JP2002250573A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To highly maintain energy utilization rate even in either cooling or heating operation. SOLUTION: In cooling operation, heat that is collected by a solar energy collector 30 is thrown into an adsorption type refrigerating machine 20 for cooling the high-pressure side refrigerant of a vapor compression type heat pump 10 using the adsorption type refrigerating machine 20. On the other hand, in heating operation, the low-pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression type heat pump 10 is heated by heat that is collected by the solar energy collector 30, and at the same time is heated by the vapor compression type heat pump 10, thus performing heating using heat that is collected by the solar energy collector 30 and heat that is recovered by an outdoor heat exchanger 12, hence effectively utilizing heat that is collected by the solar energy collector 30 either in cooling operation or in heating operation and highly maintaining the energy utilization rate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner combining a vapor compression heat pump (adsorption refrigerator) and an adsorption refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner combining a vapor compression heat pump and an adsorption refrigerator is disclosed in, for example,
In the invention described in Japanese Patent No. 223414, the refrigerant on the discharge side of the compressor is cooled by the adsorption refrigerator, whereby the high pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression refrigerator is reduced, and the compression work of the compressor is reduced. .

[0003]

However, if the invention described in the above publication is simply applied to an air conditioner capable of switching between cooling and heating, as described above, during cooling operation,
Although the compression work of the compressor can be reduced to improve the efficiency of the air conditioner, at the time of heating, the heating capacity is absorbed by the adsorption refrigerator, and the heating capacity is reduced.

In order to avoid this problem, the solar heat recovered by the solar water heater is discharged to the outside without using it, or the solar heat recovered by other heating equipment such as floor heating is used. However, the method of releasing the heat to the outside without using solar heat reduces the efficiency of energy use,
If the solar heat collected by another heating device is used, the arrangement of hot water piping and the like becomes complicated.

[0005] In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to maintain a high energy utilization rate in both a cooling operation and a heating operation.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a compressor (1) is provided.
1) A vapor compression heat pump (1) having an outdoor heat exchanger (12), a decompressor (13), and an indoor heat exchanger (14).
0), an adsorber that exhibits a refrigerating ability by evaporating the refrigerant, and that stores the adsorbent (Si) that adsorbs the evaporated refrigerant and desorbs the adsorbed refrigerant when heated. Adsorption refrigerator having (21) (20)
And a heat recovery means (30) for recovering heat. During cooling operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20), and the adsorption refrigerator (20) And cooling by a vapor compression heat pump (10),
During the heating operation, heating is performed by heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) and heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12).

[0007] Thus, since the heating is performed by the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) and the heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12), the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is removed. In both the cooling operation and the heating operation, it can be effectively used, and the energy utilization rate can be maintained high.

According to the invention described in claim 2, the compressor (1)
1) A vapor compression heat pump (1) having an outdoor heat exchanger (12), a decompressor (13), and an indoor heat exchanger (14).
0), an adsorber that exhibits a refrigerating ability by evaporating the refrigerant, and that stores the adsorbent (Si) that adsorbs the evaporated refrigerant and desorbs the adsorbed refrigerant when heated. Adsorption refrigerator having (21) (20)
And a heat recovery means (30) for recovering heat. During cooling operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20), and the adsorption refrigerator (20) And cooling by a vapor compression heat pump (10),
During the heating operation, heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the vapor compression heat pump (10), and heating is performed by the supplied heat and the heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12). And

[0009] Thus, since the heating is performed by the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) and the heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12), the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is recovered. In both the cooling operation and the heating operation, it can be effectively used, and the energy utilization rate can be maintained high.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the compressor (1
1) A vapor compression heat pump (1) having an outdoor heat exchanger (12), a decompressor (13), and an indoor heat exchanger (14).
0), an adsorber that exhibits a refrigerating ability by evaporating the refrigerant, and that stores the adsorbent (Si) that adsorbs the evaporated refrigerant and desorbs the adsorbed refrigerant when heated. Adsorption refrigerator having (21) (20)
And a heat recovery means (30) for recovering heat. In cooling operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20) to be supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20). To cool the high-pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump (10) during heating operation, while heating the low pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump (10) with heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30). The heating is performed by a compression heat pump (10).

[0011] Thus, since the heating is performed by the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) and the heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12), the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is reduced. In both the cooling operation and the heating operation, it can be effectively used, and the energy utilization rate can be maintained high.

Preferably, the heat recovery means (30) is a solar heat collector for recovering solar heat, as in the fourth aspect of the present invention.

Incidentally, the reference numerals in parentheses of the above means are examples showing the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiments described later.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In this embodiment, an air conditioner according to the present invention is applied to a general household air conditioner.
0 (range surrounded by a thick chain line) indicates a vapor compression heat pump (vapor compression refrigerator), and 20 (range surrounded by a thin dashed line) indicates an adsorption refrigerator.

Here, the vapor compression heat pump 10
A compressor 11 for compressing the refrigerant, an outdoor heat exchanger (hereinafter abbreviated as an outdoor unit) 12 for exchanging heat between the outdoor air and the refrigerant, an expansion valve (decompressor) 13 for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant, and air blown into the room. An indoor heat exchanger (hereinafter, abbreviated as an indoor unit) 14 for exchanging heat with the refrigerant, the refrigerant is separated into a gas-phase refrigerant and a liquid-phase refrigerant, and the surplus refrigerant is stored. Accumulator 15 for supplying refrigerant to the suction side of compressor 11 and a four-way valve (switching means) for switching between a case where refrigerant discharged from compressor 11 is circulated to outdoor unit 12 and a case where refrigerant is circulated to indoor unit 14. 16 and the like.

In this embodiment, the compressor 11, the outdoor unit 12, the accumulator 15, the four-way valve 16, and the blower 12a that blows air to the outdoor unit 12 are housed in a casing (not shown). Unit (lump)
The expansion valve 13, the indoor unit 14, and the blower 14a for blowing air to the indoor unit 14 are housed in a casing (not shown) to form one unit (lump). Hereinafter, compressor 1
A unit including the indoor unit 14 and the like is referred to as an outdoor unit 10a, and a unit including the indoor unit 14 and the like is referred to as an indoor unit 10b.

On the other hand, the adsorption refrigerator 20 is substantially vacuum (0.
A refrigerant (in the present embodiment, water) in a container (adsorber) kept at 1 mmHg or less) exerts a refrigeration capacity by evaporating. As shown in FIG. Adsorbers (in the present embodiment, silica gel) for adsorbing liquid refrigerant and evaporated vapor refrigerant, adsorbers 21a and 21b, in which liquid refrigerant Lr and a heat exchange medium (in this embodiment, an ethylene glycol-based First heat exchangers 22a, 22 for performing heat exchange with the antifreeze liquid).
b and second heat exchangers 23a and 23b for performing heat exchange between the adsorbent Si and the heat exchange medium.

Hereinafter, when the adsorbers 21a and 21b are collectively referred to as the adsorber 21, the first heat exchanger 22a,
22b is referred to as a first heat exchanger 22, and the second heat exchangers 23a and 23b are referred to as a second heat exchanger 23.

Further, reference numeral 24 denotes a heat exchange medium cooled by the first heat exchanger 22 by evaporation of the liquid refrigerant Lr and the outdoor unit 12.
Is a third heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the cold and high-pressure side medium that has flowed out, and 25 radiates heat (adsorption heat) generated when the adsorbent Si adsorbs the vapor refrigerant into the outside air. Radiator. In addition, 41 to 43 are first to third pumps for circulating the heat exchange medium, and 44 to 47 are first to fourth four-way solenoid valves for switching the circulation path of the heat exchange medium.

Here, the high-pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump 10 is a refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 before being decompressed by the expansion valve 13, and its pressure is substantially equal to the discharge pressure of the compressor 11. . The low-pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump 10 refers to a refrigerant that has been decompressed by the expansion valve 13 and has not yet been drawn into the compressor 11, and the pressure thereof is substantially equal to the evaporation pressure of the refrigerant.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a solar heat collector (heat recovery means) for recovering solar heat and heating the heat exchange medium, and heat collected by the solar heat collector 30 (heating by solar heat). The heat exchange medium thus obtained is supplied to the vapor compression heat pump 10 via the adsorption refrigerator 20 (adsorbent Si) or the fourth heat exchanger 26, as described later.

At this time, the heat exchange medium flowing through the third and fourth heat exchangers 24 and 26 is arranged to exchange heat with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 10d connecting the outdoor unit 12 and the expansion valve 13. ing.

Incidentally, reference numeral 27 denotes a check valve which allows the heat exchange medium to flow in only one direction, and 48 denotes a heat exchange medium heated by the solar heat collector 30 to the fourth heat exchanger 26.
This is a three-way switching valve that switches between supplying to the adsorber 21 and supplying to the adsorber 21 (adsorption refrigerator 20).

