GB2555762A

GB2555762A - Distributed heat pump network

Info

Publication number: GB2555762A
Application number: GB1801988.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Betz Martin
Original assignee: Basic Holdings
Current assignee: Basic Holdings
Priority date: 2015-11-03
Filing date: 2015-11-03
Publication date: 2018-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 2035-11-03
Also published as: GB201801988D0; GB2555762B

Abstract

A distributed heating network comprises a plurality of individual heat pumps 110, each individually coupled to a common heat source 120, comprising a liquid loop, and arranged to independently provide or extract heat from the heat source. The common heat source is coupled to at least one energy source comprising one or more heat source components selected from: a ground source array 160, gas or oil boilers 170, CHP plants 180, biomass boilers 190, air source heat pumps 200. The liquid of the loop is kept at close to ambient temperature through active heat management using the energy source. The energy source is decoupled from the heat pumps via the common heat source. The heating requirements of the network are balanced on the common heat source whose temperature is controlled through selective activation of the one or more heat sources. The heat pumps can operate in a plurality of modes, and can provide domestic hot water (fig 6), space heating (fig 7) and localised cooling (fig 8). Excess heat from one heat pump may be diverted back into the common heat source. The heating network can be used in a district heating architecture.

Description

(56) Documents Cited:

WO 2011/041408 A2 WO 2010/145040 A1 (58) Field of Search:

(71) Applicant(s):

Basic Holdings

Glen Dimplex Group, Old Airport Road, Cloghran, Co. Dublin, Ireland

INT CL F24D, F25B

Other: WPI, EPODOC, Patent full text (72) Inventor(s):

Martin Betz (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Hanna Moore + Curley

Garryard House, 25/26 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, DO2 PX51, Ireland (54) Title of the Invention: Distributed heat pump network Abstract Title: Distributed heat pump network (57) A distributed heating network comprises a plurality of individual heat pumps 110, each individually coupled to a common heat source 120, comprising a liquid loop, and arranged to independently provide or extract heat from the heat source. The common heat source is coupled to at least one energy source comprising one or more heat source components selected from: a ground source array 160, gas or oil boilers 170, CHP plants 180, biomass boilers 190, air source heat pumps 200. The liquid of the loop is kept at close to ambient temperature through active heat management using the energy source. The energy source is decoupled from the heat pumps via the common heat source. The heating requirements of the network are balanced on the common heat source whose temperature is controlled through selective activation of the one or more heat sources. The heat pumps can operate in a plurality of modes, and can provide domestic hot water (fig 6), space heating (fig 7) and localised cooling (fig 8). Excess heat from one heat pump may be diverted back into the common heat source. The heating network can be used in a district heating architecture.

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Title

Distributed heat pump network

Field

The present application relates to heat pumps and in particular to a distributed heat pump network used in a district heating architecture.

Background

Heat pumps are well known in the art and can be defined as any device that provides heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a heat sink. Heat pumps are designed to move thermal energy opposite to the direction of spontaneous heat flow by absorbing heat from a cold space and releasing it to a warmer one. A heat pump uses some amount of external power to accomplish the work of transferring energy from the heat source to the heat sink. By definition, all heat sources for a heat pump must be colder in temperature than the space to be heated. Most commonly, heat pumps draw heat from the air (outside or inside air) or from the ground.

It is known to use heats pumps as a source of heat for heating an air space such as within a building or as a source of heating for domestic hot water. Typically a single heat pump will be connected to a single source and then the output from that heat pump is selectively used to transfers heat to air inside a building or transfer heat to a heating circuit and a tank of domestic hot water.

Known applications of heat pumps include their use in district heating. District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating. The heat is often obtained from a cogeneration plant burning fossil fuels but increasingly also biomass, although heat-only boiler stations, geothermal heating, heat pumps and central solar heating are also used, as well as nuclear power. District heating plants can provide higher efficiencies and better pollution control than localised boilers. Despite these advantages, there continues to exist a need for improvement in district heating architectures.

Summary

To address these and other needs, the present teaching provides a distributed heating network comprising a plurality of individual heat pumps, each individually coupled to a common heat source, each of the individual heat pumps being arranged to independently provide or extract heat from the common heat source.

In a first arrangement the common heat source is a water based circuit. Examples of same include pure water, water with salt additives such as brine or water with various anti-freeze components.

Each of the individual heat pumps may be coupled to a dedicated tank of domestic hot water such that a heat from that heat pump is used to provide a heating of water within that dedicated tank. The heat pump may be configured to provide a plurality of modes. The heat pump may be provided as a reversible heat pump. One or more of the heat pumps may be provided with a variable output.

