JP2008151459A - Desiccant air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a desiccant air conditioner capable of surely preventing freezing in a hot water heat exchanger and reducing energy consumption to prevent freezing. <P>SOLUTION: When an outside air temperature T<SB>out</SB>detected by an outside air temperature sensor 16 becomes a first threshold value T<SB>1</SB>or less, a thermomotive valve 13a is forcibly opened, and when the outside air temperature T<SB>out</SB>detected by the outside air temperature sensor 16 becomes a second threshold value T<SB>2</SB>or less, which is lower than the first threshold value T<SB>1</SB>, the thermomotive valve 13a is forcibly opened, and the circulation of hot water to a regenerative heat exchanger 13 is requested to an external heat source machine 30, and a second blower 11 is forcibly stopped when the second blower 11 is operated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a desiccant air conditioner, and more particularly to a desiccant air conditioner that can effectively prevent freezing in a heat exchanger and hot water piping.

  An air conditioner having a function of heating air flowing through a ventilation path formed inside an apparatus body by a hot water heat exchanger is widely used. An air conditioner is installed on a wall or ceiling of a room, and cools, heats, dehumidifies, or humidifies indoor air. In this case, in the hot water heat exchanger, hot water is circulated through piping from an outdoor unit (water heater) installed outside the room.

  In cold regions, if the air temperature drops to below freezing while the air conditioner is stopped in winter, the water inside the hot water heat exchanger may freeze and the hot water heat exchanger and the hot water pipes connected to it may be damaged. . Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the temperature of a pipe such as a hot water heat exchanger or a hot water supply pipe, and perform an anti-freezing operation when the inside of the pipe is likely to reach the freezing temperature.

  As an air conditioner having such a freeze prevention function, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the air conditioner 100 described in Patent Document 1. In an air conditioner 100 described in Patent Literature 1, a plurality of indoor units 101 installed indoors and an outdoor unit 102 installed outdoors are connected by a hot water circulation path 120. In addition, each indoor unit 101 and the heat source unit 103 installed outside are connected to the hot water circulation path 121 and the communication line 122.

  Each indoor unit 104a, 104b includes an indoor heat exchanger 104, a heat exchanger temperature sensor 105, and a microcomputer 106. The indoor heat exchanger 104 includes a radiator 104a and an evaporator 104b. A heat exchange temperature sensor 105 is provided in the vicinity of the radiator 104a.

  The heat source device 103 includes a hot water heat exchanger 107, a gas burner 108, a circulation pump 109, a microcomputer 110, and an outside air temperature sensor 111. The microcomputer 106 and the microcomputer 110 are connected by a communication line 122.

In the air conditioner 100, the freeze prevention control is performed as follows. First, the microcomputer 110 takes in the outdoor temperature T detected by the outside air temperature sensor 111. Next, it is judged whether the outdoor temperature T is freezing temperature T ₀ or less.

When the outdoor temperature T is equal to or lower than the freezing temperature T ₀ , the circulation pump 109 is activated to circulate water through the hot water circulation path 121. And the burner 108 is started, the warm water heat exchanger 107 is heated, and the water circulating through the warm water circulation path 121 is heated. Thereby, freezing of the indoor heat exchanger 104 and the hot water circulation path 121 is prevented.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the air conditioner 200 described in Patent Document 2. The air conditioner 200 includes a hot water heating heat source unit 201 installed outdoors and a hot water heating terminal device 202 installed indoors (inside the bathroom R).

  The hot water heating heat source unit 201 includes a heat exchanger 203, a circulation pump 204, a heat source ambient temperature sensor 205, and a controller 206.

  The hot water heating terminal device 202 includes a circulation fan 210, a heat exchanger 211, a thermal valve 212, a bathroom temperature sensor 213, a heat exchanger temperature sensor 214, a ventilation port 215, and a controller 216. The controller 206 of the hot water heating heat source apparatus 201 and the controller 216 of the hot water heating terminal apparatus 202 are connected to each other via a communication line 220 via a serial interface.

  The freeze prevention operation is performed as follows. First, the controller 206 of the hot water heating heat source machine 201 takes in the temperature T detected by the heat source ambient temperature sensor 205. And when the taken-in temperature T falls below the heat source side freezing danger temperature, the controller 206 transmits the valve opening instruction | command of the thermal valve 212 to the controller 216 of the hot water heating terminal device 202. And the circulation pump 204 is started, without burning the burner which heats the heat exchanger 203. FIG. This prevents freezing in the piping.

  On the other hand, in recent years, a desiccant air conditioner has been developed that ventilates air in an air-conditioned space and dehumidifies outside air in the outside air space so that the air is taken into the air-conditioned space. A desiccant air conditioner is an adsorption-type dehumidifier equipped with a honeycomb-structured latent heat rotor carrying a desiccant (desiccant) such as silica gel or zeolite powder, and dehumidifying the latent heat rotor by adsorbing moisture. (For example, see Patent Document 3 and Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In the desiccant air conditioner, simply by adsorbing moisture to the latent heat rotor, the supply air temperature increases due to the heat of adsorption. Therefore, a desiccant air conditioner equipped with a sensible heat exchanger for exchanging heat between dehumidified air for dehumidification and regenerated air (humidified air) for drying and regenerating the desiccant of the latent heat rotor. Has been developed (see Patent Document 3).

  In FIG. 6, the structure of the typical desiccant air conditioner of patent document 3 is shown. The desiccant air conditioner 300 includes a casing 301, and the interior of the casing 301 is partitioned into a first ventilation path 303 and a second ventilation path 304 by a partition wall 302.

  A regeneration air inlet 305 and a processing air outlet 306 are formed at one end of the housing 301 facing the indoor side, and a processing air suction port 307 and a processing air outlet 306 are formed at the other end of the housing 301 facing the outdoor side. A regeneration air outlet 308 is formed. The regeneration air inlet 305 and the regeneration air outlet 308 are the inlet and outlet of the first ventilation path 303, respectively, and the processing air inlet 307 and the processing air outlet 306 are each of the second ventilation path 304. The entrance and exit.

  A first air blower 309 is provided in the vicinity of the regeneration air outlet 308 of the first ventilation path 303 to distribute the air in the first ventilation path 303 from the regeneration air inlet 305 to the regeneration air outlet 308. In addition, a second blower 310 is provided in the vicinity of the processing air suction port 307 of the second ventilation path 304 to circulate the air in the second ventilation path 304 from the processing air suction port 307 to the processing air outlet 306. Yes.

  Further, a sensible heat exchanger 311, a regenerative heat exchanger 312, a latent heat rotor 313, and a drive motor 314 are disposed inside the housing 301. The latent heat rotor 313 is rotationally driven at a low speed by a drive motor 314.

  The indoor air that has flowed into the first ventilation path 303 from the regeneration air suction port 305 exchanges heat with the air flowing through the second ventilation path 304 in the sensible heat exchanger 311. Then, after being heated by the regenerative heat exchanger 312, it passes through the latent heat rotor 313. At this time, moisture adsorbed by the latent heat rotor 313 is desorbed and moisture is taken in. Then, the air is discharged from the regeneration air outlet 308 to the outside.

  On the other hand, outdoor air that has flowed into the second ventilation path 304 from the processing air suction port 307 first passes through the latent heat rotor 313. At this time, moisture contained in the outside air is adsorbed by the latent heat rotor 313, and the air flowing out from the latent heat rotor 313 to the second ventilation path 304 becomes dry air. In the sensible heat exchanger 311, heat exchange is performed with the air flowing through the first ventilation path 303, and then the air is discharged from the processing air outlet 306 into the room.

In this way, the outdoor air is dehumidified and taken into the room, and the heat of the room air is transferred to the air taken into the room by the sensible heat exchanger 311. Such operation of the desiccant air conditioner is referred to as “dehumidification operation”.
JP-A-8-178398 JP 2004-116855 A JP 2000-346400 A Air Conditioning and Sanitation Engineering Association, “Air Conditioning and Sanitation Engineering Handbook”, 13th edition, Japan Air Conditioning and Hygiene Engineering Association, November 30, 2001, pp.451-452 Satoshi Kuwabara, Mitsugu Hiraoka, Norio Otsuka, “Humidification and Dehumidification (6) Dehumidification-Desiccant Air Conditioning”, [online], September 3, 2002, Japan Society for Air Conditioning and Sanitation, [August 2006 8 days search], <http://www.shasej.org/gakkaishi/0211/0211-koza-01.html>

  In such a desiccant air conditioner, when the anti-freezing mechanism of the conventional air conditioner is applied, it may not be possible to effectively prevent freezing.

  For example, in a state where the regenerative heat exchanger 312 and the latent heat rotor 313 are stopped, only the first blower 309 and the second blower 310 are operated to ventilate indoor air and outdoor air without performing dehumidification. ”Is considered. In this case, the regenerative heat exchanger 312 is always exposed to the cold air flow by the first blower 309, and the heat of the regenerative heat exchanger 312 is taken away. In this case, when the outside air temperature falls below the freezing point, it may not be possible to completely prevent freezing by simply passing water through the regenerative heat exchanger 312.

  On the other hand, when the outside air temperature decreases to near the freezing point, the above problem does not occur if warm water is passed through the regenerative heat exchanger 312. However, always passing warm water through the regenerative heat exchanger 312 for the freeze prevention operation increases energy consumption for generating warm water and lacks energy saving.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a desiccant air conditioner that can surely prevent freezing in a hot water heat exchanger and consumes less energy to prevent freezing.

The first configuration of the air conditioner according to the present invention is the first air passage and the second air passage communicating the air conditioned space and the outside air space, and the air in the air conditioned space is passed through the first air passage. A first blower that circulates to the space, a second blower that circulates the air in the outside air space to the conditioned space through the second ventilation path, and the air that circulates through the first ventilation path and the second ventilation path. Sensible heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the air to be absorbed, and moisture in the air flowing into the sensible heat exchanger through the second ventilation path is adsorbed, and the moisture is absorbed into the first ventilation path. Hot water supplied from an external heat source device to the latent heat rotor that is discharged into the air flowing from the sensible heat exchanger through the air and the air that flows into the latent heat rotor through the first ventilation path Regenerative heat exchanger that heats by heat and distributes the regenerative heat exchanger In a desiccant air conditioner comprising a thermal valve that cuts off water, an outside air temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the outside air space, and a control unit, the control unit includes only the first blower and the second blower. in ventilation mode to move, when said outside air temperature outside air temperature detected by the sensor T _out has become the first thresholds T ₁ or less, forcibly opening the heat valve operating is detected by the outside air temperature sensor When the outside air temperature T _out becomes equal to or lower than the second threshold T ₂ lower than the first threshold T ₁ , the thermal valve is forcibly opened and the second blower is operating. Performs control to forcibly stop the second blower.

According to this configuration, the outside air temperature T _out which is detected by the outside air temperature sensor, when a thresholds T ₁ or less not very low, the control unit firstly forcibly opens the Netsudoben, reproduction Allow water to pass through heat exchanger. Thereby, freezing of a regenerative heat exchanger can be prevented.

The outside air temperature T _out further when a low temperature threshold T ₂ or less, forcibly opens the Netsudoben, with requests hot water circulation to the regenerative heat exchanger to the external heat source unit, When the second blower is operating, the second blower is forcibly stopped. As a result, the regenerative heat exchanger is not aerated by the cold outdoor air, so that the heat loss of the regenerative heat exchanger is reduced. Moreover, since the hot water is circulated through the heat exchanger by requiring the external heat source device to circulate the hot water to the regenerative heat exchanger, the regenerative heat exchanger is warmed. Thereby, freezing of a regenerative heat exchanger can be prevented reliably.

  Further, in this way, the freeze prevention operation is switched stepwise depending on the temperature, and the minimum freeze prevention operation is executed. Moreover, since the heat loss of the regenerative heat exchanger is reduced by forcibly stopping the second blower, the energy loss is reduced. Therefore, energy consumption for preventing freezing can be suppressed, and high energy saving performance can be obtained.

Here, the “first threshold value T ₁ ” and the “second threshold value T ₂ ” differ depending on the capacity of the regenerative heat exchanger and the air flow rate of the second blower, and thus are appropriately set to temperatures at which antifreezing treatment is considered necessary. The

According to a second configuration of the air conditioner according to the present invention, in the first configuration, the control unit further includes a third threshold T ₃ or lower where the outside air temperature T _out is lower than the second threshold T _2. In this case, the thermal valve is forcibly opened to request the external heat source unit to circulate hot water to the regenerative heat exchanger, and both the first blower and the second blower are stopped. The second air blower is controlled to operate temporarily at a predetermined time interval.

In a third configuration of the air conditioner according to the present invention, in the first or second configuration, the control unit is configured such that the outside air temperature _Tout is a first threshold T in a stop mode in which all operations are stopped. If a _first or second threshold value T ₂ or less, opens only the heat valve operating, when the outside air temperature T _out becomes the third threshold value T _3, below, the thermal valve operating opening In addition, the external heat source unit is requested to circulate hot water to the regenerative heat exchanger.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent freezing even when the operation is stopped.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the freeze prevention operation is switched stepwise depending on the temperature, the minimum freeze prevention operation is executed, and the second blower is forcibly stopped to regenerate heat exchange. Since the heat loss of the vessel is reduced, the energy loss is reduced. Therefore, energy consumption for preventing freezing can be suppressed, and high energy saving performance can be obtained.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a desiccant air conditioner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  The desiccant air conditioner 1 includes a housing 2, and the interior of the housing 2 is divided into a first ventilation path A and a second ventilation path B by partition walls 3, 4, and 5. One end side of the housing 2 faces the air-conditioned space, and the other end side faces the outside air space.

  Here, the “air-conditioned space” is a space where air conditioning is performed, and in the case of the present embodiment, means an indoor space. Further, the “outside air space” refers to a space outside the air-conditioned space, and in the present embodiment, refers to an outdoor space.

  A side of the housing 2 facing the air-conditioned space is formed with a regeneration air suction port 6 that is an air supply port for the inside air of the first ventilation path A and a processing air outlet 9 that is an exhaust port of the second ventilation path B. ing. Further, on the side surface of the housing 2 facing the outside air space, a processing air suction port 8 that is an air supply port for the outside air of the second ventilation path B and a regeneration air outlet 7 that is an exhaust port of the first ventilation path A are provided. Is formed.

  Further, inside the housing 2, there are a first blower 10, a second blower 11, a sensible heat exchanger 12, a regenerative heat exchanger 13, a thermal valve 13 a, a heat exchanger temperature sensor 13 b, a latent heat rotor 14, an inside air temperature humidity. A sensor 15, an outside air temperature / humidity sensor 16, and a control unit 17 are disposed.

  The first blower 10 is disposed in the vicinity of the regeneration air outlet 7 in the first ventilation path A. The 1st air blower 10 distribute | circulates the air in an air-conditioning space to external air space through the 1st ventilation path A. As shown in FIG. The second blower 11 is disposed in the vicinity of the processing air outlet 9 in the second ventilation path B. The second blower 11 distributes the air in the outside air space to the air-conditioned space through the second ventilation path B.

  The sensible heat exchanger 12 exchanges heat between the air flowing through the first ventilation path A and the air flowing through the second ventilation path B.

  The latent heat rotor 14 adsorbs moisture in the air flowing into the sensible heat exchanger 12 through the second ventilation path B, and the moisture flows out of the sensible heat exchanger 12 through the first ventilation path A. Release into. The latent heat rotor is formed of a cylindrical porous material whose central axis is parallel to the partition wall 5, and is rotated at a low speed by a rotor motor 18 (not shown).

  The regenerative heat exchanger 13 is a heat exchanger that heats the air flowing into the latent heat rotor 14 through the first ventilation path A. Warm water is circulated between the regenerative heat exchanger 13 and the heat source unit 30 installed outside, and heat is supplied by the heat source unit 30. Thereby, the side of the first ventilation path A of the latent heat rotor 14 is heated, and moisture adsorbed on the latent heat rotor 14 is desorbed.

  The thermal valve 13 a is a valve that disconnects hot water supplied to the regenerative heat exchanger 13. The heat exchanger temperature sensor 13 b is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of hot water supplied to the regenerative heat exchanger 13.

  The inside air temperature / humidity sensor 15 is installed in the vicinity of the regenerative air inlet 6 of the first ventilation path A. The inside air temperature / humidity sensor 15 is a sensor that detects the temperature and humidity of the air (inside air) in the air-conditioned space that flows into the first ventilation path A from the regeneration air inlet 6.

  The outside air temperature / humidity sensor 16 is installed in the vicinity of the processing air inlet 8 of the second ventilation path B. The outside air temperature / humidity sensor 16 is a sensor that detects the temperature and humidity of the air (outside air) in the outside air space that flows into the second ventilation path B from the processing air suction port 8.

  Based on the temperatures and humidity detected by the heat exchanger temperature sensor 13b, the internal air temperature / humidity sensor 15, and the external air temperature / humidity sensor 16, the control unit 17 includes the first air blower 10, the second air blower 11, the thermal valve 13a, and It is a circuit board that controls the operation of the latent heat rotor 14.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the freeze prevention mechanism of the desiccant air conditioner 1 of FIG. In addition, about the component similar to FIG. 1, the code | symbol same as FIG. 1 is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The control unit 17 of the desiccant air conditioner 1 includes freeze prevention means 17a. In addition, the heat source device 30 includes a controller 30a. The controller 17 and the controller 30a are connected by a communication line 20 and can communicate bidirectionally.

  In the desiccant air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the freeze prevention operation will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the freeze prevention operation during the ventilation operation of the desiccant air conditioner 1.

First, in step S1, the freeze prevention means 17a takes in the inside air temperature T _in and the outside air temperature T _out detected by the inside air temperature humidity sensor 15 and the outside air temperature humidity sensor 16.

Next, in step S2, the freeze prevention means 17a is the outside air temperature _{T out} is determined whether the first thresholds _{T 1} below. If, when the outside air temperature T _out is higher than the thresholds T ₁ ends the antifreezing operation. When the outside air temperature T _out ≦ T ₁ , the freeze prevention means 17a opens the thermal valve 13a (S3). Thereby, it becomes difficult to freeze.

Next, in step S4, the freeze prevention means 17a is the outside air temperature _{T out} is determined whether a second threshold value _{T 2} or less. Here, T ₂ <T ₁ .

If, when the outside air temperature T _out is higher than the threshold T ₂ are, terminates the antifreezing operation. When the outside air temperature T _out ≦ T ₂ , the freeze prevention means 17a forcibly stops the second blower 11 (S5). Thereby, the flow of the air from the outside blown to the regenerative heat exchanger 13 is stopped, and the heat loss of the regenerative heat exchanger 13 is reduced.

Next, in step S6, the freeze prevention means 17a is the outside air temperature _{T out} is determined whether the third threshold _{T 3} below. Here, T ₃ <T ₂ .
If T _out > T ₃ , the freeze prevention operation is terminated. On the other hand, if the outside air temperature T _out ≦ T ₃ , the freeze prevention means 17a transmits a heat request to the controller 30a of the heat source unit 30 in step S7. When receiving the heat request, the controller 30a of the heat source device 30 heats the water to be circulated through the regenerative heat exchanger 13 and circulates the hot water through the regenerative heat exchanger 13.

  Moreover, the freeze prevention means 17a sets the 2nd air blower 11 to intermittent operation mode. Here, the “intermittent operation mode” refers to an operation method in which the blower is activated for a short time at predetermined time intervals. In this way, by setting the second blower 11 to the intermittent operation mode, the outside air is introduced into the second ventilation path B at a constant time interval, so that the outside air temperature sensor 16 can accurately detect the outside air temperature. it can.

  Next, in step S8, the freeze prevention means 17a forcibly stops the first blower 10, and returns to step S6. Thereby, the flow of the air flowing into the housing 2 of the desiccant air conditioner 1 is stopped, and the heat loss of the regenerative heat exchanger 13 is further reduced.

It is a figure showing the structure of the desiccant air conditioner which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram showing the functional structure of the freeze prevention mechanism of the desiccant air conditioner of FIG. It is a flowchart showing the freeze prevention operation | movement of the desiccant air conditioner. It is a figure showing the structure of the air conditioner of patent document 1. FIG. It is a figure showing the structure of the air conditioner of patent document 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the typical desiccant air conditioner of patent document 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Desiccant air conditioner 2 Housing | casing 3,4,5 Bulkhead A 1st ventilation path B 2nd ventilation path 6 Regenerative air inlet 7 Regenerated air outlet 8 Treated air inlet 9 Treated air outlet 10 1st blower 11 2nd Blower 12 Sensible heat exchanger 13 Regenerative heat exchanger 13a Thermal valve 13b Heat exchanger temperature sensor 14 Latent heat rotor 15 Inside air temperature humidity sensor 16 Outside air temperature humidity sensor 17 Control unit 17a Freezing prevention means 20 Communication line 30 Heat source machine 30a Controller

Claims (3)

A first ventilation path and a second ventilation path communicating the air-conditioned space and the outside air space;
A first blower for circulating the air in the air-conditioned space to the outside air space through the first ventilation path;
A second blower for circulating the air in the outside air space to the air-conditioned space through the second ventilation path;
A sensible heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the air flowing through the first ventilation path and the air flowing through the second ventilation path;
Moisture in the air flowing into the sensible heat exchanger through the second ventilation path is adsorbed, and the moisture is released into the air flowing in from the sensible heat exchanger through the first ventilation path. A latent heat rotor,
A regenerative heat exchanger that heats the air flowing into the latent heat rotor through the first ventilation path by the hot water heat of hot water supplied from an external heat source unit;
A thermal valve that cuts off hot water flowing through the regenerative heat exchanger;
An outside air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air space;
A control unit;
In a desiccant air conditioner equipped with
The controller is
In ventilation mode for moving only the first fan and the second fan, when the outside air temperature outside air temperature detected by the sensor T _out has become the first thresholds T ₁ or less, forcibly opening the heat valve operating And
When said outside air temperature T _out is detected by the outside air temperature sensor has become the first lower thresholds T ₁ second threshold value T ₂ or less, forcibly opens the heat valve operating, the second blower A desiccant air conditioner that performs control to forcibly stop the second blower when the is operating. Wherein the control unit further, when the outside air temperature T _out becomes the third to the threshold T ₃ less lower than the second threshold value T _2, the forcibly opened by the external heat source equipment the heat valve operating On the other hand, it is requested to circulate hot water to the regenerative heat exchanger, stop both the first blower and the second blower, and perform control to temporarily operate the second blower at a predetermined time interval. The desiccant air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein: Wherein, in the stop mode in which all operation is stopped, if the outside air temperature T _out has become the first threshold value T ₁ or the second threshold value T ₂ or less, opening only the heat valve operating And
When the outside air temperature T _out becomes the third threshold value T _3, below, as well as open the thermal valve operating to request hot water circulation to the regenerative heat exchanger to the external heat source apparatus The desiccant air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

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