In the present embodiment, the adsorption refrigerator 2
0, 3rd, 4th heat exchangers 24, 26, and outdoor unit 1
0a and the refrigerant pipe 10c, which connects the indoor unit 10b, 1
0d is housed in a casing to form a unit.
Hereafter, this unit (range surrounded by a thick two-dot chain line) 2
0a is referred to as an adsorption refrigeration unit 20a.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner according to this embodiment will be described.

1. During the cooling operation The compressor 11 is operated to operate the vapor compression heat pump 10 and the first to third pumps 41 to 43 are operated.

At this time, in the vapor compression heat pump 10, the compressor 11 → the four-way valve 16 → the outdoor unit 12 → the expansion valve 13
The refrigerant is circulated in the order of the indoor unit 14 → the accumulator 15 → the compressor 11. As a result, the refrigerant that has taken heat from the air that is blown into the room in the indoor unit 14 and evaporates is removed from the outdoor unit 1.
In step 2, the heat taken from the air blown into the room is radiated and condensed.

On the other hand, in the adsorption refrigerator 20, the first to fourth four-way solenoid valves 44 to 47 and the three-way switching valve 48 are operated,
Heat is exchanged between the first heat exchanger 22 (in this example, the first heat exchanger 22a) and the third heat exchanger 24 of the adsorber 21 (for example, the adsorber 21a) in the adsorption state by exhibiting the refrigerating capacity. The medium is circulated to cool the high-pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump 10, and the second heat exchanger 23 (the second heat exchanger in this example) of the adsorber 21 (in this example, the adsorber 21a) in the adsorption state. A heat exchange medium is circulated between 23a) and the radiator 25.

At the same time, the second heat exchanger 23 (the second heat exchange in this example) of the adsorber 21 (the adsorber 21b in this example) in the regeneration state (the state in which the vapor refrigerant adsorbed by the adsorbent Si is desorbed). The heat exchange medium is circulated between the heat exchanger 23b) and the solar heat collector 30 side, and the adsorber 2 in the regeneration state is circulated.
The heat exchange medium is circulated between the first heat exchanger 22 (first heat exchanger 22a in this example) of the first heat exchanger 1 (adsorber 21b in this example) and the radiator 25.

Then, an operation of switching between the adsorber 22 in the adsorption state and the adsorber 22 in the regeneration state is performed at predetermined time intervals. The predetermined time is appropriately selected in consideration of the adsorbing capacity of the adsorbent Si and the amount of desorption.

2. During the heating operation, the compressor 11 is operated to operate the vapor compression heat pump 10 and the second pump 42 is operated.

At this time, in the vapor compression heat pump 10, the compressor 11 → the four-way valve 16 → the indoor unit 14 → the expansion valve 13
The refrigerant is circulated in the order of → the outdoor unit 12 → the accumulator 15 → the compressor 11. Thus, the refrigerant that has taken heat from the outside air and evaporated in the outdoor unit 12 radiates the heat taken from the outside air in the indoor unit 14 to the air that is blown into the room and condenses.

On the other hand, the adsorption type refrigerator 20 is stopped, and the three-way switching valve 48 is operated to operate the solar heat collector 30.
The heat (heat exchange medium heated by solar heat) recovered to the fourth heat exchanger 26 is supplied to the vapor compression heat pump 1
0 low-pressure side refrigerant is heated.

Next, the features (effects) of this embodiment will be described.

According to the present embodiment, during the cooling operation, the heat recovered by the solar heat collector 30 is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator 20, and the vapor compression heat pump 1 is
Since the high pressure side refrigerant of 0 is cooled, cooling is performed by both the adsorption refrigerator 20 and the vapor compression heat pump 10.

Therefore, the vapor compression heat pump 10
Compared with the case where cooling is performed alone, the cooling operation can be performed with less power consumption while suppressing the increase in the high-pressure side refrigerant pressure of the vapor compression heat pump 10.

During the heating operation, the solar heat collector 30
While heating the low pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump 10 with the heat recovered by
In this case, the heat recovered by the solar heat collector 30 is supplied to the vapor compression heat pump 10, and heating is performed by the supplied heat and the heat recovered by the outdoor unit 12.

