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
First Claim
1. 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 into 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, anda 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.
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Accused Products
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.
45 Citations
11 Claims
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1. 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:
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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 into 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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification