JP2000161720A - Cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption of a cooler regardless of outer air temperature. SOLUTION: Brine flowing out from an indoor heat exchanger 12 is cooled by a first heat exchanger 20 being sprayed with cooling water and the brine is cooled by the evaporation latent heat thereof. The cooled brine is cooled further by an evaporator 40 in a steam compression refrigeration cycle. Since the brine is cooled by the first heat exchanger 20, driving power of a compressor in the steam compression refrigeration cycle can be reduced correspondingly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device, and can be used as a cooling device for ordinary houses, buildings, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Energy saving of a cooling device has been a more important task than ever, and a demand for reduction of carbon dioxide emission by improving the efficiency of the cooling device has been increasing internationally.
In general, household and commercial cooling systems driven by electric power have the highest power consumption, especially during the daytime in summer, which can temporarily exceed the power supply capacity of the power plant. The situation has become a social issue. As a countermeasure against such a problem, attempts have been made to reduce the power consumption by improving the efficiency of the cooling device.

[0003] For example, in the cooling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-195133, when the outside air temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature, the refrigerant is cooled by the outside air via a heat exchanger disposed outdoors, and the outside air is cooled below the predetermined temperature. When the temperature is high, the refrigerant is cooled by a vapor compression type cooling device having a compressor. The cooled refrigerant exchanges heat with the air in the room, which is the space to be cooled, to cool the room air.

In the cooling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-126422, a refrigerant that exchanges heat with indoor air is cooled by utilizing the latent heat of evaporation of water when the outside air temperature is low, and is compressed when the outside air temperature is high. It is cooled by a vapor compression type cooling device equipped with a cooling machine. The cooled refrigerant exchanges heat with the air in the room, which is the space to be cooled, to cool the room air.

[0005] Certainly, in such a conventional cooling device,
When the outside air temperature is low, power is saved as much as the operation of the compressor of the vapor compression type cooling device can be stopped.However, the compressor must still be operated at the high outside air temperature, which consumes the most power, resulting in a power saving effect. Was not always big. Also,
The flow of the refrigerant must be switched according to the level of the outside air temperature, and a switching valve device for that purpose has been required.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention does not require a conventional refrigerant switching device, and achieves desired cooling while always suppressing power consumption regardless of the temperature of the outside air. It is to obtain a cooling device which can be achieved.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a first heat exchanger for cooling brine, which exchanges heat with air in a space to be air-conditioned, by latent heat of water evaporation, and an electric motor for compressing refrigerant. A vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser for cooling and condensing the compressed refrigerant, a decompression means for decompressing the condensed refrigerant, and an evaporator for evaporating the depressurized refrigerant are sequentially connected; (1) A cooling apparatus characterized in that the brine cooled by the heat exchanger is further cooled by an evaporator of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle.

[0008] Thus, since the brine once cooled by the first heat exchanger is cooled by the vapor compression refrigeration cycle, the power consumption of the compressor can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the air in the space to be conditioned is directly cooled by the first heat exchanger and further cooled by the evaporator.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the air in the space to be air-conditioned and the brine, and the brine introduced by the brine, and the latent heat of the water supplied to the surface are used to remove the brine. A first heat exchanger for cooling, a sprinkler for supplying water to the surface of the first heat exchanger, an electric compressor for compressing the refrigerant, and a condenser for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor. A decompression means for decompressing the refrigerant cooled by the condenser, an evaporator for evaporating the depressurized refrigerant, and cooling the brine cooled by the first heat exchanger by evaporating the refrigerant in the evaporator. And a second heat exchanger for cooling. According to the present invention, since the brine once cooled by the first heat exchanger is cooled by the evaporator of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle, the power consumption of the compressor can be reduced.

According to the invention described in claim 4 of the present application, claim 3
The air in the space to be air-conditioned is directly
It was cooled by a heat exchanger and further cooled by an evaporator.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a home air conditioner will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an air conditioner according to the present embodiment. An indoor heat exchanger 12
And a blower 14 that guides indoor air toward the indoor heat exchanger 12. The indoor heat exchanger 12 and the blower 14 are housed in a unit case 16 and, for example, the indoor 1
0 is installed on the wall.

The indoor heat exchanger 12 includes a brine pipe 18.
Thus, the first heat exchanger 20 and the second heat exchanger 22 are connected to each other to form one closed loop. Brine piping 1 connecting the indoor heat exchanger 12 and the first heat exchanger 20
In the middle of 8, a pump 24 for circulating brine in the closed loop is arranged. When the pump 24 is driven, the brine flows from the indoor heat exchanger 12 to the first heat exchanger 20 and then to the second heat exchanger 22,
It flows so as to return to the indoor heat exchanger 12.

A blower 26 for pushing or sucking cooling air toward the first heat exchanger 20 is arranged on the front surface of the first heat exchanger 20. Further, cooling water is provided above the front surface of the first heat exchanger 20.
The nozzle 30 of the water sprinkling device 28 that sprays water toward the entire surface is opened.

The water sprinkler 28 includes a water storage tank 32 for storing cooling water, a pump 34 for pumping the cooling water in the water storage tank 32, and a cooling water pipe 38 for guiding the pumped cooling water to the nozzle 30. Consists of

A third heat exchanger 40 is arranged adjacent to the side of the second heat exchanger 22. This third heat exchanger 40
Constitutes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle, and includes a compressor 44, a heat source side heat exchanger 46,
The first pressure reducing means 48 and the second pressure reducing means 50 are connected.
During cooling, the third heat exchanger 40 functions as an evaporator of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle, and the heat source side heat exchanger 46 functions as a condenser.
By arranging the second heat exchanger 22 and the third heat exchanger 40 adjacent to each other, the brine flowing in the second heat exchanger 22 and the refrigerant flowing in the third heat exchanger 40 are heated. Be exchanged.

The compressor 44 is for sucking a low-pressure gas refrigerant and compressing it into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant, and is driven by an electric motor. The type of the compressor may be a piston type or a rotary type. A four-way valve 56 is disposed on the outlet side of the compressor 44. By switching the four-way valve 56, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 44 flows to the heat source side heat exchanger 46 at the time of cooling, and the fourth refrigerant at the time of heating. 3 Flow to heat exchanger 40.

Between the heat source side heat exchanger 46 and the third heat exchanger 40, a first pressure reducing means 48 for cooling and a first check valve 52 are arranged. A second pressure reducing means 50 for heating and a second check valve 54 are arranged in parallel with these.

Further, a blower 54 for pushing or sucking cooling air toward the heat source side heat exchanger 46 is provided on the front surface of the heat source side heat exchanger 46. further,
Above the front surface of the heat source side heat exchanger 46, a nozzle 36 of the water sprinkling device 28 for spraying the cooling water toward the entire surface of the heat source side heat exchanger 46 is opened.

The first heat exchanger 20, the second heat exchanger 22, the pump 24, the blower 26, the sprinkler 28, the third heat exchanger 40, the compressor 44, the heat source side heat exchanger 46, and the pressure reducing means 48 described above. , 50, the check valves 52, 54, and the four-way valve 56 are unitized as the heat source unit 11, and are disposed outdoors.

Next, at the time of cooling described in the operation of the present embodiment, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 44 is guided to the heat source side heat exchanger 46 which is a condenser and exchanges heat with the outside air to form a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. Condense. The condensed refrigerant is depressurized by the first decompression means 48 and guided to the third heat exchanger 40. The refrigerant evaporates in the third heat exchanger 40, which is an evaporator, and cools the brine in the second heat exchanger 22.

The cooling water is supplied to the heat source side heat exchanger 46 by the nozzle 3.
The water in the heat source side heat exchanger 46 contributes to efficient condensation of the refrigerant.

The brine, which has exchanged heat with the indoor air by the indoor heat exchanger 12 and has a high temperature, is led to the first heat exchanger 20 by the pump 24. Here, the first heat exchanger 20
, Cooling water is sprinkled by the sprinkler 28,
On the surface of the first heat exchanger 20, the cooling water evaporates. The brine is cooled by depriving the latent heat of vaporization from the brine flowing in the first heat exchanger 20.

The cooled brine flows into the second heat exchanger 22 and is further cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant flowing in the third heat exchanger 40. And again indoor heat exchanger
By flowing into the interior 12 and exchanging heat with the indoor air guided by the blower 14, the indoor air is cooled.

Such a temperature change of the brine will be described with reference to a psychrometric chart shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a graph in which the horizontal axis represents the air temperature and the vertical axis represents the absolute humidity. In FIG. 4, the state indicated by point A is outside air, and the state indicated by point B is room air. Since the cooling water evaporates on the outer surface of the first heat exchanger 20, the brine in the first heat exchanger 20 is cooled to the dew point of the outside air (100% relative humidity), that is, the point C where the absolute humidity is equal to the point A. . That is, the cooling water is cooled from 30 ° C. to 19 ° C. by the cooling effect of the latent heat of evaporation of the cooling water.

