JPH04332331A - Humidity control method and air-conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remarkably improve the humidifying efficiency when cooling and humidifying is simultaneously carried out, by a method wherein cooling output is regulated corresponding to state of dew-formation on a cooler to control the cooling-dehumidifying amount. CONSTITUTION:With time elapses, air is cooled and dehumidified by an evaporator 4 and dew is formed on the surface of the evaporator 4, and when the dew-formation is detected by a dew-formation sensor 11, a controller 8 forcedly stops a compressor 2 or reduces its capacity so as to prevent dew from forming on the evaporator 4 further. When operation continues as it is, condensate is evaporated by the evaporator 4 and moisture is returned to a room. When evaporation of the condensate is detected by the dew-formation sensor 11, the compressor 2 is returned to normal operation. As cooling is stopped or cooling capacity is lowered temporarily when dew forms, dew-formation on the evaporator 4 is restricted to a minimum and condensate is prevented from being discharged as drain. Therefore, such an inconvenience that humidifying is carried out by a humidifier 7 while dehumidifying is performed by the evaporator 4 at the same time is solved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of controlling humidity using air conditioning equipment, and an air conditioner suitable for carrying out the method.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, when an air conditioner is used to air condition a general living space, dehumidification is usually required during cooling, and humidification is required during heating. During cooling, the cooler (
Since the surface temperature of the chilled water coil or refrigerant evaporator (direct expansion coil used in general) is lower than the dew point temperature of the indoor air, the cooler naturally performs cooling and dehumidification (cooling dehumidification) at the same time. It is. Furthermore, during heating, a humidifier such as a water spray device or a steam spray device is operated to perform humidification.

However, when air-conditioning a work space with special temperature and humidity conditions, or when it is necessary to strictly control temperature and humidity, cooling may be Sometimes it is necessary to perform humidification, and sometimes it is necessary to perform dehumidification during heating.

For example, when it is necessary to maintain the indoor temperature within the range of 24 to 26°C and the indoor humidity within the range of 45 to 55%, the actual indoor temperature and humidity are 28°C and 40%. If this happens, it becomes necessary to use air conditioning to lower the temperature and humidify to increase humidity. It is activated to maintain the humidity at the set value.

[0005] In the above case, if the actual temperature and humidity are 22°C and 60%, it becomes necessary to raise the temperature by heating and to lower the humidity by dehumidifying. Generally, a cooler performs cooling and dehumidification to maintain the humidity at a set value, and a reheat heater performs heating to maintain the temperature at the set value.

[0006]

However, as mentioned above, when cooling is performed using a cooler, dehumidification (
(cooling and dehumidification), and the removed moisture is drained away as drain. Therefore, performing humidification while cooling as described above means dehumidifying on the one hand and further water on the other. However, the humidification efficiency is extremely low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a rational humidity control method when humidifying during cooling, and an air conditioner suitable for implementing the method. It is said that

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention as claimed in claim 1 is a humidity control method in air conditioning equipment, which is characterized in that the state of dew condensation in a cooler is detected and the cooling output is adjusted based on the detection result. That is.

[0009] Furthermore, the invention according to claim 2 is based on claim 1.
An air conditioner for carrying out the humidity control method described in , which has a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, an air blower, and a humidifier, and a dew condensation sensor that detects the state of condensation in the evaporator; The present invention is characterized by comprising a control device for controlling the operation of the compressor and adjusting its cooling output based on the detection result of the dew condensation sensor.

0010

[Function] When performing cooling and humidification simultaneously, the humidity control method of the present invention adjusts the cooling output according to the state of dew condensation in the cooler, thereby suppressing dew condensation in the cooler and reducing cooling. To minimize the amount of moisture and prevent condensed water from being drained as a drain. Furthermore, the air conditioner of the present invention includes:
When performing cooling and humidification at the same time, a condensation sensor detects the state of condensation in the evaporator (cooler), and based on the detection result, the operation of the compressor is controlled to adjust its cooling output. Reduces the amount of cooling and dehumidification by suppressing dew condensation in the evaporator.

[0011]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention. This air conditioner is a so-called package type that performs cooling by circulating refrigerant while compressing, condensing, expanding, and evaporating it.In the figure, 1 is the main casing, 2 is the compressor, 3 is the condenser, and 4 is the evaporator. (cooler), 5 is a blower,
6 is a reheat heater, and 7 is a humidifier. Further, reference numeral 8 denotes a control device, and a temperature sensor (thermostat) 9 and a humidity sensor (humidistat) 10 installed indoors are connected to this control device 8. Furthermore, a dew condensation sensor 11 is attached to the evaporator 4 to detect the state of dew condensation in the evaporator 4, and the dew condensation sensor 11 is also connected to the control device 8.

The above dew condensation sensor 11 has, for example, a structure that conducts when it comes into contact with water, or a structure that changes electrical resistance when it gets wet with water.
1 makes it possible to detect the occurrence and degree of condensation on the surface of the evaporator 4, that is, the amount of condensed water that has formed.

The above-mentioned control device 8 is configured to control the operation of the compressor 2 based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 9 as in the case of conventional general air conditioners, but it is given priority to the operation of the compressor 2 based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 9. Based on the detection result of the dew condensation sensor 11, the operation of the compressor 2 is controlled in a pattern as shown in FIG. That is, the control device 8 maintains a large capacity (cooling output) of the compressor 2 when the amount of condensed water detected by the dew condensation sensor 11 is small, but reduces the capacity of the compressor 2 as the amount of condensed water increases. Therefore, the capacity of the compressor 2 is controlled. Such capacity control of the compressor 2 can be performed accurately by employing, for example, unloader control or rotation speed control using an inverter.

