Heat pump hot-water supply system

• US 9,410,707 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2010
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Honma, Masaya, Kobayasi, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Tompkins, Alissa
• Assistant Examiner(s): DECKER, PHILLIP
• Application Number:
  US13/498,735
• Publication Number:
  US 20120205090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,171 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 17/02 using heat pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 19/1054 the system uses a heat pump
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 2200/12 Heat pump
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 2220/08 Storage tanks
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2658 Heat pump

Abstract

A heat pump hot-water supply system includes a heat pump hot-water supply device, a storage tank for storing hot water obtained by operating the heat pump hot-water supply device, and a control device for controlling starting/stopping of the heat pump hot-water supply device. The control device estimates an outside air temperature of a place where the heat pump hot-water supply device is installed and determines an operating time zone of the heat pump hot-water supply device based on an estimated value of the outside air temperature.

Claims

1. A heat pump hot-water supply system, comprising a heat pump hot-water supply device, a storage tank for storing hot water obtained by operating the heat pump hot-water supply device, and a control device for controlling operation of the heat pump hot-water supply device,

wherein the control device is configured to acquire outside air temperatures of a place where the heat pump hot-water supply device is installed,

wherein the acquired outside air temperatures include a predicted highest outside air temperature of the current day and a predicted highest outside air temperature of a next day, and

wherein the control device is configured to compare the predicted highest outside air temperature of the current day and the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day, and

wherein, if the predicted highest outside air temperature of the current day is equal to or higher than the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day, the control device operates the heat pump hot-water supply device in a time zone of the current day to which the predicted highest outside air temperature of the current day belongs, and

if the predicted highest outside air temperature of the current day is lower than the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day, the control device operates the heat pump hot-water supply device in a time zone of the next day to which the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day belongs.

2. The heat pump hot-water supply system of claim 1, the outside air temperatures of the place are acquired from a communications network.

3. A heat pump hot-water supply system, comprising a heat pump hot-water supply device, a storage tank for storing hot water obtained by operating the heat pump hot-water supply device, and a control device for controlling operation of the heat pump hot-water supply device,

wherein the control device is configured to set non-overlapping periods of time and acquire, for each of the non-overlapping periods of time, a predicted highest outside air temperature of a place where the heat pump hot-water supply device is installed, and

wherein the control device operates the heat pump hot-water supply device in a time zone to which the predicted highest outside air temperature belongs.

4. The heat pump hot-water supply system of claim 3, the predicted highest outside air temperature is acquired from a communications network.

5. A heat pump hot-water supply system, comprising a heat pump hot-water supply device, a storage tank for storing hot water obtained by operating the heat pump hot-water supply device, and a control device for controlling operation of the heat pump hot-water supply device,

wherein the control device is configured to obtain measured outside air temperatures of a current day and a predicted highest outside air temperature of a next day and compare the measured outside air temperatures of the current day and the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day until there is found a measured outside air temperature of the current day equal to or higher than the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day, the measured outside air temperatures of the current day and the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day being temperatures of a place where the heat pump hot-water supply device is installed,

wherein the control device starts operating the heat pump hot-water supply device when there is found the measured outside air temperature of the current day equal to or higher than the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day, and

wherein, if none of the measured outside air temperatures of the current day is higher than the predicted highest outside air temperature of the next day, the control device operates the heat pump hot-water supply device in a time zone to which the highest outside air temperature of the next day belongs.

6. The heat pump hot-water supply system of claim 5, wherein the measured outside air temperatures of the current day are obtained using a temperature sensor.

7. The heat pump hot-water supply system of claim 5, wherein the measured outside air temperatures of the current day are obtained from a communications network.