CA2942490A1 - Electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion - Google Patents
Electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2942490A1 CA2942490A1 CA2942490A CA2942490A CA2942490A1 CA 2942490 A1 CA2942490 A1 CA 2942490A1 CA 2942490 A CA2942490 A CA 2942490A CA 2942490 A CA2942490 A CA 2942490A CA 2942490 A1 CA2942490 A1 CA 2942490A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- air
- refrigerant
- electricity
- water
- conditioning
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000004378 air conditioning Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 70
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 31
- 238000006243 chemical reaction Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 17
- 239000003507 refrigerant Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 215
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 137
- 230000005611 electricity Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 33
- 238000005338 heat storage Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 28
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 20
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 14
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 125000004122 cyclic group Chemical group 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 claims 1
- XPDWGBQVDMORPB-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluoroform Chemical compound FC(F)F XPDWGBQVDMORPB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 12
- 230000003750 conditioning effect Effects 0.000 description 10
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 6
- LVGUZGTVOIAKKC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane Chemical compound FCC(F)(F)F LVGUZGTVOIAKKC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 3
- -1 R-410A Chemical compound 0.000 description 2
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000006757 chemical reactions by type Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000002485 combustion reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000498 cooling water Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000779 depleting effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011161 development Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007613 environmental effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 231100000252 nontoxic Toxicity 0.000 description 1
- 230000003000 nontoxic effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009965 odorless effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03G—SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03G6/00—Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy
- F03G6/071—Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy with energy storage devices
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B27/00—Machines, plants or systems, using particular sources of energy
- F25B27/002—Machines, plants or systems, using particular sources of energy using solar energy
- F25B27/005—Machines, plants or systems, using particular sources of energy using solar energy in compression type systems
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03G—SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03G6/00—Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03G—SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03G6/00—Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy
- F03G6/06—Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy with solar energy concentrating means
- F03G6/065—Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy with solar energy concentrating means having a Rankine cycle
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
- F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
- F24S90/00—Solar heat systems not otherwise provided for
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B11/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, using turbines, e.g. gas turbines
- F25B11/02—Compression machines, plants or systems, using turbines, e.g. gas turbines as expanders
- F25B11/04—Compression machines, plants or systems, using turbines, e.g. gas turbines as expanders centrifugal type
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B23/00—Machines, plants or systems, with a single mode of operation not covered by groups F25B1/00 - F25B21/00, e.g. using selective radiation effect
- F25B23/006—Machines, plants or systems, with a single mode of operation not covered by groups F25B1/00 - F25B21/00, e.g. using selective radiation effect boiling cooling systems
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2400/00—General features or devices for refrigeration machines, plants or systems, combined heating and refrigeration systems or heat-pump systems, i.e. not limited to a particular subgroup of F25B
- F25B2400/05—Compression system with heat exchange between particular parts of the system
- F25B2400/054—Compression system with heat exchange between particular parts of the system between the suction tube of the compressor and another part of the cycle
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B25/00—Machines, plants or systems, using a combination of modes of operation covered by two or more of the groups F25B1/00 - F25B23/00
- F25B25/005—Machines, plants or systems, using a combination of modes of operation covered by two or more of the groups F25B1/00 - F25B23/00 using primary and secondary systems
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
- F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- F25B2700/00—Sensing or detecting of parameters; Sensors therefor
- F25B2700/21—Temperatures
- F25B2700/2115—Temperatures of a compressor or the drive means therefor
- F25B2700/21151—Temperatures of a compressor or the drive means therefor at the suction side of the compressor
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/40—Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
- Y02E10/46—Conversion of thermal power into mechanical power, e.g. Rankine, Stirling or solar thermal engines
Abstract
An electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion includes a solar collector for heating cold water and thus turning the cold water into warm/hot water; a heat storage tank for storing and supplying the warm/hot water; an air-conditioning device for providing cool air indoors; and an electricity-generating device for generating electricity with a high-pressure gas. The apparatus is characterized not only in that the air-conditioning device makes no use of refrigerant compressors, but also in that the supply of warm/hot water, air conditioning, and electricity generation can be simultaneously achieved using nothing more than the warm/hot water generated by the solar collector, i.e., without externally supplied electricity.
Moreover, a higher outdoor temperature leads to a higher temperature of the warm/hot water, a stronger cooling effect (either of an indoor air conditioner or a central air-conditioning system), and the generation of a larger current.
Moreover, a higher outdoor temperature leads to a higher temperature of the warm/hot water, a stronger cooling effect (either of an indoor air conditioner or a central air-conditioning system), and the generation of a larger current.
Description
1 ELECTRICITY-GENERATING, AIR-CONDITIONING, AND WATER-HEATING
2 APPARATUS FEATURING SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION
3
4 FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention relates to a renewable energy apparatus and 6 more particularly to an electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water heating 7 apparatus powered by solar energy.
As the resources of the Earth are gradually depleting, there is a 11 global trend to increase the supply and use of renewable energy, and this trend 12 has given momentum to continuous development of renewable energy 13 technologies which feature reusability, high energy conversion efficiency, and 14 environmental friendliness.
In the prior art of renewable energy, the conversion of sunlight (i.e., 16 solar energy) into heat has had various industrial and commercial applications, 17 including, for example, the supply of household hot water through a solar collector 18 and the lighting or air conditioning of buildings with electricity generated from solar 19 energy.
However, an apparatus for converting sunlight into heat and thereby providing the triple function of electricity generation, air conditioning, and water 21 heating has yet to be seen.
24 The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar 1 energy conversion so that, without an external electricity supply, the triple function 2 of supplying warm/hot water, air conditioning, and electricity generation can be 3 achieved with nothing more than the warm/hot water generated by a solar collector, 4 and that the higher the outdoor temperature is, the warmer or hotter the warm/hot water, the stronger the cooling effect (of an indoor air conditioner or a central air-6 conditioning system), and the larger the current generated.
7 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, 8 and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion includes a solar 9 collector for heating cold water and thus turning the cold water into warm/hot water;
a heat storage tank for storing and supplying the warm/hot water; an air-11 conditioning device for providing cool air indoors; and an electricity-generating 12 device for generating electricity with the high-pressure and gaseous refrigerant of 13 the air-conditioning device and providing the electricity generated. The air-14 conditioning device does not require a refrigerant compressor but includes a gaseous refrigerant storage tank, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, 16 and refrigerant pipes connected therebetween. The electricity-generating device is 17 connected to the refrigerant pipe between the condenser and the expansion valve.
18 The heat storage tank is provided with a warm/hot water outlet pipe for supplying 19 the warm/hot water so that the warm/hot water can flow through the gaseous refrigerant storage tank of the air-conditioning device, transfer heat from the 21 warm/hot water to the refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant storage tank, and then 22 return to the heat storage tank. The refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant storage 23 tank undergoes a rapid gas expansion process due to the heat absorbed and is 24 turned into a high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant. This thermal-cycle refrigerant flows sequentially through the condenser, the electricity-1 generating device, the expansion valve, and the evaporator and ends up as a low-2 pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which flows back to 3 the gaseous refrigerant storage tank. The electricity-generating device is driven to 4 generate and output electricity by the high-pressure and medium-temperature refrigerant flowing out of the condenser. The low-pressure and low-temperature 6 refrigerant having been depressurized by and flowing out of the expansion valve 7 (e.g., an electronic expansion valve) flows through the evaporator to cool the air 8 surrounding the evaporator and thereby produce an indoor cooling effect.
