# US 2021/0278098 A1 · Heat Pump Interface

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- Number: US 2021/0278098 A1
- Document ID: US20210278098A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/812,119
- Filed: 2020-03-06
- Published: 2021-09-09
- Earliest claimed: 2020-03-06
- Assignees: Dandelion Energy, Inc.
- Applicants: Dandelion Energy, Inc.
- Inventors: Rajeev James Quazi; Brian Zimmerly; Ryan Carda
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210278098A1

## CPC

- F24F 11/30: for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
- F24F 5/0046: {using natural energy, e.g. solar energy, energy from the ground}
- F24F 11/63: Electronic processing
- F25B 30/06: characterised by the source of low potential heat
- F24F 2110/10: Temperature
- F24F 2110/20: Humidity
- F24F 2140/60: Energy consumption
- F25B 2700/21: Temperatures
- Y02B 10/40: Geothermal heat-pumps
- F24F: AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING (removing dirt or fumes from areas where they are produced B08B15/00; vertical ducts for carrying away waste gases from buildings E04F17/02; tops for chimneys or ventilating shafts, terminals for flues F23L17/02)
- F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

A heat pump is equipped with a plurality of sensors configured to measure various physical properties, including but not limited to: (gas/liquid) temperature, (gas/liquid) pressure, electrical current, and/or flow rate. A monitoring center is interposed between the heat pump and other elements of a Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, such as a building thermostat and a heat pump control board. The monitoring center receives the outputs from the sensors and communicates them to a user (e.g., via a wired or wireless interface) for inspection. The monitoring center may also process the sensor data to calculate and output desirable performance metrics such as efficiency and/or available capacity. Where the heat pump is part of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system or a geothermal heat pump system, embodiments may be particularly useful to also receive and/or process additional sensor input(s) from a flow center component.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus comprising:
a heat pump equipped with a first physical sensor and with a second physical sensor;
a heat pump control board; and
a processor interposed between the heat pump and the heat pump control board, the processor configured to,
receive a first input from the first physical sensor,
receive a second input from the second physical sensor,
calculate a heat pump performance metric from the first input and the second input, and
output the heat pump performance metric to a communication channel.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the performance metric from a third input from a flow center in fluid communication with the heat pump.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

An apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the heat pump comprises a ground source heat pump (GSHP).

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

An apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the heat pump comprises a geothermal heat pump.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the processor is interposed between the heat pump and a thermostat.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the performance metric comprises an efficiency.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the performance metric comprises a capacity.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
the first sensor is configured to detect a gas temperature; and
the second sensor is configured to detect other than a gas temperature.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the communication channel is a wireless communication channel.

### Claim 10

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium embodying a computer program for performing a method, said method comprising:
receiving a first input from a first physical sensor in communication with a heat pump;
receiving a second input from a second physical sensor in communication with the heat pump;
processing the first input and the second input to calculate a performance metric; and
outputting the performance metric to a communication channel.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 9 wherein:
the heat pump is a ground source heat pump (GSHP) or a geothermal heat pump in fluid communication with a flow center; and
the method further comprises,
receiving a third input from a third physical sensor of the flow center; and
calculating the performance metric from the first input, the second input, and the third input.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 9 wherein the method further comprises:
receiving a third input from a thermostat; and
calculating the performance metric from the first input, the second input, and the third input.

### Claim 13 (depends on 9)

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 9 wherein:
the first input comprises a gas temperature; and
the second input comprises other than a gas temperature.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium as in claim 9 wherein the performance metric comprises an efficiency or a capacity.

### Claim 15

A computer system comprising:
a processor;
a software program, executable on said computer system, the software program configured to cause the processor to:
receive a first input from a first sensor of a heat pump;
receive a second input from a second sensor of a flow center in fluid communication with the heat pump;
process the first input and the second input to calculate a performance metric; and
output the performance metric to a communication channel.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

A computer system as in claim 15 wherein:
the heat pump comprises a ground source heat pump; and
the flow center is in fluid communication with the ground to serve as a thermal reservoir.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

A computer system as in claim 15 wherein:
the heat pump comprises a geothermal heat pump; and
the flow center is in fluid communication with a source of geothermal energy to serve as a thermal reservoir.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

A computer system as in claim 15 wherein the performance metric comprises an efficiency or a capacity.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

A computer system as in claim 15 wherein the first input indicates a temperature.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

A computer system as in claim 15 wherein the second input indicates a pressure, a flow rate, or a current.