KR-20260066784-A - Air Source Heat Pump

Abstract

An air source heat pump having a housing of plastic material is provided, and within the housing, an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger are provided, and the plastic housing comprises a base portion and an upper portion that are structural and support and contain the evaporator, compressor, and motor-driven fan together without relying on an internal metal chassis. Additionally, an air source heat pump having a housing of plastic material is provided with an evaporator, a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over a heat exchanger within the housing, the housing is structural and includes a base portion to which the compressor is fixed, and an upper portion accompanying the fan and the fan's driving motor, and the evaporator is supported within a groove or recess of the base portion and is positioned between the upper portion and the base portion; An air heat source heat pump is provided, wherein the base portion and the upper portion together define a first chamber for including an evaporator and the fan, the first chamber includes an airflow conduit for guiding airflow from the evaporator to the fan, and the airflow conduit is defined at least partially by the upper portion.

Inventors

• 캐슬스, 제이슨

Assignees

• 옥토퍼스 에너지 히팅 리미티드

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240827

Priority Date

20230913

Claims (20)

1. An air source heat pump contained within a housing of plastic material, wherein the heat pump comprises an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger, the evaporator, and the compressor, and wherein the motor-driven fan is mounted in the plastic housing without using a metal chassis and carried by the plastic housing.
2. In Article 1, An air heat source heat pump, wherein the housing comprises, at least partially, a base portion and an upper portion, together defining a first chamber including the compressor, the evaporator, and a second chamber including the fan, and each of the base portion and the upper portion is a molded or printed plastic component.
3. In Article 2, The heat pump comprises a processor for controlling the operation of the heat pump, and the processor is housed in a third chamber at least partially defined by the base portion and optionally (optionally) the upper portion, an air heat source heat pump.
4. In Paragraph 3, The above third chamber is an air heat source heat pump partially defined by a liquid-cooled heat transfer plate thermally coupled to an inverter used to supply power to the electronic device of the heat pump.
5. In Article 3 or Article 4, An air heat source heat pump further comprising at least one cover for one or both of a second chamber and a third chamber to provide access to components or systems within the associated chamber.
6. In Article 5, An air heat source heat pump, wherein each of the above covers or covers is a molded or printed plastic component.
7. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 6, The above fan and the motor of the above fan are an air heat source heat pump accompanied by the upper part of the housing.
8. In Article 7, The upper part of the housing is detachable from the base part to provide access to the compressor and the evaporator, for an air heat source heat pump.
9. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 8, An air flow conduit is provided to guide airflow from the evaporator to the fan, and the air flow conduit is defined at least partially by the upper portion, of an air heat source heat pump.
10. In Article 9, The above airflow conduit is an air heat source heat pump, which is at least partially defined by the above base portion.
11. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 10, The above evaporator is an air heat source heat pump that is housed in a recess or other receiving arrangement within the base portion.
12. In Article 11, An air heat source heat pump, wherein, when subject to claim 10, the base portion comprises a flared airflow guide surface that widens obliquely toward the upper portion and moves away from the recess.
13. In Article 12, An air heat source heat pump, wherein the upper portion comprises an airflow guide surface that defines the wall of the airflow conduit together with the airflow guide surface of the base portion.
14. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 13, An air heat source heat pump, wherein the base portion and the upper portion are configured to be coupled together to define the second chamber.
15. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 14, An air heat source heat pump, wherein the base portion comprises features for accommodating piping for carrying a refrigerant, and optionally the included features are molded features.
16. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 15, The above base portion includes anti-rotation features for holding a captive and preventing rotation of threaded pipe couplings, unions, or components, and optionally the included anti-rotation features are molded features, air heat source heat pump.
17. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 16, An air heat source heat pump, wherein the upper housing portion is in the form of a hollow plastic molding containing a thermal and/or noise insulator, and optionally the thermal and/or noise insulator is a foamed plastic material.
18. In Article 17, The above foamed plastic material is an air heat source heat pump that is foamed in situ.
19. In Article 17, The above foamed plastic material is in the form of beads, etc., for an air heat source heat pump.
20. In any one of paragraphs 2 through 19, An air source heat pump, wherein the base portion includes a recess for accommodating the lower end of the air heat exchanger.

Description

Air Source Heat Pump The present invention relates to an air source heat pump and a method for constructing an air source heat pump. According to Directive 2012/27/EU, buildings account for 40% of final energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. The 2016 EU Commission report, "Mapping and analyses of the current and future (2020 - 2030) heating/cooling fuel deployment (fossil/renewables)," concluded that heating and hot water alone account for 79% (192.5 Mtoe) of total final energy use in EU households. The EU Commission also reported, based on 2019 Eurostat figures, that approximately 75% of heating and cooling is still generated from fossil fuels, while only 22% is generated from renewable energy. To achieve the EU's climate and energy goals, the heating and cooling sector must drastically reduce energy consumption and decrease the use of fossil fuels. Heat pumps that utilize energy drawn from air, land, or water have been identified as potentially significant contributors to addressing this issue. Since only a fraction of households have access to a body of water to support the use of heat pumps that extract energy from water, and the cost and space requirements for installing ground source heat exchangers are also substantial, it is generally cheaper and more convenient to install air source heat pumps. Furthermore, it is generally recognized that air source heat pumps are a better replacement for conventional gas central heating boilers. A significant barrier to the mass adoption of air source heat pumps as a replacement for fossil fuel-burning boilers is cost. The UK's Energy Saving Trust reported that the average cost of installing an air source heat pump as a replacement for a gas boiler is approximately £14,000, whereas the average cost of replacing an existing gas boiler with a modern condensing gas boiler is about £4,000. While most of the price difference is attributed to the need to increase radiator sizes and, if possible, to raise insulation standards, air source heat pumps themselves are generally significantly more expensive than gas boilers of similar power output, partly due to the complexity of their construction. If more users of existing fossil fuel boilers are to be encouraged to switch to air source heat pumps, it will be necessary to reduce the cost of the heat pumps themselves. The present invention seeks to provide an air source heat pump in which at least some of the disadvantages of existing air source heat pumps are wholly or partially mitigated. According to a first embodiment, an air source heat pump is provided, comprising an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger, the evaporator, and the motor-driven fan is mounted in the plastic housing without using a metal chassis and carried by the plastic housing. According to a second embodiment, an air source heat pump is provided, comprising a housing and within the housing an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger, and a processor for controlling the operation of the fan and the compressor, wherein the housing comprises an upper portion and a base portion defining a first chamber for containing the compressor together, a second chamber for containing the processor, and a third chamber for containing the evaporator and the fan, and the base portion and the upper portion are each molded or printed plastic components. According to a third embodiment, an air source heat pump having a housing of plastic material is provided, and within the housing, an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger are provided, and the housing includes a base portion and an upper portion that support and contain the evaporator, compressor and motor-driven fan together without relying on an internal metal chassis. By avoiding the requirement for an internal metal chassis, it is possible to design a more efficient airflow path from the evaporator to the fan, improving efficiency and potentially reducing the amount of noise generated. According to a fourth embodiment, an air source heat pump is provided having a housing and, within the housing, an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger, wherein the housing comprises a base portion and a top portion, and The upper part cooperates with the base part; The evaporator is housed in a recess or other receiving arrangement within the base portion, the compressor is fixed to the base portion, and The fan motor is fixed to the upper part and supported by it. According to a fifth embodiment, an air source heat pump having a housing of plastic material is provided, and within the housing, an air heat exchanger ("evaporator"), a compressor, and a motor-driven fan for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger are p