When the evaporation temperature of the third heat exchanger 40 is set to 5 to 6 ° C., the brine cooled to 19 ° C. in the first heat exchanger 20 is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the third heat exchanger 40 to 10 ° C.
Cool down to ° C. This state is indicated by point D.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the latent heat of evaporation of the cooling water is used, the cooling capacity to be achieved by the heat source side refrigeration cycle is reduced to about 50%.

Next, the power consumption of this embodiment will be described.

In general, when the cooling capacity is reduced to about 50%, the power consumption of the compressor is reduced to about 50%. But,
In the embodiment, the heat source side heat exchanger 46 is also the first heat exchanger 20.
Cooling is performed by the latent heat of vaporization of water, so that the power consumption of the compressor is less than 50%.

As is well known, watering the condenser of a vapor compression refrigerator can reduce the condensing pressure, and consequently the compression ratio of the compressor, thereby significantly reducing the power requirements of the compressor. This is widely known and practically used as a cooling tower, and it is possible to reduce the electric power by about 60% as compared with the case without water spraying as shown in FIG. I know it.

Therefore, in the present invention, the electric power required for driving the compressor to obtain the same cooling effect is about 3 times less than the conventional one.
Since only 0% is required, it is possible to significantly reduce power consumption, and eventually reduce carbon dioxide emission, save air conditioning costs, and reduce peak voltage.

At the time of heating, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 44 is guided to the third heat exchanger 40 by switching the four-way valve 56, and acts as a condenser. And
Heat is applied to the brine in the second heat exchanger 22, and the heated brine heats the indoor air by the indoor heat exchanger 12. At this time, since water is not sprinkled on the first heat exchanger 20 and the blower 26 is not driven, the first heat exchanger 20 merely functions as a passage.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the above-described first embodiment, the indoor air and the brine are heat-exchanged by using the indoor heat exchanger 12. In the second embodiment, the indoor air is directly guided to the first heat exchanger. Further, the air is further cooled by the third heat exchanger 40 and returned to the room.

That is, the room air sucked by the blower 14 arranged in the unit case 16 is
8 to the first heat exchanger 20 and the first heat exchanger 2
0 is cooled by the latent heat of evaporation of the cooling water sprinkled on the surface. The cooled air is supplied to the blower 1 through the air duct 58.
It returns to the 4 side and is blown out into the room. A third heat exchanger 40 is disposed in an air duct 58 connecting the first heat exchanger 20 and the blower 14, and directly cools and dehumidifies the air flowing through the air duct 58.

A drain pipe 60 for discharging condensed water generated by cooling and dehumidifying the air in the third heat exchanger is formed at the lowermost part of the air duct 58.

At the time of heating, the third heat exchanger 40 directly heats the air in the air duct 58.

The other construction is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals are given.

FIG. 4 shows a change in the temperature of air in the present embodiment.
It will be described based on.

In the figure, the state shown by point A is outside air, and the state shown by point B is room air. Since the cooling water evaporates on the outer surface of the first heat exchanger 20, the air flowing through the first heat exchanger 20 has a dew point (100% relative humidity) of the outside air, that is, a point A.
Is cooled to a point C where the absolute humidity is equal. That is, the cooling water is cooled from 30 ° C. to 19 ° C. by the cooling effect of the latent heat of evaporation of the cooling water.

When the evaporation temperature of the third heat exchanger 40 is set at 5 to 6 ° C., the brine cooled to 19 ° C. by the first heat exchanger 20 is cooled to the point D by the refrigerant flowing through the third heat exchanger 40.
(10 ° C., 100% relative humidity).

Next, the power consumption of this embodiment will be described.

The room air is indicated by a point B in FIG. 4, and the air cooled by the third heat exchanger 40 is indicated by a point D.
Therefore, the enthalpy in the first heat exchanger 20 is 4 Kcal.
It is 6 Kcal / kgDA that can be reduced by the refrigeration cycle. Therefore, the cooling capacity to be achieved by the vapor compression refrigeration cycle is reduced to about 60% as compared with the case where the entire state from point B to point D is cooled by the vapor compression refrigeration cycle.

Generally, when the cooling capacity is reduced to 60%, the power consumption of the compressor is reduced to about 60%. Moreover,
In the present embodiment, the first heat exchanger 20 and the heat source side heat exchanger 46 are cooled by the latent heat of evaporation of the cooling water as in the first embodiment, so that the power consumption of the compressor is further reduced to 60%. be able to. Therefore, the power consumption required for driving the compressor can be reduced to about 36% as compared with the conventional one.

