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EP-4741564-A1 - LAUNDRY SYSTEM WITH EFFECTIVE USE OF AIR AND METHOD FOR SAME

EP4741564A1EP 4741564 A1EP4741564 A1EP 4741564A1EP-4741564-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a laundry system (1) for energy-reduced treatment of laundry, comprising several laundry treatment machines such as dryers (10), tunnel finishers (11) and/or mangles (12), wherein the laundry treatment machines emit hot, water vapor-containing exhaust air (13) during operation, which can be supplied to a central heat exchanger (15) via a central collecting channel (14), wherein the central heat exchanger (15) is designed as a condensation heat exchanger (20), wherein this is coupled to a closed piping system (49) in which a circulating heat transfer fluid (16) is guided. According to the invention, a heat pump (27) is provided which is coupled to the closed piping system (49) so that heat can be transferred from the condensing heat exchanger (20) to the heat pump (27) via the heat transfer fluid (16), and wherein at least one heating coil (31) is provided which can be heated by means of the heat pump (27) and wherein at least one dryer (10) and/or at least one tunnel finisher (11) is connected to the heating coil (31) in such a way as to supply it.

Inventors

  • BRINGEWATT, WILHELM

Assignees

  • Bringewatt, Wilhelm

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20250922

Claims (15)

  1. Laundry system (1) for energy-reduced treatment of laundry, comprising several laundry treatment machines such as dryers (10), tunnel finishers (11) and/or mangles (12), wherein the laundry treatment machines emit hot, water vapor-containing exhaust air (13) during operation, which can be supplied to a central heat exchanger (15) via a central collecting duct (14), wherein the central heat exchanger (15) is designed as a condensing heat exchanger (20) and is coupled to a closed piping system (49) in which a circulating heat transfer fluid (16) is guided, characterized by that a heat pump (27) is provided and coupled to the closed piping system (49) so that heat can be transferred from the condensing heat exchanger (20) to the heat pump (27) via the heat transfer fluid (16), and wherein at least one heating coil (31) is provided which can be heated by means of the heat pump (27) and wherein at least one dryer (10) and/or at least one tunnel finisher (11) is connected to the heating coil (31) in such a way as to supply heat.
  2. Laundry system (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the circulating heat transfer fluid (16) is fed into the condensation heat exchanger (20) in such a way that it flows through the condensation heat exchanger (20) against the flow direction of the exhaust air (13).
  3. Laundry system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the condensation heat exchanger (20) is designed with a number of heat exchanger plates (21) or as a shell and tube heat exchanger with a number of heat exchanger tubes, wherein the heat exchanger plates (21) or the heat exchanger tubes are arranged such that the exhaust air (13) can be guided between the heat exchanger plates (21) or between the heat exchanger tubes.
  4. Laundry system (1) according to claim 3, characterized by that the heat exchanger plates (21) are each formed from two sheet metal elements (22) arranged on top of each other, between which the heat transfer fluid (16) can be guided, wherein at least one sheet metal element (22) or both sheet metal elements (22) is or are formed by an internal high-pressure forming process such that the heat transfer fluid (16) can be guided between the two sheet metal elements (22).
  5. Laundry system (1) according to claim 4, characterized by that the sheet metal elements (22) are tacked together at regular intervals between each other and distributed over the surface of the heat exchanger plates (21) via a large number of tack points (23).
  6. Laundry system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that the condensation heat exchanger (20) has an inlet (18) for introducing the exhaust air (13) from the central collecting duct (14) and has an outlet (19) for the discharge of the exhaust air (13), wherein a condensate drain (25) is provided in the inlet (18) and/or in the outlet (19) and/or in a housing (24) of the condensation heat exchanger (20).
  7. Laundry system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that a condensate return line (26) is provided, via which the condensate from the condensate drain (25) of the condensation heat exchanger (20) is supplied at least indirectly to at least one laundry treatment machine, for example a washing machine (30), or to a water supply.
  8. Laundry system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that the heat pump (27) has an evaporator unit (45), a condenser unit (46), an expansion valve (47) and a compressor (48), wherein the evaporator unit (45) is coupled to the closed piping system (49) and such that a working fluid (54) of the heat pump (27) can be evaporated by means of the heat transfer fluid (16).
  9. Laundry system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that the evaporator unit (45) of the heat pump (27) is formed directly by means of the condensing heat exchanger (20), wherein a piping system (49) is provided through which the working fluid (54) of the heat pump (27) can be guided through the heat exchanger plates (21) and evaporates in them.
  10. Laundry system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that exactly one central heating register (31) is provided which can be heated by means of the heat pump (27) and/or wherein at least one dryer (10) and/or at least one tunnel finisher (11) is connected to the central heating register (31) and/or wherein the central heating register (31) additionally has at least one internal heat source (40a) and/or is connected to a further external heat source (40).
  11. Laundry system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by that several heating registers (31) are installed which can be heated jointly by means of the heat pump (27) and which can supply several laundry treatment machines such as dryers (10) and/or tunnel finishers (11) and/or mangles (12) to the heating registers (31).
  12. Laundry system (1) according to claim 12, characterized by that a heating register (31) is assigned to each dryer (10) and/or each tunnel finisher (11) and/or each defect (12) in a decentralized manner and/or is set up as a structural unit with this or these, each of which is connected to the heat pump (27).
  13. Laundry system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that an energy control module (34) is installed, via which the energy required to operate the heat pump (27) can be determined, in particular depending on a current grid charge (35) and/or an electricity exchange tariff (36) and/or an achievable coefficient of performance of the heat pump (27), preferably by means of a smart electricity meter (37).
  14. Method for operating a laundry system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises at least the following steps: - Setting up an energy control module (34), - Determination of a current daily electricity exchange tariff and/or a current daily network charge, - Determining whether the heat pump (27) is operated more or exclusively, or whether the internal pressure hot water boiler (32) is operated more or exclusively.
  15. Method according to claim 14, characterized by that the determination is made as to whether the heat pump (27) or the internal pressure hot water boiler (32) or the steam boiler is operated with renewable energies and/or with fossil energies.