9 In a preferred embodiment, the air-conditioning device of the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar 11 energy conversion uses a water chiller instead of the evaporator in order to be 12 applied to a central air-conditioning system.
13 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, 14 and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion further includes a heat exchanger provided between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank and the 16 condenser. The heat exchanger performs a first cooling process on the high-17 pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing out of the 18 gaseous refrigerant storage tank, before the refrigerant is guided to the condenser 19 for a second cooling process.
In a preferred embodiment, the refrigerant is an environmentally 21 friendly refrigerant selected from the group consisting of refrigerants with the 22 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers 23 (ASHRAE) Numbers R-134a, R-410A, R-407C, R-417A, R-404A, R-507, and R-23, 24 i.e., refrigerants with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) chemical names "1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane", "R-32/125 (50+.5,-1 1.5/50+1.5,¨.5)", "R-32/125/134a (23 2/25 2/52 2)", "R-125/134a/600 2 (46.6 1.1/50 1/3.4+.1,¨.4)", "R-125/143a/134a (44 2/52 1/4 2)", "R-125/143a 3 (50/50)", and "Trifluoromethane (Fluoroform)".
4 In a preferred embodiment, the condenser is an air-cooled condenser.
6 In a preferred embodiment, the expansion valve is a mechanical 7 expansion valve or an electronic expansion valve.
8 In a preferred embodiment, the air-conditioning device further 9 includes a solenoid valve, a temperature sensor, and a refrigerant exchanger. The solenoid valve is connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous 11 refrigerant storage tank and the condenser. The temperature sensor and the 12 refrigerant exchanger are connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous 13 refrigerant storage tank and the evaporator (or the water chiller) in order to detect 14 and regulate the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator (or the water chiller) and thereby maintain normal operation of the air-conditioning device.
16 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating device is a gas 17 impulse-type generator module composed of an impulse steam turbine and a 18 generator.
19 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating device further includes a solar photovoltaic module and/or electricity storage equipment.
21 The herein-disclosed, electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and 22 water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion is an innovative piece 23 of renewable energy equipment capable of the following advantageous effects:
1 1. Without externally supplied electricity, the apparatus uses only the 2 warm/hot water generated by the solar collector to achieve air conditioning and 3 electricity generation as well as the supply of warm/hot water.
4 2. The higher the outdoor temperature, the more effective the conversion from solar energy to warm/hot water, cool air, and electricity. In other 6 words, the temperature of the warm/hot water, the cooling effect of the air-7 conditioning device (be it incorporated into an indoor air conditioner or central air-8 conditioning system), and the output current increase with outdoor temperature.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
11 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the electricity-generating, air-12 conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion 13 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, showing how the apparatus 14 supplies warm/hot water, functions as an indoor air conditioner, and generates electricity at the same time;
16 Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the electricity-generating, air-17 conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion 18 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, showing how the 19 apparatus supplies warm/hot water, functions as an indoor air conditioner, and generates electricity at the same time; and 21 Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the electricity-generating, air-22 conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion 23 according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, showing how the 24 apparatus supplies warm/hot water, functions as an indoor air conditioner, and generates electricity at the same time.
The present invention relates to a renewable energy apparatus and 6 more particularly to an electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water heating 7 apparatus powered by solar energy.
As the resources of the Earth are gradually depleting, there is a 11 global trend to increase the supply and use of renewable energy, and this trend 12 has given momentum to continuous development of renewable energy 13 technologies which feature reusability, high energy conversion efficiency, and 14 environmental friendliness.
In the prior art of renewable energy, the conversion of sunlight (i.e., 16 solar energy) into heat has had various industrial and commercial applications, 17 including, for example, the supply of household hot water through a solar collector 18 and the lighting or air conditioning of buildings with electricity generated from solar 19 energy.
However, an apparatus for converting sunlight into heat and thereby providing the triple function of electricity generation, air conditioning, and water 21 heating has yet to be seen.
24 The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar 1 energy conversion so that, without an external electricity supply, the triple function 2 of supplying warm/hot water, air conditioning, and electricity generation can be 3 achieved with nothing more than the warm/hot water generated by a solar collector, 4 and that the higher the outdoor temperature is, the warmer or hotter the warm/hot water, the stronger the cooling effect (of an indoor air conditioner or a central air-6 conditioning system), and the larger the current generated.
7 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, 8 and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion includes a solar 9 collector for heating cold water and thus turning the cold water into warm/hot water;
a heat storage tank for storing and supplying the warm/hot water; an air-11 conditioning device for providing cool air indoors; and an electricity-generating 12 device for generating electricity with the high-pressure and gaseous refrigerant of 13 the air-conditioning device and providing the electricity generated. The air-14 conditioning device does not require a refrigerant compressor but includes a gaseous refrigerant storage tank, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, 16 and refrigerant pipes connected therebetween. The electricity-generating device is 17 connected to the refrigerant pipe between the condenser and the expansion valve.
18 The heat storage tank is provided with a warm/hot water outlet pipe for supplying 19 the warm/hot water so that the warm/hot water can flow through the gaseous refrigerant storage tank of the air-conditioning device, transfer heat from the 21 warm/hot water to the refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant storage tank, and then 22 return to the heat storage tank. The refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant storage 23 tank undergoes a rapid gas expansion process due to the heat absorbed and is 24 turned into a high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant. This thermal-cycle refrigerant flows sequentially through the condenser, the electricity-1 generating device, the expansion valve, and the evaporator and ends up as a low-2 pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which flows back to 3 the gaseous refrigerant storage tank. The electricity-generating device is driven to 4 generate and output electricity by the high-pressure and medium-temperature refrigerant flowing out of the condenser. The low-pressure and low-temperature 6 refrigerant having been depressurized by and flowing out of the expansion valve 7 (e.g., an electronic expansion valve) flows through the evaporator to cool the air 8 surrounding the evaporator and thereby produce an indoor cooling effect.
9 In a preferred embodiment, the air-conditioning device of the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar 11 energy conversion uses a water chiller instead of the evaporator in order to be 12 applied to a central air-conditioning system.
13 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, 14 and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion further includes a heat exchanger provided between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank and the 16 condenser. The heat exchanger performs a first cooling process on the high-17 pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing out of the 18 gaseous refrigerant storage tank, before the refrigerant is guided to the condenser 19 for a second cooling process.
In a preferred embodiment, the refrigerant is an environmentally 21 friendly refrigerant selected from the group consisting of refrigerants with the 22 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers 23 (ASHRAE) Numbers R-134a, R-410A, R-407C, R-417A, R-404A, R-507, and R-23, 24 i.e., refrigerants with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) chemical names "1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane", "R-32/125 (50+.5,-1 1.5/50+1.5,¨.5)", "R-32/125/134a (23 2/25 2/52 2)", "R-125/134a/600 2 (46.6 1.1/50 1/3.4+.1,¨.4)", "R-125/143a/134a (44 2/52 1/4 2)", "R-125/143a 3 (50/50)", and "Trifluoromethane (Fluoroform)".
4 In a preferred embodiment, the condenser is an air-cooled condenser.
6 In a preferred embodiment, the expansion valve is a mechanical 7 expansion valve or an electronic expansion valve.
8 In a preferred embodiment, the air-conditioning device further 9 includes a solenoid valve, a temperature sensor, and a refrigerant exchanger. The solenoid valve is connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous 11 refrigerant storage tank and the condenser. The temperature sensor and the 12 refrigerant exchanger are connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous 13 refrigerant storage tank and the evaporator (or the water chiller) in order to detect 14 and regulate the temperature of the refrigerant flowing out of the evaporator (or the water chiller) and thereby maintain normal operation of the air-conditioning device.
