Hybrid air conditioning system integration
AssigneeBattelle Memorial Institute
InventorWilliam H. Wilkinson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hybrid air-conditioning system having an absorption refrigeration subsystem for sensible heat loads and a cooperating liquid desiccant dehumidification subsystem for latent heat loads incorporates additional apparatus for effecting the efficient transfer of available absorber element heat from the absorption refrigeration subsystem to the desiccant dehumidification subsystem desiccant regenerator element to improve the total system Coefficient of Performance (C.O.P.) over a wide range of latent heat load to sensible heat load proportions.
Claims15
A hybrid air conditioning system subjected to a combined and proportionally variable sensible heat load and latent heat load, and comprising:
- a. An absorption refrigeration subsystem handling the system sensible heat load and having an absorption refrigeration cycle loop with cooperating desorber means, condenser means, evaporator means, absorber means, and fluid circulating means flowing refrigerant to said evaporator means for evaporation and concentrated refrigeration solution to said absorber means for combining with the evaporated refrigerant to produce dilute refrigeration solution;
- b. A liquid desiccant dehumidification subsystem handling the system latent heat load and having cooperating desiccant dehumidifier means, desiccant regenerator means, and fluid circulating means flowing desiccant solution sequentially through said desiccant dehumidifier means and said desiccant regenerator means;
- and
- c. Heat transfer means cooperably connected to said refrigeration subsystem absorber means and to said dehumidification subsystem fluid circulating means, said heat transfer means transferring available heat from said refrigeration subsystem absorber means to circulated desiccant solution to thereby increase the temperature of said desiccant solution.
A hybrid air conditioning system subjected to a combined and proportionally variable sensible heat load and latent heat load, and comprising:
- a. An absorption refrigeration subsystem handling the system sensible heat load and having an absorption refrigeration cycle loop with cooperating desorber means, condenser means, evaporator means, absorber means, and fluid circulating means flowing refrigerant to said evaporator means for evaporation and concentrated refrigeration solution to said absorber means for combining with the evaporated refrigerant to produce dilute refrigeration solution;
- b. A liquid desiccant dehumidification subsystem handling the system latent heat load and having cooperating desiccant dehumidifier means, desiccant regenerator means, and fluid circulating means flowing desiccant solution sequentially through said desiccant dehumidifier means and said desiccant regenerator means;
- c. Heat transfer means cooperably connected to said refrigeration subsystem absorber means and to said dehumidification subsystem fluid circulating means;
- d) A cooling tower subsystem having a recirculated coolant and rejecting heat from said recirculated coolant to the system ambient atmosphere;
- and
- e) An additional heat exchanger means cooperably connected to said cooling tower subsystem and to said dehumidification subsystem fluid circulating means, said additional heat exchanger means variably transferring heat from said dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution to said cooling tower subsystem recirculated coolant in response to system variations correlated to desiccant solution temperatures above a threshold level and indicative of a relatively low system latent heat proportionate load.
A method of operating a hybrid air conditioning system having an absorption refrigeration subsystem absorption refrigeration cycle loop that handles a sensible heat load and a liquid desiccant dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution flow loop that handles a latent heat load, the steps comprising:
- a. Sensing a variation in the ratio of system latent heat load to system sensible heat load;
- and
- b. Variably transferring available heat between said refrigeration subsystem absorption refrigeration cycle loop and said dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution flow loop in controlled proportions and in direct response to sensed system latent heat load to system sensible heat load ratio variations, said available heat being transferred to increase the temperature of desiccant solution in said dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution flow loop or alternatively increase the production of refrigerant in said refrigeration subsystem absorption refrigeration cycle loop.
A method of operating a hybrid air conditioning system having an absorption refrigeration subsystem absorption refrigeration cycle loop that handles a sensible heat load and a liquid desiccant dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution flow loop that handles a latent heat load, the steps comprising:
- a. Sensing a variation in the ratio of system latent heat load to system sensible heat load;
- and
- b. Transferring available heat from said refrigeration subsystem absorption refrigeration cycle loop to said dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution flow loop in controlled proportions and in response to system latent heat load to system sensible heat load ratio variations, said available heat being absorption heat causing an increase in temperature in the desiccant solution in said dehumidification subsystem desiccant solution flow loop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.