Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater
Abstract
Heat pumps that heat or cool a space and that also heat water, refrigerant management systems for such heat pumps, methods of managing refrigerant charge, and methods for heating and cooling a space and heating water. Various embodiments deliver refrigerant gas to a heat exchanger that is not needed for transferring heat, drive liquid refrigerant out of that heat exchanger, isolate that heat exchanger against additional refrigerant flowing into it, and operate the heat pump while the heat exchanger is isolated. The heat exchanger can be isolated by closing an electronic expansion valve, actuating a refrigerant management valve, or both. Refrigerant charge can be controlled or adjusted by controlling how much liquid refrigerant is driven from the heat exchanger, by letting refrigerant back into the heat exchanger, or both. Heat pumps can be operated in different modes of operation, and segments of refrigerant conduit can be interconnected with various components.
- Inventors:
- Issue Date:
- Research Org.:
- ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States))
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1136400
- Patent Number(s):
- 8,756,943
- Application Number:
- 13/548,091
- Assignee:
- Nordyne LLC (O'Fallon, MO) ORNL
- Resource Type:
- Patent
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 42 ENGINEERING
Citation Formats
Chen, Jie, and Hampton, Justin W. Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web.
Chen, Jie, & Hampton, Justin W. Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater. United States.
Chen, Jie, and Hampton, Justin W. Tue .
"Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1136400.
@article{osti_1136400,
title = {Refrigerant charge management in a heat pump water heater},
author = {Chen, Jie and Hampton, Justin W.},
abstractNote = {Heat pumps that heat or cool a space and that also heat water, refrigerant management systems for such heat pumps, methods of managing refrigerant charge, and methods for heating and cooling a space and heating water. Various embodiments deliver refrigerant gas to a heat exchanger that is not needed for transferring heat, drive liquid refrigerant out of that heat exchanger, isolate that heat exchanger against additional refrigerant flowing into it, and operate the heat pump while the heat exchanger is isolated. The heat exchanger can be isolated by closing an electronic expansion valve, actuating a refrigerant management valve, or both. Refrigerant charge can be controlled or adjusted by controlling how much liquid refrigerant is driven from the heat exchanger, by letting refrigerant back into the heat exchanger, or both. Heat pumps can be operated in different modes of operation, and segments of refrigerant conduit can be interconnected with various components.},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {2014},
month = {6}
}
Works referenced in this record:
Heat pump system having auxiliary water heating and heat exchanger bypass
patent-application, February 2009
- Murakami, Toshio; Tesche, Carlos; Fernandez, Roberto
- US Patent Application 11/630080; 20090049857