16 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating device is a gas 17 impulse-type generator module composed of an impulse steam turbine and a 18 generator.
19 In a preferred embodiment, the electricity-generating device further includes a solar photovoltaic module and/or electricity storage equipment.
21 The herein-disclosed, electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and 22 water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion is an innovative piece 23 of renewable energy equipment capable of the following advantageous effects:
1 1. Without externally supplied electricity, the apparatus uses only the 2 warm/hot water generated by the solar collector to achieve air conditioning and 3 electricity generation as well as the supply of warm/hot water.
4 2. The higher the outdoor temperature, the more effective the conversion from solar energy to warm/hot water, cool air, and electricity. In other 6 words, the temperature of the warm/hot water, the cooling effect of the air-7 conditioning device (be it incorporated into an indoor air conditioner or central air-8 conditioning system), and the output current increase with outdoor temperature.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
11 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the electricity-generating, air-12 conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion 13 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, showing how the apparatus 14 supplies warm/hot water, functions as an indoor air conditioner, and generates electricity at the same time;
16 Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the electricity-generating, air-17 conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion 18 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, showing how the 19 apparatus supplies warm/hot water, functions as an indoor air conditioner, and generates electricity at the same time; and 21 Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the electricity-generating, air-22 conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion 23 according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, showing how the 24 apparatus supplies warm/hot water, functions as an indoor air conditioner, and generates electricity at the same time.
5 3 Referring to FIG. 1, an electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and 4 water-heating apparatus 10 featuring solar energy conversion is shown, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 10 comprises a solar
6 collector 20, a heat storage tank 30, an air-conditioning device 40, and an
7 electricity-generating device 50. Without externally supplied electricity, the
8 apparatus 10 can perform three functions simultaneously: to supply warm/hot
9 water via the solar collector 20 and the heat storage tank 30, to provide cool air to, e.g., an indoor environment, via the air-conditioning device 40, and to output 11 electricity via the electricity-generating device 50. Of course, the air-conditioning 12 device 40 may alternatively be used for providing cool air to other environments 13 and/or systems, such as to a central air-conditioning system. In use, the stronger 14 the solar power is, the stronger the cooling effect of the air-conditioning device 40 will be.
17 The water-heating function 18 The solar collector 20 comprises one or more water pipes having an 19 inlet and an outlet, and a structure for receiving solar radiation to heat the water in the water pipe. Thus, the solar collector 20 uses solar radiation as the heat source 21 and serves to heat cold water, or more specifically to turn cold water into warm/hot 22 water with a temperature ranging from about 30 C to about 60 C. The heat source 23 may be replaced by one other than solar radiation, such as the heat generated by 24 an incinerator or the cooling water, with a temperature as high as about 80 C to about 90 C, of an internal combustion engine.
1 The water inlet of the solar collector 20 is connected with a cold 2 water inlet pipe 71 for supplying low-temperature makeup water to the solar 3 collector 20. The cold water inlet pipe 71 can be connected to the heat storage 4 tank 30 when needed, so that low-temperature makeup water (i.e., water flowing into the heat storage tank 30 from a water source or water which has undergone 6 heat exchange and then flows back into the heat storage tank 30) can be supplied 7 to the water inlet of the solar collector 20 through the cold water inlet pipe 71.
8 The water outlet of the solar collector 20 is connected with a 9 warm/hot water outlet pipe 72, which in turn is connected to the heat storage tank 30 for injecting heated water into the heat storage tank 30. In order to draw low-11 temperature makeup water forcibly into the water inlet of the solar collector 20, the 12 warm/hot water outlet pipe 72 may use a pressure pump M1 if necessary.
The 13 low-temperature makeup water flows into the solar collector 20 through the cold 14 water inlet pipe 71 and is heated in the solar collector 20 by solar radiation to become warm/hot water with a temperature of about 30 C to about 60 C. The 16 warm/hot water is delivered through the warm/hot water outlet pipe 72 to the heat 17 storage tank 30 for storage, and is supplied by the heat storage tank 30 for 18 warm/hot water consumption 21 such as showering. The heat storage tank 30, 19 therefore, serves to both store and supply warm/hot water.
21 The air-conditioning function 22 The air-conditioning device 40 is an air conditioner without a 23 refrigerant compressor. Rather, the air-conditioning device 40 comprises a 24 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, a condenser 44, an expansion valve 45, and 1 an evaporator 46, which are connected by necessary refrigerant pipes, as shown 2 in Fig. 1.
3 The refrigerant stored in the refrigerant pipes of the air-conditioning 4 device 40, including the refrigerant stored in the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, is a non-toxic, odorless, and non-inflammable liquefied gas with a high 6 expansion coefficient and outstanding refrigerating effect (hereinafter also referred 7 to as a thermal-cycle refrigerant) and is preferably one selected from the following environmentally friendly refrigerants with the American Society of Heating, 9 Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Numbers: R-134a, R-410A, R-407C, R-417A, R-404A, R-507, and R-23, i.e., refrigerants with the 11 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) chemical names 12 "1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane", "R-32/125 (50+.5,-1.5/50+1.5,¨.5)", "R-32/125/134a 13 (23 2/25 2/52 2)", "R-125/134a/600 (46.6 1.1/50 1/3.4+.1,¨.4)", "R-14 125/143a/134a (44 2/52 1/4 2)", "R-125/143a (50/50)", and "Trifluoromethane (Fluoroform)".
16 The provision of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 satisfies the 17 following conditions:
18 1. Structurally speaking, the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 is 19 provided with a refrigerant pipe for storing and circulating the thermal-cycle refrigerant and a water pipe through which warm/hot 21 water can flow in order to effect heat exchange between the flowing 22 warm/hot water and the thermal-cycle refrigerant stored in the 23 refrigerant pipe; and 24 2. The thermal-cycle refrigerant stored in the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 can expand rapidly into a gas 1 upon absorbing the heat transferred from the warm/hot water flowing 2 into the water pipe, wherein the gas is a high-pressure and high-3 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant to be discharged through the 4 refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41.
The heat storage tank 30 is connected to the water pipe of the 6 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 via a warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 and a 7 return pipe 74 such that a water circuit is formed. In order for the warm/hot water 8 in the heat storage tank 30 to be sufficiently supplied to, and to flow constantly 9 through, the water pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, either the warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 or the return pipe 74 may use a pressure pump 11 M2 if necessary. Preferably, the warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 is provided with 12 the pressure pump M2 and a solenoid valve 33, wherein the solenoid valve 33 13 controls the operation of the pressure pump M2 according to the temperature of 14 the warm/hot water supplied.
The warm/hot water supplied to the heat storage tank 30 is the 30 C
16 to 60 C
warm/hot water generated by (i.e., having been heated by) the solar 17 collector 20, and the heat storage tank 30 keeps the warm/hot water at a 18 temperature between about 30 C and about 60 C. The warm/hot water in the heat 19 storage tank 30 flows through the warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 and, once entering the water pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, exchanges 21 heat with (i.e., transfers heat to) the thermal-cycle refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe 22 of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41. After the heat exchange, the warm/hot 23 water is cooled and flows back to the heat storage tank 30 through the return pipe 24 74. To keep the water temperature in the heat storage tank 30 between 30 C and 60 C, the once warm/hot water which has been cooled by the heat exchange and 1 returned to the heat storage tank 30 (also referred to as low-temperature makeup 2 water) may be guided to and hence heated by the solar collector 20 and then 3 stored into the heat storage tank 30 again.
