Heat Pumps With Unequal Cooling and Heating Capacities for Climates Where Demand for Cooling and Heating are Unequal, and Method of Adapting and Distributing Such Heat Pumps

• US 20120090337A1
• Filed: 02/25/2011
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nortek Global HVAC, LLC (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Original Assignee: Nordyne LLC (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Inventors: Chen, Jie, Reifel, Allan J., Weigl, Siegfried J., Koesterer, David L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,121,628 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/79
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/025 by controlling speed
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/0253 with variable speed
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 2600/11 Fan speed control
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 30/02 of the compression type
• CPC Class Codes: F25B 49/025 Motor control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49359 Cooling apparatus making, e.g., air conditioner, refrigerator

Abstract

Heat pumps for climates where demand for cooling and heating are unequal and methods of adapting and distributing heat pumps for such climates. Heat pumps include a compressor, compressor motor, variable-speed drive, and controller. In a number of embodiments, non-volatile memory stores sets of constant speeds for cooling and heating, and a person can select, via an input device, different sets of speeds for cooling and heating to provide the different cooling and heating capacities. The controller then operates the unit at the selected speeds, selecting from within the set based on demand for cooling or heating. In some embodiments, different sets of speeds may have the same minimum speed but different maximum speeds. Identical heat pumps can be configured to have different capacity ratings and different advertized efficiencies for different climates.

Claims

1. A heat pump for providing improved efficiency performance in climates where demand for cooling and heating are substantially unequal, the heat pump comprising:

a compressor;

a compressor motor mechanically connected to the compressor and driving the compressor;

a variable-speed drive electrically connected to the compressor motor, powering the compressor motor, and changing speed of the compressor motor;

a controller in communication with the variable-speed drive that operates the compressor motor at multiple constant cooling speeds in a cooling mode and multiple constant heating speeds in a heating mode;

wherein;

the controller comprises a non-volatile memory storing at least one set of the constant cooling speeds and at least one set of the constant heating speeds;

at least one of the at least one set of constant cooling speeds or the at least one set of constant heating speeds comprises multiple sets of constant speeds stored in the memory;

each set of constant speeds comprises a maximum speed and a minimum speed;

for at least one set of the multiple sets of constant speeds stored in the memory, the maximum speed in the cooling mode is substantially different than the maximum speed in the heating mode;

at least one field input device allowing a person to select one selected set of constant speeds from the multiple sets of constant speeds, wherein the controller then operates the compressor at the selected set of constant speeds in the cooling mode or in the heating mode.

2. The heat pump of claim 1 wherein the field input device comprises multiple dipswitches that the person can switch to select the selected set of constant speeds from the multiple sets of constant speeds.

3. The heat pump of claim 1 wherein the field input device comprises multiple jumpers that the person can connect or disconnect to select the selected set of constant speeds from the multiple sets of constant speeds.

4. The heat pump of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to check a pass code entered by the person through the field input device and allow the person to change which set of constant speeds is selected only if the person inputs a correct pass code.

5. The heat pump of claim 1 wherein the multiple sets of constant speeds stored in the memory each have a same minimum speed.

6. The heat pump of claim 5 wherein the multiple sets of constant cooling speeds stored in the memory each have a different maximum speed and the multiple sets of constant heating speeds stored in the memory each have a different maximum speed.

7. The heat pump of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple sets of constant speeds stored in the memory further comprise at least one intermediate speed between the maximum speed and the minimum speed.

8. The heat pump of claim 7 wherein, for each of the multiple sets of constant speeds stored in the memory:

the at least one intermediate speed comprises multiple intermediate speeds; and

the intermediate speeds are substantially evenly spaced between the maximum speed and the minimum speed.

9. The heat pump of claim 6 wherein each of the multiple sets of constant speeds stored in the memory has an equal number of intermediate speeds.

10. A heat pump for providing improved efficiency performance in different climates where demand for cooling and heating are substantially unequal, the heat pump comprising:

a compressor;

a compressor motor mechanically connected to the compressor to drive the compressor;

a variable-speed drive electrically connected to the compressor motor to power the compressor motor and change speed of the compressor motor;

a controller in communication with the variable-speed drive, the controller comprising instructions to operate the compressor motor at multiple different speeds in each of a cooling mode and a heating mode; and

at least one field input device arranged to allow a person to select at least one operating speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode and arranged to allow the person to select at least one operating speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode;

wherein;

the controller and the field input device are connected and configured so that the person can select a substantially different operating speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode than the operating speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode such that the operating speed in the cooling mode is substantially different than the operating speed in the heating mode; and

a lesser of the operating speed in the cooling mode and the operating speed in the heating mode provides a higher efficiency of the heat pump than a greater of the operating speed in the cooling mode and the operating speed in the heating mode.