Alternatively, if a plurality of compressors and evaporators are provided, a dew condensation sensor is attached to each evaporator, and each compressor is operated based on the detection result of each dew condensation sensor. By stopping the compressors, the number of compressors may be controlled. Figure 4 shows an example of a configuration in which two compressors and two evaporators are provided, and each compressor is controlled to turn on and off depending on the state of dew condensation in each evaporator. It is.

When the air conditioner configured as described above performs cooling and humidification at the same time, the air conditioner operates as shown in the flow chart shown in FIG. That is, as usual, the compressor 2 and humidifier 7 are controlled based on the detection results of the temperature sensor 9 and humidity sensor 10, and the compressor 2 and humidifier 7 perform cooling and humidification. Then, as time passes, the evaporator 4 cools and dehumidifies and condensation occurs on the surface of the evaporator 4, which is detected by the condensation sensor 1.
1, the control device 8 forcibly stops the compressor 2 or reduces its capacity (cooling output) to prevent further condensation from forming in the evaporator 4. If the operation continues, the condensed water will evaporate from the evaporator 4, and the water will be returned to the room. When the condensation sensor 11 detects that the condensed water has evaporated, the compressor 2 resumes normal operation, and the above steps are repeated to maintain the indoor temperature and humidity at the set values.

In this way, the operation of the compressor 2 is controlled depending on the state of condensation in the evaporator 4, and when condensation occurs, cooling is temporarily stopped or the capacity is reduced, so that the evaporator 4 Condensation is suppressed to a minimum, and condensed water is prevented from being drained away as a drain. Therefore, even though humidification is performed by the humidifier 7,
The unreasonableness that dehumidification is performed at the same time in the evaporator 4 is eliminated, and humidification efficiency can be significantly improved. Furthermore, since the dew condensation water is evaporated in the evaporator 4 and returned indoors, its latent heat of evaporation can also be effectively utilized.

[0017] In this case, since the air conditioner is temporarily stopped or its capacity is reduced, the indoor temperature may deviate slightly from the set value, and the time required to reach the set value may be slightly longer. However, in general, it is possible to make dew condensation less likely to occur by appropriately increasing the air volume, so the problem of the time required to reach the set value does not pose any particular problem in practice. Therefore, the humidity control method and air conditioner described above will not be effective if the temperature is lowered by more than a few degrees, especially if the tolerance range for temperature is relatively large but humidity needs to be strictly controlled. In cases where the humidity cannot be allowed to drop beyond the set range even temporarily, it is possible to quickly respond when the humidity exceeds the set value even by a small amount. It is suitable for application when performing printing work, etc.

[0018] In the case where the air conditioner described above dehumidifies during heating, it is sufficient to perform cooling and dehumidification with the cooler 4 and heat with the reheat heater 6 as in the conventional case. Of course, the dew condensation sensor 11
The compressor 2 is not controlled, and the humidifier 7 is also stopped. In this case, it is preferable to control the number of rotations of the blower 5 to reduce the amount of air blown. If this is done, the air volume passing through the cooler 4 will be reduced, increasing the dehumidification efficiency, and therefore the dehumidification time can be shortened compared to the case where the air flow rate is maintained as it is, and the compressor 2 and Since the power required for the blower 5 is reduced, energy efficiency can be improved. At this time, if the airflow rate is reduced too much, the low pressure cut of the compressor 2 will be activated, so to prevent this from happening, set the airflow rate appropriately while monitoring the pressure detection sensor on the low pressure side. Good.

[0019]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the humidity control method of the present invention, when performing cooling and humidification at the same time,
Since the cooling output is adjusted to adjust the amount of cooling dehumidification depending on the state of condensation in the cooler, condensation in the cooler is minimized and condensed water is prevented from being drained as drain. Therefore, it is possible to solve the unreasonable situation where dehumidification is performed at the same time while humidification is being performed, and it is possible to significantly improve humidification efficiency.

[0020] Furthermore, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, a compressor,
It has a condenser, evaporator, blower, and humidifier, and also includes a condensation sensor that detects the state of condensation in the evaporator, and controls the operation of the compressor to adjust the cooling output based on the detection results of the condensation sensor. Since the system is equipped with a control device to perform cooling and humidification at the same time, the control device controls the operation of the compressor and suppresses condensation in the evaporator, thereby improving humidification efficiency. Therefore, it is suitable as an air conditioner for carrying out the above humidity control method.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an air conditioner that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation flow diagram when cooling and humidifying the air conditioner.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a compressor operation pattern based on detection results of a dew condensation sensor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a compressor operation pattern based on detection results of a dew condensation sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Compressor 3 Condenser 4 Evaporator (cooler) 5　Blower 6 Reheat heater 7. Humidifier 8 Control device 9 Temperature sensor 10 Humidity sensor 11. Condensation sensor.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A humidity control method in air conditioning equipment, the method comprising detecting the state of condensation in a cooler and adjusting the cooling output based on the detection result. 2. An air conditioner for carrying out the humidity control method according to claim 1, comprising a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator,
a dew condensation sensor having an air blower and a humidifier and detecting the state of dew condensation in the evaporator; and a condensation sensor for controlling the operation of the compressor and adjusting its cooling output based on the detection result of the dew condensation sensor. An air conditioner characterized by comprising a control device.