4 The thermal-cycle refrigerant. in the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 goes through gas expansion because of a transfer of 6 energy, or more particularly because the thermal-cycle refrigerant absorbs the 7 heat of the warm/hot water, which has been heated in the solar collector 20 by 8 solar radiation. During the gas expansion process of the thermal-cycle refrigerant, 9 the expansion speed of the thermal-cycle refrigerant depends on the temperature of the warm/hot water, i.e., the temperature of the source of the energy transferred.
11 When the temperature of the warm/hot water supplied by the heat storage tank 30 12 is high, the warm/hot water supplied by the solar collector 20 must have a high 13 temperature too, meaning the solar power is strong. Consequently, the thermal-14 cycle refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 expands rapidly into a gas with a high gas pressure. Preferably, the gas pressure 16 of the thermal-cycle refrigerant after expansion is between about 25 kg/cm2 and 17 about 50 kg/cm2.
18 An important feature of the apparatus 10 is the gaseous refrigerant 19 storage tank 41, which functions as a refrigerant compressor. More specifically, simply by means of outdoor heat and without externally supplied electricity, the 21 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 enables the thermal-cycle refrigerant in its 22 refrigerant pipe to absorb heat from the warm/hot water which has been heated by 23 the solar collector 20, and to expand rapidly into a high-pressure and high-24 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which is subsequently output from the 1 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41. The gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 thus 2 also acts as a refrigerant compressor.
3 As shown in FIG. 1, the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-4 cycle refrigerant is output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and directly enters the condenser 44 for cooling and then entering the electricity-generating 6 device 50 (described later).
7 In an alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the air-conditioning 8 device 40 further comprises an additional heat exchanger 42 provided between 9 the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and the condenser 44 such that the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the gaseous 11 refrigerant storage tank 41 is guided first to the heat exchanger 42, which performs 12 a first cooling process, and then to the condenser 44, where a second cooling 13 process takes place.
14 The heat exchanger 42 is provided with a refrigerant pipe and a water pipe. The two ends of the water pipe of the heat exchanger 42 are 16 connected to the heat storage tank 30 via a water inlet pipe 75 and a water outlet 17 pipe 76 respectively to form a water circuit. If necessary, the water inlet pipe 75 18 may use a pressure pump M3 for drawing out the warm/hot water in the heat 19 storage tank 30 forcibly and making the warm/hot water flow into the water pipe of the heat exchanger 42 without interruption and then back to the heat storage tank 21 30 through the water outlet pipe 76.
22 Moreover, the water outlet pipe 76 may be provided with a check 23 valve 35 so that water flowing out of the heat exchanger 42 will not backflow to the 24 heat exchanger 42.
1 The high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant 2 output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 has a temperature above the 3 range of 30 C to 60 C. When this thermal-cycle refrigerant flows into the 4 refrigerant pipe of the heat exchanger 42, heat exchange and heat transfer occur between the refrigerant and the 30-60 C warm/hot water flowing from the heat 6 storage tank 30 into the water pipe of the heat exchanger 42. As a result, the 7 warm/hot water flowing through the heat exchanger 42 is heated before it flows 8 black to the heat storage tank 30 for later use. On the other hand, the high-9 pressure and the once high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant which has been cooled by the heat exchange flows through the refrigerant pipe into the condenser 11 44 for the second cooling process, after which a high-pressure and medium-12 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant (in a gaseous state) is formed.
13 The condenser 44 serves to take heat away from the high-pressure 14 and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, thereby cooling and condensing the thermal-cycle refrigerant, turning it into a high-pressure and medium-16 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant (in a gaseous state). The condenser 44 can 17 be a water-cooled condenser, or preferably an air-cooled condenser.
18 The expansion valve 45 is provided to convert the high-pressure and 19 medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant into a low-pressure and low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant (in a gaseous/vapor state) by 21 depressurization. The expansion valve 45 can be a mechanical expansion valve, 22 or preferably an electronic expansion valve. Electronic expansion valves can be 23 categorized by the driving methods into pulse-type, heating-type, or motorized 24 electronic expansion valves.
1 The evaporator 46 allows the low-pressure and low-temperature 2 thermal-cycle refrigerant to absorb heat from indoor air, experience an increase in 3 temperature, and then evaporate into a low-pressure and medium-temperature 4 thermal-cycle refrigerant. In the meantime, the indoor environment is cooled.
6 The air-conditioning device 40 generates cool air in the following 7 manner. To begin with, the thermal-cycle refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant 8 storage tank 41 absorbs heat from the warm/hot water supplied by the heat 9 storage tank 30 (equivalent to absorbing heat from the warm/hot water which has been heated by the solar collector 20, which collects the outdoor heat) and 11 undergoes rapid gas expansion to become a high-pressure and high-temperature 12 thermal-cycle refrigerant. Due to its pressure difference from the thermal-cycle 13 refrigerant in the other refrigerant pipes of the air-conditioning device 40, the high-14 pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flows to the condenser 44, either directly or by way of the heat exchanger 42, through the intermediate 16 refrigerant pipe(s) and is cooled and rendered into a high-pressure and medium-17 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant by the condenser 44. The electricity-18 generating device 50 converts some of the heat of this high-pressure and medium-19 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant into electrical energy, before the thermal-cycle refrigerant enters and is depressurized by the expansion valve 45 to become 21 a low-pressure and low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which flows to the 22 evaporator 46 to absorb heat from indoor air while the cooled indoor air is blown to 23 an indoor space by a blower to produce a cooling effect.
1 Fig. 3 shows still another embodiment of the apparatus 10, wherein 2 the evaporator 46 in the air-conditioning device 40 is replaced by a water chiller 47 3 so that the apparatus 10 is equally applicable to a central air-conditioning system.
4 The water chiller 47 is connected with a chilled water inlet pipe 47a and a chilled water outlet pipe 47b. The chilled water used in a central air-6 conditioning system flows into the water chiller 47 through the chilled water inlet 7 pipe 47a in a cyclic manner and, after heat exchange with the low-pressure and 8 low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which has been depressurized by the 9 expansion valve 45, becomes chilled water with an even lower temperature.
The resulting chilled water flows through the chilled water outlet pipe 47b into the air-11 conditioning unit (not shown) of the central air-conditioning system to exchange 12 heat with air. Once the chilled water absorbs heat from the air, the cooled air is 13 blown to an indoor space by the blower of the air-conditioning unit.
14 The low-pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 after producing the cooling 16 effect flows back into the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 17 41, absorbs heat again from the warm/hot water flowing through the water pipe of 18 the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, goes through gas expansion once more, 19 and is thus recycled for repeated use.
21 The electricity-generating function 22 Referring again to Fig. 1, the electricity-generating device 50 23 includes a steam turbine and a generator and is a rotary, thermal energy-driven 24 machine using a gaseous thermal-cycle refrigerant as its working medium.
The blades of the steam turbine are rotated by the energy of the gaseous, high-1 temperature, and medium-pressure thermal-cycle refrigerant and thus drive the 2 generator to generate electricity. The electricity-generating device 50 can be a 3 combination of an impulse- or reaction-type steam turbine and a generator and is 4 preferably a gas impulse-type generator module 51 composed of an impulse steam turbine and a generator.
6 As shown in Fig. 1, the gas impulse-type generator module 51 of the 7 apparatus 10 is connected to the refrigerant pipe between the condenser 44 and 8 the expansion valve 45. The gaseous, high-pressure, and medium-temperature 9 thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 44 and then running through the gas impulse-type generator module 51 has enough energy to not only drive the 11 gas impulse-type generator module 51 to generate electricity, but also propel the 12 thermal-cycle refrigerant which has lost certain thermal energy due to electricity 13 generation to the expansion valve 45 for depressurization.
