Multi-split Heat Pump for Heating, Cooling, and Water Heating
AssigneePAS, Inc.
InventorKarl J. Seggerman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multi-split air or ground source heat pump system designed to provide a residential application with space heating and cooling, along with supplemental hydronic heating and potable water preheating. The supplemental hydronic heating supports applications like radiant floor heating and heating swimming pools. Commercially, the multi-split air or ground source heat pump system expands on this technology to incorporate comfort and/or process heating, cooling, and hydronic heating applications utilizing multiple types of energy sources.
Claims20
A system for controlling a multi-circuit heat pump comprising:
- an accumulator configured to accumulate a liquid refrigerant and pass a vapor refrigerant;
- a compressor operably coupled to the accumulator and configured to compress the vapor refrigerant;
- a condenser configured to receive the vapor refrigerant and condense the vapor refrigerant to liquid refrigerant;
- a check valve configured to receive the liquid refrigerant from the condenser and configured to prohibit a flow of liquid, refrigerant backwards through the condenser;
- at least one heat pump coil configured to receive the vapor refrigerant and condense the vapor refrigerant into liquid refrigerant, and also receive the liquid refrigerant and evaporate the liquid refrigerant into vapor refrigerant;
- at least one expansion valve fluidly coupled with the at least one heat pump coil configured to bypass liquid refrigerant when the at least one heat pump coil is condensing, and the at least one expansion valve configured to expand the liquid refrigerant to a liquid and vapor mixture when the at least one heat pump coil is evaporating;
- a plurality of refrigerant valves fluidly coupled to the compressor, the accumulator, the condenser, the at least one heat pump coil, and the at least one expansion valve;
- and
- a controller programmed to control an air cooling mode, an air heating mode, a water heating mode, a defrost mode, and a cogeneration mode that includes simultaneous air cooling and water heating modes.
A method of controlling a multi-circuit heat pump comprising,
- accumulating a liquid refrigerant and passing a vapor refrigerant with an accumulator configured to pass a vapor refrigerant to a compressor;
- compressing the vapor refrigerant with the compressor;
- condensing the compressed vapor refrigerant to a liquid refrigerant with a condenser;
- prohibiting the flowing of the liquid refrigerant backwards through the condenser with a check valve;
- passing liquid and vapor refrigerant through at least one heat pump coil, and condensing the vapor refrigerant into a liquid refrigerant and evaporating the liquid refrigerant into a vapor refrigerant;
- expanding the liquid refrigerant to a liquid and vapor mixture when the at least one heat pump coil is evaporating with at least one expansion valve;
- and
- programming a controller for controlling an indoor air cooling mode, an indoor air heating mode, a water heating mode, a defrosting mode, and a cogeneration mode that includes simultaneous indoor air cooling and water heating modes.
A system for controlling a multi-circuit heat pump comprising,
- a plurality of refrigerant valves configured to regulate a flow of refrigerant;
- at least one heat pump coil in fluid communication with the flow of refrigerant and
- a controller programmed to control an ambient air cooling mode, an ambient air heating mode, a water heating mode, a defrost mode, and a cogeneration mode that includes simultaneous ambient air cooling and water heating modes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.