CH707175A1 - Valve for switching the heat flows to a heat pump. - Google Patents

Abstract

A valve assembly, comprising a housing (7) with at least four connecting pieces (8), connected to a heat pump, at least four connecting pieces (9), at least two connected to a heat source and a heat sink, comprising at least one valve body (10) and a drive element (11) to move the valve body (10) relative to the various ports in the housing. With this arrangement, switching from the heating mode to the cooling mode is possible. A corresponding method for operating a heat pump is also claimed.

Description

The present invention relates to a valve arrangement for differently operating a heat pump by switching the heat flows according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for operating a heat pump differently.

With heat pumps buildings can be both heated and cooled. The transition from the heating mode to the cooling mode of the building can be done in different ways, but requires an active conversion either within the heat pump or outside the heat pump in the hydraulic interconnection. Only by this switching is it possible that e.g. In the case of cooling, heat can be withdrawn from the building, where heat was previously released in the heating case.

In typical heat pump systems, as well as in the widespread air conditioning units, which are designed for heating and cooling operation, the switching takes place in the heat pump cycle. The heat pump changes the mode of operation by the evaporator to the condenser and the condenser to the evaporator. This way of switching is not ideal and leads to efficiency losses in one of the two operating modes because the evaporator and condenser components are not identical. In addition, the refrigerant circuit is complicated by additional valve technology, which is necessary for switching.

For the sake of the mentioned disadvantages, it is desirable to use other possibilities of switching. Another possibility is when changing from an operating mode, e.g. Heating in the other mode, e.g. Cooling to leave the heat pump cycle unchanged but on the installation side, e.g. also described in DE 2 542 728 A1, heat source and sink to swap.

However, this exchange leads to a mixing of the media between the heat source and sink. Accordingly, this type of external switching is only suitable if the same medium is used on the source side and the bottom side. Thereby, e.g. Air-water and brine-to-water heat pumps are excluded, unless additional heat exchangers are used to prevent mixing of the media.

The switching of the heat flows on the installation side is rarely used today and available today with valve types (4-way, 3-way, shut-off valve, etc.) results in this type of switching a complex hydraulic system with at least 2 individual valves the simple changeover heating / cooling, at least 3 valves for the changeover including reversal of the flow direction of the ground probe and a high number of connections, which is associated with high installation costs and corresponding costs. The increased material and installation costs for the implementation of the external switching slows the dissemination of this solution.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a way of switching the heat flows, which is simple and is possible with a reduced material and installation costs.

The basic idea of the present invention is to achieve with a single valve a simple external switching for heat pumps, which use the same, liquid medium both on the source and on the sink side. The valve should be designed so that in different embodiments, in addition to the simple switching of the source and sink side, if necessary, a flow direction change, for example in a geothermal probe, can be effected. The flow direction reversal is particularly important in connection with coaxial ground probes, which are to be flowed through in the heating case from outside to inside and in cooling from the inside to the outside, as explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. In addition, the valve should give the opportunity to bypass the heat pump if necessary, to short-circuit the source and sink side directly and, for. in conjunction with a ground probe, a direct cooling, so-called "free cooling" of the building and / or a direct regeneration of the soil, e.g. to allow with a thermal collector.

According to the invention, a valve arrangement for differently operating a heat pump, such as for switching the heat flows of a heat pump, according to the wording of claim 1.

It is proposed that the valve arrangement comprises a housing having at least four connecting pieces, connected to the heat pump and at least four connecting pieces, each two connected to a heat source and a heat sink, with at least one valve body and a drive element to the valve body relative to to move the various connecting pieces in the housing.

According to one embodiment, it is proposed that the valve body of the valve assembly has penetrations such as void-like passages, of which at least one part, of which at least two connecting pieces in the housing, depending on the operating mode connects different.

Again, according to an embodiment, it is proposed that the valve body is formed rotationally symmetrical, such as cylindrical or spherical, and with respect to the valve body surrounding jacket-shaped housing is rotatable to connect the connecting pieces differently with each other.

According to a further embodiment, it is proposed that the valve body is movable linearly relative to the housing, whereby the connecting pieces can be connected to one another differently depending on the operating mode by a translational movement. Further embodiments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims.

Further proposed is a method for operating a different heat pump by switching the heat flows of the heat pump according to the wording of claim 5.

Again other variants of the inventive method are characterized in the dependent claims.

The invention will now be explained in more detail for example with reference to the accompanying figures. Showing: <Tb> FIG. 1a and 1b <SEP> an example of a hydraulic interconnection of a heat pump system; <Tb> FIG. 2 <SEP> schematically in section a changeover valve according to the invention; <Tb> FIG. 3 and 4 <SEP> two exemplary embodiments of the inventive valve schematically in section; and <Tb> FIG. 5 <SEP> schematically illustrates various modes of operation with connections between the various ports of the valve assembly.