14 The electricity-generating device 50 further includes electricity storage equipment 52 for storing the alternating-current (AC) or direct-current (DC) 16 electricity generated by the electricity-generating device 50 and for outputting the 17 electricity through a current converter 53. The current converter 53 can be an 18 inverter and/or a rectifier, wherein the inverter converts DC to AC
while the rectifier 19 converts AC to DC.
In an alternative embodiment, the electricity-generating device 50 21 additionally comprises a solar photovoltaic module (not shown) for converting solar 22 radiation into electricity and for outputting the electricity to the electricity storage 23 equipment 52 for storage and later use.
24 In the alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3, a solenoid valve 43 is connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant 1 storage tank 41 and the condenser 44 of the air-conditioning device 40, or 2 preferably to the refrigerant pipe between the heat exchanger 42 and the 3 condenser 44 of the air-conditioning device 40, and a refrigerant exchanger 48 4 and a temperature sensor 49 are connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and the evaporator 46 (or the water chiller 47) 6 of the air-conditioning device 40.
7 The refrigerant exchanger 48 is provided with a high-temperature 8 refrigerant pipe and a low-temperature refrigerant pipe. The thermal-cycle 9 refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 can flow back to the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 through the low-11 temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48.
12 The two ends of the high-temperature refrigerant pipe of the 13 refrigerant exchanger 48 are respectively connected to a first refrigerant branch 14 pipe 77 and a second refrigerant branch pipe 78. The end of the first refrigerant branch pipe 77 that leads away from the refrigerant exchanger 48 is connected to 16 the refrigerant pipe that is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the solenoid valve 17 43. The end of the second refrigerant branch pipe 78 that leads away from the 18 refrigerant exchanger 48 is connected to the refrigerant pipe that is connected to 19 the refrigerant outlet of the solenoid valve 43.
The temperature sensor 49 is used to detect the cooling effect of the 21 evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 by detecting the temperature of the thermal-22 cycle refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47.
23 The solenoid valve 43, whose valve body is precisely controlled (i.e., 24 opened and closed) according to the temperature detection signal obtained by the 1 temperature sensor 49, serves to regulate the temperature of the thermal-cycle 2 refrigerant returning to the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41.
3 In normal operation, the thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the 4 evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 of the air-conditioning device 40 should flow back to the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 in a low-6 pressure and medium-temperature state, so it is imperative that the thermal-cycle 7 refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 be controlled and 8 kept within a certain temperature range.
9 When the temperature sensor 49 detects that the thermal-cycle refrigerant stays within the normal temperature range, the refrigerant inlet and the 11 refrigerant outlet of the solenoid valve 43 are brought into communication with 12 each other, allowing the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle 13 refrigerant output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and passing 14 through the heat exchanger 42 (if provided) to flow to the condenser 44 via the intermediate refrigerant pipe(s) in order to be cooled and rendered into a high-16 pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant. In such a case, with 17 the air-conditioning device 40 in normal operation, heat exchange and heat 18 transfer hardly take place between the high-temperature refrigerant pipe and the 19 low-temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48.
When the temperature sensor 49 detects that the thermal-cycle 21 refrigerant is outside the normal temperature range (e.g., with too low 22 temperature), the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the solenoid valve 43 23 are brought out of communication with each other. Consequently, the high-24 pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and passing through the heat exchanger 42 (if provided) 1 flows through the first refrigerant branch pipe 77 into the high-temperature 2 refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48 and then through the second 3 refrigerant branch pipe 78 to the condenser 44 in order to be cooled and rendered 4 into a high-pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant. In such a case, with the air-conditioning device 40 in normal operation, heat exchange and 6 heat transfer occur between the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle 7 refrigerant flowing through the high-temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant 8 exchanger 48 and the low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing through 9 the low-temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48. As a result, the thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 11 is heated and returns to the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage 12 tank 41 in a low-pressure and medium-temperature state.
13 According to the above, the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, 14 and water-heating apparatus 10 featuring solar energy conversion is so designed that when the outdoor temperature rises, the temperature of the warm/hot water 16 supplied by the solar collector 20 increases too, the thermal-cycle refrigerant in the 17 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 can absorb a larger amount of heat from the 18 warm/hot water flowing through the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, solar 19 energy can be converted into electricity more efficiently, and a better cooling effect can be achieved. That is to say, the higher the outdoor temperature is, the warmer 21 or hotter the warm/hot water supplied by the apparatus 10, the stronger the 22 cooling effect (of an indoor air conditioner or central air-conditioning system to 23 which the present invention is applied), and the larger the output current.
24 Although embodiments have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of skill in the art will appreciate that variations 1 and modifications may be made without departing from the scope thereof as 2 defined by the appended claims.
17 The water-heating function 18 The solar collector 20 comprises one or more water pipes having an 19 inlet and an outlet, and a structure for receiving solar radiation to heat the water in the water pipe. Thus, the solar collector 20 uses solar radiation as the heat source 21 and serves to heat cold water, or more specifically to turn cold water into warm/hot 22 water with a temperature ranging from about 30 C to about 60 C. The heat source 23 may be replaced by one other than solar radiation, such as the heat generated by 24 an incinerator or the cooling water, with a temperature as high as about 80 C to about 90 C, of an internal combustion engine.
1 The water inlet of the solar collector 20 is connected with a cold 2 water inlet pipe 71 for supplying low-temperature makeup water to the solar 3 collector 20. The cold water inlet pipe 71 can be connected to the heat storage 4 tank 30 when needed, so that low-temperature makeup water (i.e., water flowing into the heat storage tank 30 from a water source or water which has undergone 6 heat exchange and then flows back into the heat storage tank 30) can be supplied 7 to the water inlet of the solar collector 20 through the cold water inlet pipe 71.
8 The water outlet of the solar collector 20 is connected with a 9 warm/hot water outlet pipe 72, which in turn is connected to the heat storage tank 30 for injecting heated water into the heat storage tank 30. In order to draw low-11 temperature makeup water forcibly into the water inlet of the solar collector 20, the 12 warm/hot water outlet pipe 72 may use a pressure pump M1 if necessary.
The 13 low-temperature makeup water flows into the solar collector 20 through the cold 14 water inlet pipe 71 and is heated in the solar collector 20 by solar radiation to become warm/hot water with a temperature of about 30 C to about 60 C. The 16 warm/hot water is delivered through the warm/hot water outlet pipe 72 to the heat 17 storage tank 30 for storage, and is supplied by the heat storage tank 30 for 18 warm/hot water consumption 21 such as showering. The heat storage tank 30, 19 therefore, serves to both store and supply warm/hot water.
21 The air-conditioning function 22 The air-conditioning device 40 is an air conditioner without a 23 refrigerant compressor. Rather, the air-conditioning device 40 comprises a 24 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, a condenser 44, an expansion valve 45, and 1 an evaporator 46, which are connected by necessary refrigerant pipes, as shown 2 in Fig. 1.