In a first mode, an individual heat pump is configured to use the common heat source to provide hot water which is then stored in the dedicated tank. In a second mode, the heat pump may be used to provide space heating whereby the heat pump is configured to use the common heat source to provide a source of heat for a dedicated heating circuit- such as a radiator circuit. In a third mode, the heat pump may be configured to provide localised cooling through one or more fan coils, use of underfloor heating or the like. The heat that is generated by that localised cooling can be used to effect a heating of hot water for storage within the dedicated tank. In such an arrangement, if the volume of hot water generated is sufficient for the storage purposes then the excess heat can be diverted back into the common heat source.

By providing a plurality of such heat pumps which have independent connections to the common heat source, excess heat from one heat pump can be diverted back into the common heat source circuit where it can be used as a source of heat for another different heat pump.

The architecture may also include one or more buffer or heat sink modules which can be used to divert excess heat from the common heat source. Examples include cold stores, warm stores, chillers and the like.

The architecture may comprise one or more heat source components such as a ground source array, gas or oil boilers, CHP plants, biomass boilers, air source heat pumps or the like which are couple to the common heat source.

Accordingly, a first embodiment of the application provides a distributed heat pump network as detailed in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are provided in the dependent claims. The present teaching also provides a heat pump network as detailed in the independent claim directed thereto.

Brief Description Of The Drawings

The present application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic of an architecture including distributed heat pump network

Figure 2 is an example of the architecture of Figure 1 operable in a heating load configuration.

Figure 3 is an example of the architecture of Figure 1 operable in a heating and cooling configuration.

Figure 4 is an example of the architecture of Figure 1 operable in a cooling and domestic hot water heating configuration.

Figure 5 is a schematic showing a plumbing network of an individual heat pump per the arrangement of Figure 1, as coupled to a local load per the present teaching.

Figure 6 is a schematic showing a plumbing network of an individual heat pump per the arrangement of Figure 1, as coupled to a local load per the present teaching to provide domestic hot water to a local cylinder.

Figure 7 is a schematic showing a plumbing network of an individual heat pump per the arrangement of Figure 1, as coupled to a local load per the present teaching to provide domestic space heating.

Figure 8 is a schematic showing a plumbing network of an individual heat pump as coupled to a local load per the present teaching to provide both cooling and domestic hot water.

Detailed Description Of The Drawings

Figures 1 to 4 are exemplary schematics of a district heating architecture in accordance with the present teaching. In the examples shown, an apartment building 100 comprises a plurality of individual dwellings 101 a... 101 h. Within each dwelling is provided an individual heat pump 110a... 110h. Each of the individual heat pumps 110a... 110h, are individually coupled to a common heat source 120 which is typically provided in the form of a water circuit.

As a result of providing the plurality of heat pumps individually coupled to the heat source 120, each of the individual heat pumps can independently provide or extract heat from the common heat source 120.

As is shown in the schematics of Figures 5 to 8, each of the individual heat pumps 110 may be coupled to a dedicated tank of domestic hot water 500 such that heat from that heat pump is used to provide a heating of water within that dedicated tank 500. Each of the heat pumps 110 may also be coupled to a local heating or cooling circuit 510.

By providing a plurality of such heat pumps 110 which have independent connections to the common heat source, excess heat from one heat pump can be diverted back into the common heat source circuit where it can be used as a source of heat for another different heat pump.

The architecture may also include one or more buffer or heat sink modules which can be used to divert excess heat from the common heat source 120. Examples include cold stores 130, warm stores 140, chillers 150 and the like.

The architecture may comprise one or more heat source components such as a ground source array 160, gas or oil boilers 170, CHP plants 180, biomass boilers 190, air source heat pumps 200 or the like which are couple to the common heat source 120. The ground source array may be coupled to a ground source heat pump 165.

The heat pump may be configured to provide a plurality of modes. The heat pump may be provided as a reversible heat pump.

In a first mode as shown in Figure 6, an individual heat pump 110 is configured to use the common heat source 120 to provide hot water which is then stored in the dedicated tank or cylinder 500. In this arrangement a valving configuration is used to direct cool water from the common heat source 120 through an evaporator component 520 of the heat pump. Per conventional operation of a heat pump, this flow of cool water through the evaporator can be used in a heat exchanger to provide a source of hot water on a condenser loop 530 of the heat pump. This hot water is then fed through a coil within the cylinder to effect a heating of the water contained therein to temperatures in excess of 55° to avoid possibilities of legionella. In this configuration, the valve circuitry (shown as a three way valve 540 in this example) is switched to avoid circulation through the space heating/cooling loop 510.

In a second mode shown in Figure 7, the heat pump may be used to provide space heating whereby valve 540 is activated to remove the cylinder from the condenser loop 530 but rather direct the heat to a dedicated heating circuit 510. The cool water from the common heat source 120 is circulated through the evaporator- similar to Figure 6- where it provides a heat differential between the evaporator and the condenser. This heat differential provides heat into the condenser lip that then provides heat for space heating. Tthe heat pump in this way is configured to use the common heat source to provide a source of heat for a dedicated heating circuit- such as a radiator circuit.