1a and 1b show an example of a hydraulic interconnection of a heat pump system with heat pump 1, coaxial ground probe 2, thermal collector 3, space delivery system 4, circulation pumps 5 and valve device according to the invention 6. Fig. 1a shows the system in heating mode, respectively , Fig. 1b, the system in the cooling mode, each with exemplary operating temperatures. When heating, the circuit of the thermal collector is switched off and the Koxial ground probe is flowed through from the outside to the inside. In the case of cooling, the circuit of the collector is switched on, the direction of flow in the coaxial ground probe is reversed and the flow takes place from the inside to the outside. The reversal of the flow direction prevents resp. favors heat exchange between probe fluid and soil along the length of the probe selectively.

The external switching allows a constant and the same direction operation of the refrigeration cycle of the heat pump and thereby increases the average efficiency of the heat pump considered over both modes of operation heating and cooling.

The invention reduces the complexity of the hydraulic installation, which results in the external switching with conventional valve technology by the complexity of the interconnection comes to lie within a single valve. It reduces the installation effort and there is the potential to realize a more favorable solution. The reduction of at least three 4-way or four 3-way valves for switching heating / cooling including reversal of the flow direction in the probe to a single valve also improves the possibility of integration of external switching into the housing of the heat pump.

Furthermore, the valve device allows for easy integration of additional functions, e.g. bypassing the heat pump for «free cooling» operation or for direct regeneration of the soil with a thermal collector, or reversing the order of flow of ground probe and thermal collector in conjunction with reversing the flow direction of the coaxial or other geothermal probe.

According to the invention, the switching valve, as shown in Fig. 2, composed of a housing 7 with connecting pieces for the heat pump 8 and for the sources / sinks 9, a valve body 10 and a drive element 11 with possible extensions of the connecting piece for the direct Connection of eg a thermal collector.

The valve body 10 contains cavities resp. Penetrations, which connect the connecting pieces of the heat pump side 8 in a certain way with the connection piece of the source / sink side 9. Which connecting pieces are connected to each other depends on the respective operating mode (heating, cooling with / without flow reversal, "free cooling" etc.). In addition, contrary to the representation in FIG. 2, it is possible that the connections of the heat pump and the source / drain side can each be arranged on both sides of the valve body.

For the valve device as shown in Fig. 2, different designs are possible for the switching of the heat flows according to the invention described. Two possible embodiments are by a rotary movement the x resp. Switched y-axis and based on a cylindrical valve body with penetrations on the mantle surface respectively. on the front sides. Other rotationally symmetric geometries, such as a ball, are also conceivable as a valve body. Another embodiment is based on a linear slide, which causes the switching by a translational movement along the x-axis or transversely thereto.

Characteristic of the invention is that the external switching within a single element (valve) happens and only one actuator for switching is required. As an alternative embodiment to that shown in Fig. 2, the interconnection of the terminals can also be defined in the housing 7 and instead of the valve body 10, a simple control disc can be used which selectively releases certain compounds in the housing and other separates.

In Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are two exemplary embodiments of the inventive valve on the one hand as a cylinder with rotation about the x-axis (Fig. 3) and as an axial slide with displacement along the x-axis (Fig Section shown. In both versions, the flow direction in the geothermal probe is reversed to the usual switching of the source and sink side.

The position of the cylindrical valve in Fig. 3 above shows the heating mode, so that i with A, ii with B, iii with C, and iv with D are connected. In cooling mode (Figure 3, bottom), the ports i are connected to B, ii to D, iii to A, and iv to C.

In Fig. 4 above, the valve is shown in the axial position in the position for the heating mode, so that also i with A, ii with B, iii with C and iv with D are connected. In this embodiment, the connection between iv and D in the case of heating is not achieved solely by the valve body, but via the valve body and the housing cavity. In cooling mode (Figure 4, bottom), the ports i are connected to B, ii to D, iii to A, and iv to C. The connections between the heat pump and the source / sink are made in the cooling case for the arrangement shown again alone by the valve body.

Exemplary representation of the connections between the heat pump and the source / sink side for different operating modes

In Fig. 5, the connections between the various terminals of the valve device are shown schematically for different modes of operation. For simple external switching of the source and drain side (Figure 5, position a-d), the heat pump, the delivery system and the ground probe are connected to the valve device. In a possible extension of the valve device, a thermal collector is additionally connected to the valve device (FIG. 5, position e, f). With this extension, it is possible to maintain the order for the flow of ground probe and thermal collector, respectively. to reverse, while reversing the direction of flow in the earth probe.