11. The heat pump of claim 10 wherein:

the at least one operating speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode that the person can select comprises a maximum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode;

the at least one operating speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode that the person can select comprises a maximum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode;

the instructions to operate the compressor motor at multiple different speeds in the cooling mode comprise instructions to operate the compressor at the maximum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode and instructions to operate the compressor at a minimum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode; and

the instructions to operate the compressor motor at multiple different speeds in the heating mode comprise instructions to operate the compressor at the maximum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode and instructions to operate the compressor at a minimum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode.

12. The heat pump of claim 11 wherein:

the minimum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode does not change when the maximum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode is changed by the person selecting another of the multiple different speeds; and

the minimum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode does not change when the maximum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode is changed by the person selecting another of the multiple different speeds.

13. The heat pump of claim 11 wherein:

the instructions to operate the compressor motor at multiple different speeds in the cooling mode comprise instructions to operate the compressor at multiple intermediate speeds of the compressor motor in the cooling mode;

the intermediate speeds of the compressor motor in the cooling mode are substantially evenly spaced between the maximum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode and the minimum speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode;

the instructions to operate the compressor motor at multiple different speeds in the heating mode comprise instructions to operate the compressor at multiple intermediate speeds of the compressor motor in the heating mode; and

the intermediate speeds of the compressor motor in the heating mode are substantially evenly spaced between the maximum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode and the minimum speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode.

14. The heat pump of claim 10 further comprising an outdoor fan and an outdoor fan motor mechanically connected to the outdoor fan to drive the outdoor fan wherein the controller is configured to operate the outdoor fan motor of the heat pump:

at different speeds for different compressor speeds; and

at a speed that is substantially proportional to a concurrent compressor speed.

15. A method of adapting and distributing heat pumps to provide improved efficiency performance in different climates where demand for cooling and heating are substantially unequal, the method comprising in any order at least the acts of:

obtaining or manufacturing an inventory of heat pumps having, at least, substantially identical compressors, compressor motors, variable-speed drives for the compressor motors, outdoor heat exchangers, outdoor fans, and outdoor fan motors;

obtaining or providing controllers for each of the heat pumps, each controller comprising instructions to operate the compressor motor at multiple different speeds in each of a cooling mode and a heating mode;

dividing the inventory of heat pumps in to multiple groups of multiple heat pumps and assigning different ratings to each group of heat pumps, the different ratings differing in capacity in at least one of the cooling mode or the heating mode, wherein for at least one of the groups, a rating in the cooling mode is substantially different than a rating in the heating mode; and

configuring the controllers of each group of heat pumps to operate the compressor motors of the heat pumps in that group at selected speeds that provide performance that corresponds to the rating of the group;

wherein;

for at least one of the groups, a selected speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode is substantially different than any selected speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode, and

a higher efficiency of the heat pumps in the cooling mode or in the heating mode is achieved by at least one of the groups in comparison with at least one other of the groups.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising acts of;

advertising the different ratings of each group of heat pumps, the advertising including advertising the higher efficiency; and

selling the heat pumps in the different groups for use in different applications having different unequal demands for cooling and heating.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the act of obtaining or manufacturing an inventory of heat pumps comprises obtaining or manufacturing heat pumps comprising variable-speed drives for the outdoor fan motors; and

the controllers are configured to operate the outdoor fan motors of the heat pumps at different speeds for different compressor speeds.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the act of obtaining or providing controllers for each of the heat pumps comprises obtaining or providing substantially identical controllers for each of the heat pumps;

the act of dividing the inventory of heat pumps in to multiple groups of multiple heat pumps occurs after the act of obtaining or providing controllers for each of the heat pumps; and

the act of configuring the controllers occurs after the act of dividing the inventory of heat pumps in to multiple groups of multiple heat pumps.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the act of configuring the controllers is performed for each heat pump before the heat pump is shipped to an installation site.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the act of obtaining or providing substantially identical controllers for each of the heat pumps comprises obtaining or providing controllers that are each configured to operate the compressor motor at a first number of different selected speeds in the cooling mode and a second number of different selected speeds in the heating mode;

the first number and the second number are both whole numbers; and

the act of configuring the controllers of each group of heat pumps comprises lowering multiple of the first number of different selected speeds in the cooling mode;

or

the act of configuring the controllers of each group of heat pumps comprises lowering multiple of the second number of different selected speeds in the heating mode.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the act of configuring the controllers of each group of heat pumps comprises lowering at least one selected speed in the cooling mode proportionally to a reduction of rated capacity in the cooling mode;

or

the act of configuring the controllers of each group of heat pumps comprises lowering at least one selected speed in the heating mode proportionally to a reduction of rated capacity in the heating mode.

22. The method of claim 15 further comprising an act of obtaining or providing at least one field input device arranged to allow a person to select at least one of:

an operating speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode;

or

an operating speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the act of obtaining or providing at least one field input device comprises obtaining or providing multiple dipswitches or multiple jumper wires electrically connected to the controller so that the person can select at least one of the operating speed of the compressor motor in the cooling mode or the operating speed of the compressor motor in the heating mode by changing the dipswitches or the jumper wires.