Combined air exchange and air conditioning unit

A combined air exchange and air conditioning unit for conditioning air in a conditioned space, the unit comprising:

• an exhaust air chamber having an air outlet for connection with an air exhaust location outside the conditioned space;
• an exhaust blower located inside the exhaust air chamber to draw air from inside the exhaust air chamber through the air outlet thereof;
• a return air chamber having an air intake for connection with at least one air return location in the conditioned space;
• a supply air chamber having an air outlet for connection with at least one air supply location in the conditioned space;
• a supply blower located inside the supply air chamber to draw air from inside the supply air chamber through the air outlet thereof;
• a fresh air chamber having an air intake for connection with a fresh air location outside the conditioned space and remote from the air exhaust location;
• a damper to regulate air transfers between the chambers, the damper being movable within a position range defined between a first and a second extreme position, the chambers being connected in pairs independent from one another when the damper is in the first or second extreme position, the first extreme position allowing a connection of the return air chamber with the supply air chamber and a connection of the fresh air chamber with the exhaust air chamber, the second extreme position allowing a connection of the return air chamber with the exhaust air chamber and a connection of the fresh air chamber with the supply air chamber, the damper comprising a revolving plate movable around a central axis thereof, the plate having edges parallel to the central axis that are pressing against walls separating the chambers at the extreme positions;
• an actuator to move the damper within the position range;
• a heat pump to reversibly transfer heat between air to be drawn by the exhaust blower and air to be drawn by the supply blower, the heat pump comprising:
• a first heat exchanger obliquely disposed inside the exhaust air chamber and upstream the exhaust blower to exchange heat with air to be drawn by the exhaust blower;
• a second heat exchanger obliquely disposed inside the supply air chamber and upstream the supply blower to exchange heat with air to be drawn by the supply blower;
• a refrigerant circuit connected to the first and the second heat exchanger, the circuit comprising:
• a compressor located inside the fresh air chamber to compress a compressible refrigerant;
• a first valve to selectively direct the refrigerant compressed in the compressor to the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger;
• an expansion device to lower pressure of the refrigerant between the first and second heat exchanger;
• a second valve synchronized with the first valve to selectively direct the refrigerant from the first heat exchanger through the expansion device and then to the second heat exchanger, or from the second heat exchanger through the expansion device and then to the first heat exchanger;
• a control means for controlling the actuator and the heat pump.