Cooling of air conditioning control electronics

An air conditioning outdoor section comprising:

• a cabinet, said cabinet defining a controls compartment;
• a compressor, the speed of said compressor being controllable over a continuous range of speeds;
• means, including an inverter, for controlling the speed of said compressor, said speed controlling means being disposed in said controls compartment of said cabinet;
• a heat exchanger connected for refrigerant flow with said compressor;
• refrigerant piping connected for refrigerant flow with said heat exchanger;
• and
• a heat sink attached to both said speed controlling means and to a portion of said refrigerant piping so that a path for the transfer of heat is established between said speed controlling means and refrigerant in said refrigerant piping.

A method of cooling compressor speed control components in an air conditioning system which includes first and second heat exchangers and a compressor the speed of which is variable over a continuous range of speeds in accordance with the characteristics of the power delivered to it from the speed control components, comprising the steps of:

• connecting said compressor for refrigerant flow with said first and said second heat exchangers;
• connecting said first and said second heat exchangers with a refrigerant liquid line;
• cooling refrigerant discharged from said compressor by condensing it in one of said first and said second heat exchangers;
• passing said cooled refrigerant from the heat exchanger in which it is condensed to the other heat exchanger through said liquid line;
• and
• establishing a path for the transfer of heat from said speed control components to refrigerant in said liquid line.