Hybrid power generating and chilling-refrigeration system

A method for operating a hybrid power generating and chilling/refrigeration system comprising:

• monitoring an availability of an external electricity;
• when the external electricity is present, actuating a clutch into a disengaged state, and energizing a motor via the external electricity to drive a compressor;
• and
• upon loss of the external electricity, actuating the clutch into an engaged state and initiating the engine into an on mode to output a torque, and driving the compressor via the motor through a motor shaft.

A hybrid power generating and chilling/refrigeration system including an internal combustion engine, a motor having a motor shaft, a compressor mechanically coupled to the motor, and a clutch configured to be actuatable between a disengaged state and an engaged state to selectively couple torque from the engine to the motor shaft, the system comprising:

• a processing device communicatively coupled to the engine, the motor, and the clutch;
• and
• a non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium in communication with the processing device, wherein the non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium comprising one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing device to:
• receive an input regarding a presence or an absence of an external electricity,
• when in the presence of the external electricity, initiate a grid-powered mode configured to actuate the clutch into the disengaged state and drive the compressor using the external electricity to power the motor;
• when in the absence of the external electricity, initiate an engine-driven mode configured to start the internal combustion engine, actuate the clutch into the engaged state, and drive the compressor via a mechanical torque output from the internal combustion engine onto the motor shaft;
• and
• adjust an operating speed of the engine to correspond to an efficiency range of the engine prestored in the processor-readable storage medium,
• wherein the system is configured to selectively alternate between the grid-powered mode and the engine-driven mode without converting engine shaft power to grid-frequency electricity to operate the compressor, and
• wherein the motor is configured to operate powered from the external electricity and mechanically through the engine and the motor shaft, and is configured to operate in a generator/alternator mode to generate a second electrical power.