Therefore, during the heating operation, the heating is performed by the heat recovered by the solar heat collector 30 and the heat recovered by the outdoor unit 12, so that the heating is performed in comparison with the case of performing the heating by the vapor compression heat pump 10 alone. Thus, the heating operation can be performed with less power consumption. As a result, the energy utilization rate can be kept high in both the cooling operation and the heating operation.

In the present embodiment, the adsorption refrigerator 20, the third and fourth heat exchangers 24 and 26, and the refrigerant pipe 10c connecting the outdoor unit 10a and the indoor unit 10b,
10d is stored in a casing, and the adsorption refrigeration unit 2
0a, the number of adsorption refrigeration units 20a can be easily increased or decreased as shown in FIG.

Therefore, by adjusting the number of the adsorption refrigeration units 20a, it is possible to easily adjust the capacity (refrigeration capacity) of the adsorption chiller 20 side. It is possible to cope cheaply without changing the design.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment, silica gel was used as the adsorbent Si. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and activated carbon, zeolite, activated alumina, etc. were used as the adsorbent Si. You may.

In the above-described embodiment, water is used as the liquid refrigerant. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other liquids may be used as long as they are adsorbed by the adsorbent Si such as alcohol and chlorofluorocarbon. It may be a thing.

In the above-described embodiment, during the heating operation, the refrigerant of the low-pressure side refrigerant before flowing into the outdoor unit 12 is heated by the heat recovered by the solar heat collector 30, but the present invention applies to this. It is not limited, for example, the outdoor unit 1
The refrigerant flowing from 2 may be heated by the heat recovered by the solar heat collector 30.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the solar heat collector 30 is used as the heat recovery means. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and natural heat existing in the natural world such as rivers, geothermal heat, solar heat, etc. The heat recovery means may be configured by recovering thermal energy or waste heat from a generator engine or a fuel cell or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an adsorption refrigeration unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vapor compression heat pump, 10a ... Outdoor unit, 10b ... Indoor unit, 20 ... Adsorption type refrigerator, 20
a: adsorption refrigeration unit, 21: adsorber, 24: third heat exchanger, 26: fourth heat exchanger, 30: solar heat collector (heat recovery means).

Claims (4)

[Claims] A compressor (11), an outdoor heat exchanger (1)
2) a vapor compression heat pump (10) having a decompressor (13) and an indoor heat exchanger (14); exhibits a refrigerating ability by evaporating the refrigerant, adsorbs the evaporated refrigerant, and is heated. An adsorbent refrigerator (20) having an adsorber (21) containing an adsorbent (Si) for desorbing a refrigerant adsorbed by the heat exchanger, and a heat recovery means (30) for recovering heat. During the cooling operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20), and the adsorption refrigerator (20) and the vapor compression heat pump (1) are supplied.
The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein cooling is performed by 0), and during heating operation, heating is performed by heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) and heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12). 2. A compressor (11) and an outdoor heat exchanger (1).
2) a vapor compression heat pump (10) having a decompressor (13) and an indoor heat exchanger (14); exhibits a refrigerating ability by evaporating the refrigerant, adsorbs the evaporated refrigerant, and is heated. An adsorbent refrigerator (20) having an adsorber (21) containing an adsorbent (Si) for desorbing a refrigerant adsorbed by the heat exchanger, and a heat recovery means (30) for recovering heat. During the cooling operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20), and the adsorption refrigerator (20) and the vapor compression heat pump (1) are supplied.
0), cooling is performed, and during the heating operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is given to the vapor compression heat pump (10),
An air conditioner characterized by heating by the applied heat and the heat recovered by the outdoor heat exchanger (12). 3. A compressor (11), an outdoor heat exchanger (1).
2) a vapor compression heat pump (10) having a decompressor (13) and an indoor heat exchanger (14); exhibits a refrigerating ability by evaporating the refrigerant, adsorbs the evaporated refrigerant, and is heated. An adsorbent refrigerator (20) having an adsorber (21) containing an adsorbent (Si) for desorbing a refrigerant adsorbed by the heat exchanger, and a heat recovery means (30) for recovering heat. During the cooling operation, the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20), and the vapor compression heat pump (1) is supplied to the adsorption refrigerator (20).
0), the high-pressure side refrigerant is cooled. During the heating operation, the low-pressure side refrigerant of the vapor compression heat pump (10) is heated by the heat recovered by the heat recovery means (30). 1
An air conditioner characterized by performing heating in 0). 4. An air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein said heat recovery means is a solar heat collector for recovering solar heat.