3 The refrigerant stored in the refrigerant pipes of the air-conditioning 4 device 40, including the refrigerant stored in the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, is a non-toxic, odorless, and non-inflammable liquefied gas with a high 6 expansion coefficient and outstanding refrigerating effect (hereinafter also referred 7 to as a thermal-cycle refrigerant) and is preferably one selected from the following environmentally friendly refrigerants with the American Society of Heating, 9 Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Numbers: R-134a, R-410A, R-407C, R-417A, R-404A, R-507, and R-23, i.e., refrigerants with the 11 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) chemical names 12 "1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane", "R-32/125 (50+.5,-1.5/50+1.5,¨.5)", "R-32/125/134a 13 (23 2/25 2/52 2)", "R-125/134a/600 (46.6 1.1/50 1/3.4+.1,¨.4)", "R-14 125/143a/134a (44 2/52 1/4 2)", "R-125/143a (50/50)", and "Trifluoromethane (Fluoroform)".
16 The provision of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 satisfies the 17 following conditions:
18 1. Structurally speaking, the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 is 19 provided with a refrigerant pipe for storing and circulating the thermal-cycle refrigerant and a water pipe through which warm/hot 21 water can flow in order to effect heat exchange between the flowing 22 warm/hot water and the thermal-cycle refrigerant stored in the 23 refrigerant pipe; and 24 2. The thermal-cycle refrigerant stored in the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 can expand rapidly into a gas 1 upon absorbing the heat transferred from the warm/hot water flowing 2 into the water pipe, wherein the gas is a high-pressure and high-3 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant to be discharged through the 4 refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41.
The heat storage tank 30 is connected to the water pipe of the 6 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 via a warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 and a 7 return pipe 74 such that a water circuit is formed. In order for the warm/hot water 8 in the heat storage tank 30 to be sufficiently supplied to, and to flow constantly 9 through, the water pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, either the warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 or the return pipe 74 may use a pressure pump 11 M2 if necessary. Preferably, the warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 is provided with 12 the pressure pump M2 and a solenoid valve 33, wherein the solenoid valve 33 13 controls the operation of the pressure pump M2 according to the temperature of 14 the warm/hot water supplied.
The warm/hot water supplied to the heat storage tank 30 is the 30 C
16 to 60 C
warm/hot water generated by (i.e., having been heated by) the solar 17 collector 20, and the heat storage tank 30 keeps the warm/hot water at a 18 temperature between about 30 C and about 60 C. The warm/hot water in the heat 19 storage tank 30 flows through the warm/hot water-supplying pipe 73 and, once entering the water pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, exchanges 21 heat with (i.e., transfers heat to) the thermal-cycle refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe 22 of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41. After the heat exchange, the warm/hot 23 water is cooled and flows back to the heat storage tank 30 through the return pipe 24 74. To keep the water temperature in the heat storage tank 30 between 30 C and 60 C, the once warm/hot water which has been cooled by the heat exchange and 1 returned to the heat storage tank 30 (also referred to as low-temperature makeup 2 water) may be guided to and hence heated by the solar collector 20 and then 3 stored into the heat storage tank 30 again.
4 The thermal-cycle refrigerant. in the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 goes through gas expansion because of a transfer of 6 energy, or more particularly because the thermal-cycle refrigerant absorbs the 7 heat of the warm/hot water, which has been heated in the solar collector 20 by 8 solar radiation. During the gas expansion process of the thermal-cycle refrigerant, 9 the expansion speed of the thermal-cycle refrigerant depends on the temperature of the warm/hot water, i.e., the temperature of the source of the energy transferred.
11 When the temperature of the warm/hot water supplied by the heat storage tank 30 12 is high, the warm/hot water supplied by the solar collector 20 must have a high 13 temperature too, meaning the solar power is strong. Consequently, the thermal-14 cycle refrigerant in the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 expands rapidly into a gas with a high gas pressure. Preferably, the gas pressure 16 of the thermal-cycle refrigerant after expansion is between about 25 kg/cm2 and 17 about 50 kg/cm2.
18 An important feature of the apparatus 10 is the gaseous refrigerant 19 storage tank 41, which functions as a refrigerant compressor. More specifically, simply by means of outdoor heat and without externally supplied electricity, the 21 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 enables the thermal-cycle refrigerant in its 22 refrigerant pipe to absorb heat from the warm/hot water which has been heated by 23 the solar collector 20, and to expand rapidly into a high-pressure and high-24 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which is subsequently output from the 1 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41. The gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 thus 2 also acts as a refrigerant compressor.
3 As shown in FIG. 1, the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-4 cycle refrigerant is output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and directly enters the condenser 44 for cooling and then entering the electricity-generating 6 device 50 (described later).
7 In an alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the air-conditioning 8 device 40 further comprises an additional heat exchanger 42 provided between 9 the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and the condenser 44 such that the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the gaseous 11 refrigerant storage tank 41 is guided first to the heat exchanger 42, which performs 12 a first cooling process, and then to the condenser 44, where a second cooling 13 process takes place.
14 The heat exchanger 42 is provided with a refrigerant pipe and a water pipe. The two ends of the water pipe of the heat exchanger 42 are 16 connected to the heat storage tank 30 via a water inlet pipe 75 and a water outlet 17 pipe 76 respectively to form a water circuit. If necessary, the water inlet pipe 75 18 may use a pressure pump M3 for drawing out the warm/hot water in the heat 19 storage tank 30 forcibly and making the warm/hot water flow into the water pipe of the heat exchanger 42 without interruption and then back to the heat storage tank 21 30 through the water outlet pipe 76.
22 Moreover, the water outlet pipe 76 may be provided with a check 23 valve 35 so that water flowing out of the heat exchanger 42 will not backflow to the 24 heat exchanger 42.
1 The high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant 2 output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 has a temperature above the 3 range of 30 C to 60 C. When this thermal-cycle refrigerant flows into the 4 refrigerant pipe of the heat exchanger 42, heat exchange and heat transfer occur between the refrigerant and the 30-60 C warm/hot water flowing from the heat 6 storage tank 30 into the water pipe of the heat exchanger 42. As a result, the 7 warm/hot water flowing through the heat exchanger 42 is heated before it flows 8 black to the heat storage tank 30 for later use. On the other hand, the high-9 pressure and the once high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant which has been cooled by the heat exchange flows through the refrigerant pipe into the condenser 11 44 for the second cooling process, after which a high-pressure and medium-12 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant (in a gaseous state) is formed.
13 The condenser 44 serves to take heat away from the high-pressure 14 and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, thereby cooling and condensing the thermal-cycle refrigerant, turning it into a high-pressure and medium-16 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant (in a gaseous state). The condenser 44 can 17 be a water-cooled condenser, or preferably an air-cooled condenser.
18 The expansion valve 45 is provided to convert the high-pressure and 19 medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant into a low-pressure and low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant (in a gaseous/vapor state) by 21 depressurization. The expansion valve 45 can be a mechanical expansion valve, 22 or preferably an electronic expansion valve. Electronic expansion valves can be 23 categorized by the driving methods into pulse-type, heating-type, or motorized 24 electronic expansion valves.
1 The evaporator 46 allows the low-pressure and low-temperature 2 thermal-cycle refrigerant to absorb heat from indoor air, experience an increase in 3 temperature, and then evaporate into a low-pressure and medium-temperature 4 thermal-cycle refrigerant. In the meantime, the indoor environment is cooled.
