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US 2018/0106510 A1Published application
Dc refrigeration system controls
AssigneeSolarXWorks, LLC
InventorsScott BROWN, Blake BARTHELMESS, Tor HARTMANN, Donald McGRAW
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims24
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:
- determine when DC power is provided to a refrigeration system by a photovoltaic (PV) source;
- when DC power is provided by the PV source, maximize power consumption by the refrigeration system 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
- when DC power is provided by a non-PV source, manage power consumption 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 selectably 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 automatically operate the refrigeration circuit using electrical power from a selected one of the plurality of electrical power sources;
- wherein the control system is operable in a first mode, in which the refrigeration circuit runs continuously in response to being powered by the at least one PV source, and a second mode, in which the refrigeration circuit cycles to maintain a temperature range.
3 more elements
A refrigeration method comprising:
- cooling a space using a direct current (DC)-powered refrigeration system;
- automatically changing between sources of DC power to the refrigeration system based on availability of power, the sources of DC power comprising a photovoltaic (PV) source and a non-PV source;
- using a controller of the refrigeration system, automatically maximizing power usage by running the refrigeration system continuously when using the PV source of DC power;
- using the controller, automatically managing power usage by cycling the refrigeration system based on a temperature of the space when using the non-PV source of DC power.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.