland Wiggs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Alternative means of inhibiting frosting in the interior heat exchanger of a DX system when switching from the heating mode to the cooling mode, plus an improved insulation and heat transfer means for vertically oriented sub-surface geothermal heat transfer tubing, as well as a means to protectively coat the sub-surface metal tubing of a DX system in a corrosive environment.
Claims19
A direct exchange heating/cooling system operable in a cooling mode, comprising:
- a compressor;
- an interior heat exchanger;
- a primary liquid refrigerant transport line directing a refrigerant fluid into the heat exchanger;
- a primary vapor refrigerant transport lien directing the refrigerant fluid out of the heat exchanger;
- a primary hot gas discharge line directing the refrigerant fluid out of the compressor;
- and
- a valve having an inlet port in fluid communication with the primary hot gas discharge line and an outlet port in fluid communication with either the primary liquid refrigerant transport line or the primary vapor refrigerant transport line, the valve being operable to automatically open in the cooling mode to permit at least one of hot gas/vapor refrigerant from the compressor and warm refrigerant vapor exiting the interior heat exchanger to provide supplemental heat to the refrigerant fluid entering the interior heat exchanger, and to automatically close when a temperature of the refrigerant entering the interior heat exchanger reaches a temperature limit of no more than about 5 degrees F. greater than freezing.
An automatically operating valve, which begins to close itself off at about 75 psi, and that modulates to fully close itself off when about 95 psi is reached, in the liquid refrigerant transport line leading into the interior air handler, at a point subsequent to the cooling mode TXV and prior to the distributor to the air handler.
An electronic automatic valve, in the cooling mode, that, being otherwise fully open, fully closes itself off when about 95 psi is reached in the liquid refrigerant transport line that leads into the interior air handler, at a point subsequent to the cooling mode TXV and prior to the distributor to the air handler.
Insulation surrounding the smaller sub-surface liquid refrigerant transport line in a vertically oriented DX system, where the insulation is a solid type insulation material at depths down to, and exceeding, 50 feet.
A coating for metal refrigerant transport tubing, situated in a sub-surface environment that is corrosive to the metal tubing, where the coating is comprised of a solid-state coating on both the sub-surface refrigerant transport vapor line and liquid line, where the coating is comprised of a protective coating that does not significantly impair geothermal heat transfer.
A DX system with a valve that automatically opens, in the cooling mode, to permit hot gas/vapor refrigerant, originally exiting from the system's compressor, to enter the refrigerant vapor line exiting the interior heat exchange means, before the vapor enters the system's accumulator, so as to exert a high enough back-pressure on the refrigerant within the interior heat exchanger to prevent frosting of the interior heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.