Heat pump water heater and method of making the same

Patent · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2001

OSTI ID:873743

Mei, Viung C ^[1]; Tomlinson, John J ^[2]; Chen, Fang C ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge, TN
2. Knoxville, TN

An improved heat pump water heater wherein the condenser assembly of the heat pump is inserted into the water tank through an existing opening in the top of the tank, the assembly comprising a tube-in-a-tube construction with an elongated cylindrical outer body heat exchanger having a closed bottom with the superheated refrigerant that exits the compressor of the heat pump entering the top of the outer body. As the refrigerant condenses along the interior surface of the outer body, the heat from the refrigerant is transferred to the water through the outer body. The refrigerant then enters the bottom of an inner body coaxially disposed within the outer body and exits the top of the inner body into the refrigerant conduit leading into the expansion device of the heat pump. The outer body, in a second embodiment of the invention, acts not only as a heat exchanger but also as the sacrificial anode in the water tank by being constructed of a metal which is more likely to corrode than the metal of the tank.

• Research Organization: LOCKHEED MARTIN ENERGY RES COR
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-96OR22464
• Assignee: Lockhead Martin Energy Research Corp. (Oakridge, TN)
• Patent Number(s): US 6233958
• OSTI ID: 873743
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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anode
assembly
assembly comprising
bottom
closed
closed bottom
coaxially
coaxially disposed
compressor
comprising
condenser
condenses
conduit
conduit leading
constructed
construction
corrode
cylindrical
cylindrical outer
device
disposed
elongated
elongated cylindrical
embodiment
entering
enters
exchanger
existing
exits
expansion
expansion device
heat
heat exchange
heat exchanger
heat pump
heater
improved
improved heat
inner
inserted
interior
interior surface
leading
metal
method
outer
pump
pump water
refrigerant
sacrificial
superheated
surface
tank
top
transferred
tube construction
tube-in-a-tube
water
water heater
water tank