The various modes of operation in Fig. 5 are the following: <tb> Position a: <SEP> Heating <b> Position b: <SEP> Cooling without reversing the flow direction in the ground probe <tb> Position c: <SEP> Cooling with reversal of the flow direction in the ground probe <db> position d: <SEP> Free cooling <tb> position e: <SEP> possible extension; Heating with thermal collector and coaxial ground probe (VL outside, inside RL) <tb> position f: <SEP> possible extension; Cooling with thermal collector and coaxial ground probe (VL inside, outside RL)

Legend

[0030] <tb> i <SEP> Capacitor OUT <tb> ii <SEP> Evaporator IN <tb> iii <SEP> Evaporator OUT <tb> iv <SEP> Capacitor IN <tb> A <SEP> Room VL <B> B <SEP> Probe RL <tb> C <SEP> Probe VL <tb> D <SEP> Room RL <tb> E <SEP> VL Therm. collector <tb> F <SEP> RL Therm. collector

The possible embodiments of a valve arrangement according to the invention and the methods described in FIGS. 1 to 5 are of course only examples of the better understanding of the present invention.

In particular, the valve arrangements shown are merely examples, and other embodiments are possible. For example, it is conceivable that the valve body is formed as a ball and by rotation of the valve body within a shell surrounding the body surrounding the housing, the various terminals, as shown with reference to FIG. 5, can be interconnected. Instead of a slide, of course, a cylinder within a housing can be moved linearly and, if appropriate, parts of the connections can also be provided inside the housing. Also conceivable is a solution as a linear slide, which is displaced transversely to the x-axis and contains in the valve body per position penetrations corresponding to the number of outer terminals. On the choice of materials for the manufacture of housing and valve body is not specifically discussed in the present invention, since both metal materials as well as polymer materials, depending on the requirements, can be used. Also on the drive and the control of the valve is not specifically discussed in the present invention, since the possibilities are unlimited.

Claims (14)

Valve arrangement, comprising a housing (7) with at least four connecting pieces (8), connected to a heat pump, at least four connecting pieces (9), at least two connected to a heat source and a heat sink, with at least one valve body (10) and a Drive element to move the valve body relative to the various connecting pieces in the housing. 2. Valve arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve body (10) has penetrations or hollow passageways, of which at least some each connect at least two connecting pieces depending on the operating mode different from each other. 3. Valve arrangement according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the valve body is rotationally symmetrical, such as cylindrical or spherical and is rotatable with respect to the housing surrounding the valve body to connect the connecting pieces differently with each other. 4. Valve arrangement according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the valve body is movable linearly to the housing, whereby by means of a translational movement, the connecting pieces are connected to each other differently depending on the operating mode. 5. Valve arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the drive element is formed by a mechanical drive, wherein the control is done manually or based, for example. On electrical energy. 6. Valve arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least two connections for a condenser, at least two connections for an evaporator, at least two connections for a cooling or heating circuit and at least two connections for a heat source / sink and / or storage device, such as Ground probe, are provided. 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the connecting pieces are connected differently such that the heat source and sink of the heat pump are reversed and thus allow both heating and cooling operation. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the connections are connectable such that the connecting pieces of heat source and heat sink can be connected directly to each other. 9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that further connections are provided in the housing for the connection of additional equipment such as thermal collectors, other cooling or heating circuits, heat storage, etc. 10. Heat pump system with heat pump, coaxial ground probe, space delivery system, circulation pumps and optionally thermal collector with a valve assembly according to one of claims 1 to 9. 11. A method for differently operating a heat pump by switching the heat flows of a heat pump, characterized in that the heat pump is connected to at least four terminals on a housing of a valve assembly, and at least one heat source and at least one heat sink also with at least two terminals on the same housing are connected and the different operation is carried out by the terminals are connected by means of a valve body arranged in the housing by moving the same with respect to the housing different from each other. A method according to claim 11, for heating or cooling a building using at least one heat source / heat sink, e.g. a heat absorption / heat delivery system and a ground probe, characterized in that arranged through the valve body penetrations or hollow passages the connections of the heat pump and heat source / heat sink are so reversed, so that a different use of the heat pump (heating / cooling) without reversing the internal refrigerant Currents becomes possible. 13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that by different connection of the terminals, a reversal of the flow direction, in particular in a coaxial ground probe, takes place. 14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that by arranging further connections when using one or more thermal collectors by different connection of the terminals, the order of flow of thermal collectors and ground probe is optionally possible with simultaneous flow direction reversal of the ground probe.