Description

The invention relates to a laundry system for the energy-efficient treatment of laundry, comprising several laundry treatment machines such as dryers, tunnel finishers, and/or ironers, wherein the laundry treatment machines, during operation, emit hot, water vapor-containing exhaust air, which can be fed to a central heat exchanger via a central collecting duct. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating such a laundry system. STATE OF THE ART From the DE 10 2006 020 003 A1 A laundry system for energy-reduced laundry treatment is known, comprising several laundry treatment machines such as dryers, tunnel finishers and/or mangles, wherein the laundry treatment machines operate hot Exhaust air is expelled and fed to a central heat exchanger via a central collecting duct. Even the DE 10 2009 004 085 A1 The proposal suggests a laundry system in which hot exhaust air from the operation of laundry treatment machines is fed to a heat exchanger via a central exhaust duct. This allows the air to be preheated before it is reintroduced into, for example, dryers or tunnel finishers. From the DE 10 2007 043 212 A1 A laundry system for energy-efficient laundry treatment is known, comprising several laundry treatment machines such as dryers, tunnel finishers, and/or ironers. During operation, these machines emit hot, water vapor-containing exhaust air, which is fed via a central collection duct to a central heat exchanger. The central heat exchanger is designed as a condensing heat exchanger and is coupled to a closed piping system containing a circulating heat transfer fluid. The utilization of the energy contained in the hot exhaust air should be further improved by the system proposed here. REVELATION OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to improve energy recovery in a laundry system for the energy-reduced treatment of laundry. In particular, the laundry system should be able to operate with minimal maintenance and minimal operating costs, while still ensuring the highest possible energy recovery. This problem is solved starting from a laundry system according to the preamble of claim 1 and starting from a method according to Claim 12 is solved with the respective characterizing features. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims. The invention includes the technical teaching that a heat pump is provided and coupled to the closed piping system, so that heat can be transferred from the condensing heat exchanger to the heat pump via the heat transfer fluid, and wherein at least one heating coil is provided which can be heated by means of the heat pump and wherein at least one dryer and/or at least one tunnel finisher can be supplied with the heating coil. By applying a condensation heat exchanger within a laundry system to transfer heat from hot, water vapor-containing exhaust air to a heat transfer fluid, the advantage is achieved that a high percentage of heat transfer from the hot, and especially water vapor-containing, exhaust air to the heat transfer fluid can be achieved through the condensation of some of the water vapor, and thus the moisture, in the exhaust air. Furthermore, it advantageously creates the possibility of circulating the heat transfer fluid in a closed liquid or fluid circuit, so that the heat absorbed by the heat transfer fluid in the condensation heat exchanger can be transferred directly to a heat pump via the heat transfer fluid, or the condensation heat exchanger can be an integral part of the heat exchanger itself, as explained in more detail below according to one possible embodiment. The heat flow cascade from the condensing heat exchanger to the heat pump and from the heat pump with an increased energy level to the heating coil enables particularly advantageous energy utilization. This is because the heating coil can either draw heat exclusively from the heat pump or, due to its design, is also heated with another heat source, so that the heating of the heating coil can always be carried out, or predominantly carried out, with the heat source that causes the lower energy costs. According to the invention, a heating coil is provided that can be heated by means of a heat pump and that can supply one or more dryers and/or one or more tunnel finishers. For example, the heating coil can be heated to a first temperature stage by the heat pump to supply laundry treatment machines that require a temperature of, say, 90°C. Then, with a further internal or external heat source, such as a hot water boiler, a steam boiler, a gas-to-gas heat exchanger, or waste heat from other units like compressors, furnaces, or further laundry treatment machines, the temperature in the heating coil can be raised further to obtain hot air at temperatures of, for example, 130°C, for instance, to also supply heat to a mangle. The heating coil can therefore be designed as a two-stage system. If it is desired to treat laundry at temperatures of approxim