6 The air-conditioning device 40 generates cool air in the following 7 manner. To begin with, the thermal-cycle refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant 8 storage tank 41 absorbs heat from the warm/hot water supplied by the heat 9 storage tank 30 (equivalent to absorbing heat from the warm/hot water which has been heated by the solar collector 20, which collects the outdoor heat) and 11 undergoes rapid gas expansion to become a high-pressure and high-temperature 12 thermal-cycle refrigerant. Due to its pressure difference from the thermal-cycle 13 refrigerant in the other refrigerant pipes of the air-conditioning device 40, the high-14 pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flows to the condenser 44, either directly or by way of the heat exchanger 42, through the intermediate 16 refrigerant pipe(s) and is cooled and rendered into a high-pressure and medium-17 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant by the condenser 44. The electricity-18 generating device 50 converts some of the heat of this high-pressure and medium-19 temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant into electrical energy, before the thermal-cycle refrigerant enters and is depressurized by the expansion valve 45 to become 21 a low-pressure and low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which flows to the 22 evaporator 46 to absorb heat from indoor air while the cooled indoor air is blown to 23 an indoor space by a blower to produce a cooling effect.
1 Fig. 3 shows still another embodiment of the apparatus 10, wherein 2 the evaporator 46 in the air-conditioning device 40 is replaced by a water chiller 47 3 so that the apparatus 10 is equally applicable to a central air-conditioning system.
4 The water chiller 47 is connected with a chilled water inlet pipe 47a and a chilled water outlet pipe 47b. The chilled water used in a central air-6 conditioning system flows into the water chiller 47 through the chilled water inlet 7 pipe 47a in a cyclic manner and, after heat exchange with the low-pressure and 8 low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which has been depressurized by the 9 expansion valve 45, becomes chilled water with an even lower temperature.
The resulting chilled water flows through the chilled water outlet pipe 47b into the air-11 conditioning unit (not shown) of the central air-conditioning system to exchange 12 heat with air. Once the chilled water absorbs heat from the air, the cooled air is 13 blown to an indoor space by the blower of the air-conditioning unit.
14 The low-pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 after producing the cooling 16 effect flows back into the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 17 41, absorbs heat again from the warm/hot water flowing through the water pipe of 18 the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, goes through gas expansion once more, 19 and is thus recycled for repeated use.
21 The electricity-generating function 22 Referring again to Fig. 1, the electricity-generating device 50 23 includes a steam turbine and a generator and is a rotary, thermal energy-driven 24 machine using a gaseous thermal-cycle refrigerant as its working medium.
The blades of the steam turbine are rotated by the energy of the gaseous, high-1 temperature, and medium-pressure thermal-cycle refrigerant and thus drive the 2 generator to generate electricity. The electricity-generating device 50 can be a 3 combination of an impulse- or reaction-type steam turbine and a generator and is 4 preferably a gas impulse-type generator module 51 composed of an impulse steam turbine and a generator.
6 As shown in Fig. 1, the gas impulse-type generator module 51 of the 7 apparatus 10 is connected to the refrigerant pipe between the condenser 44 and 8 the expansion valve 45. The gaseous, high-pressure, and medium-temperature 9 thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 44 and then running through the gas impulse-type generator module 51 has enough energy to not only drive the 11 gas impulse-type generator module 51 to generate electricity, but also propel the 12 thermal-cycle refrigerant which has lost certain thermal energy due to electricity 13 generation to the expansion valve 45 for depressurization.
14 The electricity-generating device 50 further includes electricity storage equipment 52 for storing the alternating-current (AC) or direct-current (DC) 16 electricity generated by the electricity-generating device 50 and for outputting the 17 electricity through a current converter 53. The current converter 53 can be an 18 inverter and/or a rectifier, wherein the inverter converts DC to AC
while the rectifier 19 converts AC to DC.
In an alternative embodiment, the electricity-generating device 50 21 additionally comprises a solar photovoltaic module (not shown) for converting solar 22 radiation into electricity and for outputting the electricity to the electricity storage 23 equipment 52 for storage and later use.
24 In the alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3, a solenoid valve 43 is connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant 1 storage tank 41 and the condenser 44 of the air-conditioning device 40, or 2 preferably to the refrigerant pipe between the heat exchanger 42 and the 3 condenser 44 of the air-conditioning device 40, and a refrigerant exchanger 48 4 and a temperature sensor 49 are connected to the refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and the evaporator 46 (or the water chiller 47) 6 of the air-conditioning device 40.
7 The refrigerant exchanger 48 is provided with a high-temperature 8 refrigerant pipe and a low-temperature refrigerant pipe. The thermal-cycle 9 refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 can flow back to the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 through the low-11 temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48.
12 The two ends of the high-temperature refrigerant pipe of the 13 refrigerant exchanger 48 are respectively connected to a first refrigerant branch 14 pipe 77 and a second refrigerant branch pipe 78. The end of the first refrigerant branch pipe 77 that leads away from the refrigerant exchanger 48 is connected to 16 the refrigerant pipe that is connected to the refrigerant inlet of the solenoid valve 17 43. The end of the second refrigerant branch pipe 78 that leads away from the 18 refrigerant exchanger 48 is connected to the refrigerant pipe that is connected to 19 the refrigerant outlet of the solenoid valve 43.
The temperature sensor 49 is used to detect the cooling effect of the 21 evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 by detecting the temperature of the thermal-22 cycle refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47.
23 The solenoid valve 43, whose valve body is precisely controlled (i.e., 24 opened and closed) according to the temperature detection signal obtained by the 1 temperature sensor 49, serves to regulate the temperature of the thermal-cycle 2 refrigerant returning to the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41.
3 In normal operation, the thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the 4 evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 of the air-conditioning device 40 should flow back to the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 in a low-6 pressure and medium-temperature state, so it is imperative that the thermal-cycle 7 refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 be controlled and 8 kept within a certain temperature range.
9 When the temperature sensor 49 detects that the thermal-cycle refrigerant stays within the normal temperature range, the refrigerant inlet and the 11 refrigerant outlet of the solenoid valve 43 are brought into communication with 12 each other, allowing the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle 13 refrigerant output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and passing 14 through the heat exchanger 42 (if provided) to flow to the condenser 44 via the intermediate refrigerant pipe(s) in order to be cooled and rendered into a high-16 pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant. In such a case, with 17 the air-conditioning device 40 in normal operation, heat exchange and heat 18 transfer hardly take place between the high-temperature refrigerant pipe and the 19 low-temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48.
When the temperature sensor 49 detects that the thermal-cycle 21 refrigerant is outside the normal temperature range (e.g., with too low 22 temperature), the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet of the solenoid valve 43 23 are brought out of communication with each other. Consequently, the high-24 pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 and passing through the heat exchanger 42 (if provided) 1 flows through the first refrigerant branch pipe 77 into the high-temperature 2 refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48 and then through the second 3 refrigerant branch pipe 78 to the condenser 44 in order to be cooled and rendered 4 into a high-pressure and medium-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant. In such a case, with the air-conditioning device 40 in normal operation, heat exchange and 6 heat transfer occur between the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle 7 refrigerant flowing through the high-temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant 8 exchanger 48 and the low-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing through 9 the low-temperature refrigerant pipe of the refrigerant exchanger 48. As a result, the thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the evaporator 46 or the water chiller 47 11 is heated and returns to the refrigerant pipe of the gaseous refrigerant storage 12 tank 41 in a low-pressure and medium-temperature state.
13 According to the above, the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, 14 and water-heating apparatus 10 featuring solar energy conversion is so designed that when the outdoor temperature rises, the temperature of the warm/hot water 16 supplied by the solar collector 20 increases too, the thermal-cycle refrigerant in the 17 gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41 can absorb a larger amount of heat from the 18 warm/hot water flowing through the gaseous refrigerant storage tank 41, solar 19 energy can be converted into electricity more efficiently, and a better cooling effect can be achieved. That is to say, the higher the outdoor temperature is, the warmer 21 or hotter the warm/hot water supplied by the apparatus 10, the stronger the 22 cooling effect (of an indoor air conditioner or central air-conditioning system to 23 which the present invention is applied), and the larger the output current.
24 Although embodiments have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of skill in the art will appreciate that variations 1 and modifications may be made without departing from the scope thereof as 2 defined by the appended claims.
Claims (9)
1. An electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion, comprising:
a solar collector for heating cold water with solar energy and thus turning the cold water into warm/hot water;
a heat storage tank for storing and supplying the warm/hot water, which has been heated by the solar collector;
an air-conditioning device for providing cool air indoors; and an electricity-generating device for generating electricity with a high-pressure and gaseous refrigerant of the air-conditioning device and providing the electricity generated;
the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus being characterized in that the air-conditioning device does not use a refrigerant compressor but comprises:
a gaseous refrigerant storage tank, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and refrigerant pipes connected therebetween, wherein the electricity-generating device is connected to a said refrigerant pipe between the condenser and the expansion valve; the heat storage tank is provided with a warm/hot water outlet pipe for supplying the warm/hot water in order for the warm/hot water to flow through the gaseous refrigerant storage tank of the air-conditioning device and then back to the heat storage tank; and a refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant storage tank absorbs heat from the warm/hot water, undergoes gas expansion, and becomes a high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which flows sequentially through the condenser, the electricity-generating device, the expansion valve, and the evaporator and then back to the gaseous refrigerant storage tank in a cyclic manner while causing the evaporator to produce an indoor cooling effect.
a solar collector for heating cold water with solar energy and thus turning the cold water into warm/hot water;
a heat storage tank for storing and supplying the warm/hot water, which has been heated by the solar collector;
an air-conditioning device for providing cool air indoors; and an electricity-generating device for generating electricity with a high-pressure and gaseous refrigerant of the air-conditioning device and providing the electricity generated;
the electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus being characterized in that the air-conditioning device does not use a refrigerant compressor but comprises:
a gaseous refrigerant storage tank, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and refrigerant pipes connected therebetween, wherein the electricity-generating device is connected to a said refrigerant pipe between the condenser and the expansion valve; the heat storage tank is provided with a warm/hot water outlet pipe for supplying the warm/hot water in order for the warm/hot water to flow through the gaseous refrigerant storage tank of the air-conditioning device and then back to the heat storage tank; and a refrigerant in the gaseous refrigerant storage tank absorbs heat from the warm/hot water, undergoes gas expansion, and becomes a high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant, which flows sequentially through the condenser, the electricity-generating device, the expansion valve, and the evaporator and then back to the gaseous refrigerant storage tank in a cyclic manner while causing the evaporator to produce an indoor cooling effect.
2. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the air-conditioning device uses a water chiller in place of the evaporator so as to adapt to a central air-conditioning system.
3. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a heat exchanger connected to a said refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank and the condenser in order for the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing out of the gaseous refrigerant storage tank to undergo a first cooling process by the heat exchanger, before being guided to the condenser for a second cooling process.
4. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the refrigerant of the air-conditioning device is an environmentally friendly refrigerant selected from the group consisting of R134a, R410A, R407C, R417A, R404A, R507, and R23.
5. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the condenser of the air-conditioning device IS
an air-cooled condenser.
an air-cooled condenser.
6. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the expansion valve of the air-conditioning device is a mechanical expansion valve or an electronic expansion valve.
7. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the air-conditioning device further comprises-a temperature sensor for detecting a refrigerant temperature downstream of the evaporator or a water chiller; a refrigerant exchanger connected to a said refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank and the evaporator or the water chiller in order to heat the thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing back to the gaseous refrigerant storage tank, and a solenoid valve connected to a said refrigerant pipe between the gaseous refrigerant storage tank and the condenser and having a valve body to be opened and closed according to a temperature detection signal obtained by the temperature sensor so that the high-pressure and high-temperature thermal-cycle refrigerant output from the gaseous refrigerant storage tank, either directly or by way of a heat exchanger, either flows through the solenoid valve or bypasses the solenoid valve and flows through the refrigerant exchanger, before entering the condenser, thereby regulating a temperature of the thermal-cycle refrigerant flowing back to the gaseous refrigerant storage tank.
8. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the electricity-generating device is a gas impulse-type generator module composed of an impulse steam turbine and a generator.
9. The electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the electricity-generating device further comprises one or both of a solar photovoltaic module and/or electricity storage equipment.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2942490A CA2942490A1 (en) | 2016-09-20 | 2016-09-20 | Electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2942490A CA2942490A1 (en) | 2016-09-20 | 2016-09-20 | Electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2942490A1 true CA2942490A1 (en) | 2018-03-20 |
Family
ID=61759267
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2942490A Abandoned CA2942490A1 (en) | 2016-09-20 | 2016-09-20 | Electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2942490A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN110631291A (en) * | 2019-10-22 | 2019-12-31 | 浙江智恩电子科技有限公司 | Air source heat pump system combined with photovoltaic system |
-
2016
- 2016-09-20 CA CA2942490A patent/CA2942490A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN110631291A (en) * | 2019-10-22 | 2019-12-31 | 浙江智恩电子科技有限公司 | Air source heat pump system combined with photovoltaic system |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Patel et al. | Optimization of waste heat based organic Rankine cycle powered cascaded vapor compression-absorption refrigeration system | |
| Wu et al. | Progress in ground-source heat pumps using natural refrigerants | |
| US20090126381A1 (en) | Trigeneration system and method | |
| Ksayer | Design of an ORC system operating with solar heat and producing sanitary hot water | |
| AU2003223877A1 (en) | Refrigeration power plant | |
| US20140125060A1 (en) | Solar cooling, heating and power system | |
| Yari et al. | Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of a novel dual-evaporator system powered by electrical and solar energy sources | |
| KR20150022311A (en) | Heat pump electricity generation system | |
| KR20100105931A (en) | Power, cold and hot water production system using heat pump | |
| CN103148587A (en) | Method and device for preparing domestic hot water with waste heat of power plant | |
| KR101315918B1 (en) | Organic rankine cycle for using low temperature waste heat and absorbtion type refrigerator | |
| Li et al. | Component exergy analysis of solar powered transcritical CO 2 Rankine cycle system | |
| CN205297661U (en) | Take waste heat power generation system of calorimeter back to | |
| CA2942490A1 (en) | Electricity-generating, air-conditioning, and water-heating apparatus featuring solar energy conversion | |
| CN103615293B (en) | Carbon dioxide heat pump and organic working medium combined power generation system | |
| Omgba et al. | Development and energy analysis of a solar-assisted air conditioning system for energy saving | |
| KR101977884B1 (en) | Heat pump system for recovery waste heat and coldness | |
| KR20020005826A (en) | System for supplying electric power and air conditioning by heat amalgmation | |
| Bula et al. | Thermodynamic simulation of a solar absorption refrigeration system, generator heat exchanger | |
| CN211116438U (en) | Power generation and refrigeration combined cycle system based on ocean temperature difference energy | |
| Sachdeva et al. | Exergy analysis of a vapor compression–vapor absorption cascade system | |
| KR102285675B1 (en) | Power generation system by Organic Rankine Cycle using outdoor units waste heat of refrigerating and air-conditioning systems and solar energy | |
| KR20180067094A (en) | Hybrid heat pump system | |
| KR20160149083A (en) | Thermoelectric power generator for air conditioner | |
| CN103615829A (en) | Carbon diode heat pump waste heat recycling system |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |
Effective date: 20190920 |