Heat pump
First Claim
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1. A method of boosting capacity of a main refrigeration circuit, comprising:
- replacing a refrigerant in a first refrigeration circuit with a first refrigerant; and
coupling the first refrigeration circuit to a second refrigeration circuit, the second refrigeration circuit has a second refrigerant different from the first refrigerant;
the coupling includes fluidly communicating the first refrigeration circuit with a capacity boost circuit having a heat exchanger using a flow director configured to distribute flow among a heat exchanger of the first refrigeration circuit and the capacity boost circuit, and fluidly communicating the second refrigeration circuit with the capacity boost circuit, forming a heat exchange relationship between the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant through the heat exchanger of the capacity boost circuit,operating the main refrigeration circuit in a heating mode, wherein heat is transferred to the first refrigerant by the second refrigerant to boost the capacity of the first refrigerant during operation of the first refrigeration circuit, and in the heating mode, the flow director receives fluid flow from an expansion device of the first refrigeration circuit and is downstream from the expansion device of the first refrigeration circuit, andoperating the main refrigeration circuit outside the heating mode, wherein the second refrigerant is directed to a heat exchanger thermally coupled to one of a hot water heater or a thermal storage medium via a by-pass valve, the by-pass valve configured to selectively operate in a first mode when the second refrigeration circuit is in a heat exchange relationship with the first refrigeration circuit and a second mode when the second refrigeration circuit is not in the heat exchange relationship with the first refrigeration circuit,wherein in the first mode, the by-pass valve directs the second refrigerant to the heat exchanger of the capacity boost circuit, andin the second mode, the by-pass valve directs the second refrigerant to the heat exchanger thermally coupled to one of a hot water heater or a thermal storage medium.
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Abstract
Embodiments as disclosed herein are directed to a heat pump that employs at least two different refrigerants, each of which is optimized for either a cooling operation mode or a heating operation mode. The embodiments as disclosed herein can help increase the capacity and/or efficiency of a heat pump in both the cooling operation mode and the heating operation mode. In addition, the embodiments as disclosed herein may also eliminate the need for a ground source in a relatively low ambient temperature environment.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of boosting capacity of a main refrigeration circuit, comprising:
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replacing a refrigerant in a first refrigeration circuit with a first refrigerant; and coupling the first refrigeration circuit to a second refrigeration circuit, the second refrigeration circuit has a second refrigerant different from the first refrigerant; the coupling includes fluidly communicating the first refrigeration circuit with a capacity boost circuit having a heat exchanger using a flow director configured to distribute flow among a heat exchanger of the first refrigeration circuit and the capacity boost circuit, and fluidly communicating the second refrigeration circuit with the capacity boost circuit, forming a heat exchange relationship between the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant through the heat exchanger of the capacity boost circuit, operating the main refrigeration circuit in a heating mode, wherein heat is transferred to the first refrigerant by the second refrigerant to boost the capacity of the first refrigerant during operation of the first refrigeration circuit, and in the heating mode, the flow director receives fluid flow from an expansion device of the first refrigeration circuit and is downstream from the expansion device of the first refrigeration circuit, and operating the main refrigeration circuit outside the heating mode, wherein the second refrigerant is directed to a heat exchanger thermally coupled to one of a hot water heater or a thermal storage medium via a by-pass valve, the by-pass valve configured to selectively operate in a first mode when the second refrigeration circuit is in a heat exchange relationship with the first refrigeration circuit and a second mode when the second refrigeration circuit is not in the heat exchange relationship with the first refrigeration circuit, wherein in the first mode, the by-pass valve directs the second refrigerant to the heat exchanger of the capacity boost circuit, and in the second mode, the by-pass valve directs the second refrigerant to the heat exchanger thermally coupled to one of a hot water heater or a thermal storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A heat pump system, comprising:
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a first refrigeration circuit having a first refrigerant, the first refrigeration circuit including a compressor, a flow reverser in fluid communication with the compressor, a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with the flow reverser in a heating operation mode, an expansion device in fluid communication with the first heat exchanger in the heating operation mode, a second heat exchanger in communication with the expansion device in the heating operation mode, the second heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the flow reverser in the heating operation mode to return the first refrigerant to the compressor, the second heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the flow reverser in an operation mode different from the heating operation mode, the expansion device is in fluid communication with the second heat exchanger in the operation mode, the first heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the expansion device in the operation mode, the first heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the flow reverser to return the first refrigerant to the compressor; a second refrigeration circuit having a second refrigerant, the second refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with the compressor, an expansion device in fluid communication with the first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with the expansion device and in fluid communication with the compressor to return the second refrigerant to the compressor, a third heat exchanger in fluid communication with the first heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit, and a by-pass valve, the by-pass valve located between the compressor of the second refrigeration circuit and the first heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit, the by-pass valve configured to selectively operate in a first mode when the second refrigeration circuit is in a heat exchange relationship with the first refrigeration circuit and a second mode when the second refrigeration circuit is not in the heat exchange relationship with the first refrigeration circuit, wherein in the first mode, the by-pass valve directs the second refrigerant to the first heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit, and in the second mode, the by-pass valve directs the second refrigerant to the third heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit; and a capacity boost circuit that forms the heat exchange relationship between the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant, the capacity boost circuit is formed by a first flow director in fluid communication with the second heat exchanger of the first refrigeration circuit, and which is in fluid communication with the first heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit, and a second flow director in fluid communication with the first heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit, wherein, in the capacity boost circuit, the first refrigerant forms a heat exchange relationship with the second refrigerant through the first heat exchanger of the second refrigeration circuit to provide a capacity boost to the first refrigeration circuit through the heat exchange relationship of the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant, wherein the first and second flow directors each have an open position allowing a flow of fluid into the capacity boost circuit and a closed position, wherein the first flow director is configured to distribute flow among the second heat exchanger of the first refrigeration circuit and the capacity boost circuit, and, in the heating operation mode, the first flow director receives the first refrigerant from the expansion device and is downstream of the expansion device. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification