Defrost control and management for heat pump applications
AssigneeDaikin Comfort Technologies Manufacturing, L.P.
InventorsMichael F Taras, Auston Green
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is operable to use a refrigerant to heat and cool an indoor space. A single temperature sensor or at least two temperature sensors, in communication with a controller, may be provided on a heat exchanger of the HVAC system. The single temperature sensor or at least two temperature sensors may be used to provide a temperature of the heat exchanger to the controller. Based on the temperature, the controller may initiate operations to place the heat exchanger in a defrost mode.
Claims20
A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system operable to use a refrigerant to heat and cool an indoor space and comprising:
- a refrigerant circuit comprising a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger, and a four-way valve operable to flow the refrigerant in a first direction in a cooling mode, in a second direction, opposite the first direction, in a heating mode, and reverse the flow from the second direction to the first direction in a defrost mode;
- a controller operably coupled to the four-way valve to control the flow of the refrigerant;
- and
- a temperature sensor disposed on the outdoor heat exchanger and configured to measure a temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger over time and continuously send a signal to the controller to communicate the measured temperature,
- wherein the controller is configured to automatically initiate the defrost mode when the measured temperature is within a defrost range of ice formation on the outdoor heat exchanger.
A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system operable to use a refrigerant to heat and cool an indoor space and comprising:
- a refrigerant circuit comprising a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor heat exchanger, and a four-way valve operable to flow the refrigerant in a first direction in a cooling mode, in a second direction, opposite the first direction, in a heating mode, and reverse the flow from the second direction to the first direction in a defrost mode;
- a controller operably coupled to the four-way valve to control the flow of the refrigerant;
- and
- at least two temperature switches coupled to the outdoor heat exchanger, wherein a first temperature switch of the at least two temperature switches is configured to actuate at a first threshold value of the outdoor heat exchanger and a second temperature switch of the at least two temperature switches is configured to actuate at a second threshold value of the outdoor heat exchanger,
- wherein the first threshold value is an upper temperature limit of a threshold defrost range, and the second threshold value is a lower temperature limit of the threshold defrost range,
- wherein, upon actuation, the first or the second temperature switch sends a signal to the controller to automatically initiate a defrost mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.