In a third mode shown in Figure 8, the heat pump is isolated from the common heat source 120 but instead uses the space heating/cooling circuit 510 as a source of cooling for the evaporator. The space heating/cooling circuit comprises in this configuration localised cooling through one or more fan coils. The cooled liquid resultant from this cooling takes the effect of the cooled liquid that was provided by the water circuit in Figure 6. The heat differential between the evaporator and condenser circuits provides a source of heating for the water in the cylinder 500. In this way, the heat that is generated by that localised cooling can be used to effect a heating of hot water for storage within the dedicated tank. In such an arrangement, if the volume of hot water generated is sufficient for the storage purposes then the excess heat can be diverted back into the common heat source. This can be done by use of separate valving or by providing a reversible heat pump whereby in certain configurations, the cooled liquid returned from the circuit 510 is provided on the condenser side of the heat pump- which in a reverse configuration functions as an evaporator. The water circuit 120 is coupled into the loop instead of the cylinder 500 which results in the excess heat being dumped back into the water circuit.

By providing a plurality of such heat pumps which have independent connections to the common heat source, excess heat from one heat pump can be diverted back into the common heat source circuit where it can be used as a source of heat for another different heat pump. An example of such a configuration-which will be appreciated is idealised for exemplary purposes- is shown in Figure 3. The dwellings on the left hand side 300 of the building 100 are arranged to have an active cooling and therefore are diverting excess heat into the circuit 120 whereas those dwellings on the right hand side 310 are arranged in a heating configuration to take that heat and generate a heating within their local environment. The heat pumps within each dwelling on the RHS 310 extract heat from the common source 120 which is then used to supply heat via fan coils. The heat pump within each dwelling on the RHS is then cooled via the fan coils. The heating and cooling requirements within the overall network are balanced on the common source 120 which may be moderated or otherwise controlled by selective activation of heat generators 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, heat sinks 150, 130, 140 etc. By coupling the plurality of individual heat pumps into the network, the overall heating and cooling load is balanced and therefore the overall energy requirement for the building as a whole is reduced.

In the example of Figure 2, all dwellings are provided in space heating mode whereby the common source 120 is maintained close to ambient temperature through active management. This will advantageously use the ground loop and external heat pumps 200, 165 first. The loop 120 and the heat stores 130, 140 can be used to balance the load within the common source 120. Each individual heat pump 110 extracts heat from the loop of the common source 120 and supplies a local heat emitter which can be used for heating domestic hot water or space heating. In such an arrangement there is almost no network heat losses when heat network is kept close to ambient temperature resultant from the high efficiency of Supply Heat Pumps and the high utilisation of low temperature heat sources.

In the example of Figure 4, which replicates the scenario of Figure 8, the 5 cooling load is balanced within each dwelling through a heating of the domestic hot water heating load in each cylinder. There is very high energy efficiency within each dwelling and as a result less heat transfer needed on network. Where required heating and cooling loads are balanced on the common heat source 120

The words comprises/comprising when used in this specification are to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers , steps, components or groups thereof.

Claims

1. A distributed heating network comprising a plurality of individual heat pumps, each heat pump individually coupled to a common heat source of the network, the common heat source being further coupled to at least one energy source, the common heat source of the network comprising a liquid loop within the network, the liquid of the loop being maintained at close to ambient temperature through active heat management of the common heat source by using the at least one energy source, each heat pump being arranged to independently extract heat from the common heat source, and the at least one energy source being decoupled from the plurality of individual heat pumps via the common heat source, the at least one energy source of the network further comprising one or more heat source components coupled to the common heat source, the heat source components being selected from one of a ground source array, gas or oil boilers, CHP plants, biomass boilers, air source heat pumps and wherein the heating requirements within the network are balanced on the common heat source whose temperature is controlled through selective activation of the one or more heat sources.

2. The network of claim 1 wherein each of the individual heat pumps is coupled to a dedicated tank of domestic hot water such that heat from that heat pump is used to provide a heating of water within that dedicated tank.

3. The network of any preceding claim wherein each of the individual heat pumps is coupled to a dedicated heating circuit to provide localised heating from that heat pump.

4. The network of any preceding claim wherein each of the heat pumps are operable in a plurality of modes.

5. The network of any preceding claim wherein the heat pumps are 5 reversible heat pumps.

6. The network of claim 4 when dependent on claim 2, wherein in a first mode, an individual heat pump is configured to use the common heat source to provide hot water which is then stored in the dedicated tank.

7. The network of claim 4 or 6 wherein in a second mode, the heat pump is configured to provide space heating whereby the heat pump is configured to use the common heat source to provide a source of heat for a dedicated heating circuit.

8. The network of claim 7, wherein the dedicated heating circuit is a radiator circuit.

9. The network of any preceding claim wherein excess heat from one 20 heat pump is operably diverted back into the common heat source to be used as a source of heat for another different heat pump.

10. The network of any preceding claim comprising a variable output heat pump.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1801988.5