(Third Embodiment) In the third embodiment, the second
An air four-way valve 62 and a ventilation duct 64 are further provided in the embodiment.

That is, the air four-way valve 62 and the ventilation duct 64 are connected in the middle of the air duct 58 connecting the unit case 16 and the first heat exchanger 20. The mode in which all indoor air is guided to the first heat exchanger 20 by this four-way air valve 62, the indoor air is discharged outside the room, and the outdoor air is guided to the first heat exchanger 20 via the ventilation duct 64. Switch to mode.

Thus, it is possible to perform air conditioning by introducing fresh air outside the room while discharging dirty air inside the room outside the room.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a partition 72 is formed in the upper part of the room 10, an air inlet 74 is formed above the partition 72, and an air outlet 76 is formed below the partition 72. The air inlet 74 and the air outlet 76 are connected by an air duct 58, and the first heat exchanger 20 is arranged in the air duct 58. A blower 70 for blowing air into the air duct is disposed near the air outlet 76 of the air duct 58.

Immediately below the air outlet 76, the indoor heat exchanger 12 of a conventionally known vapor compression refrigeration cycle is disposed. Therefore, the air cooled by the first heat exchanger 20 is sucked into the indoor heat exchanger again in the room, and the indoor heat exchanger 1
Cooled by 2.

Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a comparison of the required electric power between the conventional cooling device and the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a diagram A shows a cooling device composed of only a vapor compression refrigeration cycle, a diagram B shows a cooling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-126422, and a diagram C shows the present invention. This is a first embodiment or a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the cooling device shown in the diagram A, the required electric power also increases as the outside air temperature rises. In the cooling device shown by the diagram B, the required power is small when the outside air temperature is, for example, 19 ° C. or lower.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention shown in the diagram C, the effect of evaporating the cooling water can be obtained irrespective of the outside air temperature, so that significant power saving can be obtained throughout the cooling season. .

In all the embodiments described above, the first
Tap water, rainwater, river water, condensed water of the third heat exchanger, and the like can be used as the cooling water sprinkled on the heat exchanger and the heat source side heat exchanger.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an air line diagram showing a cooling state in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram comparing the required power between the embodiment of the present invention and the conventional technology.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a required power ratio depending on whether or not water is applied to a condenser.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 ... indoor heat exchanger 20 ... first heat exchanger 22 ... second heat exchanger 40 ... third heat exchanger 44 ... compressor 46 ... heat source side heat exchanger

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first heat exchanger for cooling brine, which exchanges heat with air in an air-conditioned space, by latent heat of vaporization of water, an electric compressor for compressing a refrigerant, and a condenser for cooling and condensing the compressed refrigerant. A vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which a heat exchanger, a pressure reducing means for decompressing the condensed refrigerant, and an evaporator for evaporating the depressurized refrigerant are sequentially connected; and the brine cooled by the first heat exchanger is cooled by the vapor compression type refrigeration cycle. A cooling device characterized by further cooling by an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle. 2. A first heat exchanger for cooling air in a space to be air-conditioned by latent heat of vaporization of water, an electric compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser for cooling and condensing the compressed refrigerant, and a condensed refrigerant for the refrigerant A vapor compression refrigeration cycle in which vacuum means for reducing pressure and an evaporator for evaporating the decompressed refrigerant are sequentially connected; and the indoor air cooled by the first heat exchanger is evaporated by the vapor compression refrigeration cycle. A cooling device characterized by further cooling by a vessel. 3. An indoor heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the air in the space to be conditioned and the brine, and a first heat exchanger for introducing the brine and cooling the brine by latent heat of vaporization of water supplied to the surface. A sprinkler for supplying water to the surface of the first heat exchanger; an electric compressor for compressing the refrigerant; a condenser for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor; Decompression means for decompressing the refrigerant, evaporator for evaporating the decompressed refrigerant, and second heat exchange for cooling the brine cooled by the first heat exchanger by refrigerant evaporation in the evaporator. A cooling device comprising: 4. A first heat exchanger for introducing air in the space to be conditioned and cooling the air by the latent heat of evaporation of the water supplied to the surface, and supplying water to the surface of the first heat exchanger. A sprinkler, an electric compressor for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the electric compressor, a decompression means for decompressing the refrigerant cooled by the condenser, A cooling device comprising: an evaporator that exchanges heat with air cooled by the first heat exchanger to cool the air.