The world is getting hotter. The hotter it is, the more air conditioning will be used, which in turn makes the world hotter. Air conditioning is unfortunately a positive feedback loop. Obviously, more efficient air conditioning is a necessity. Also, we need to move away from fossil fuel sources of heating buildings.
The problem of air conditioning can be significantly improved by adding thermal energy storage (known as TES) to save the cool of night to cool during the day. During Winter months, TES enhanced heat pumps can use the relative warmth of the day to provide heat during the night. Heat pumps during winter can operate more efficiently with TES, and to lower outside temperatures.
Disclosed here are new methods for using TES in heat pump/air conditioning cycles that avoid the problems of past methods. These do not require air ducts moving air in and out of buildings, as did past methods. They do not require digging deep holes in the earth, as do ground source heat pump solutions. These are solutions that are easily installable and lower fossil fuel use. The efficiency is sufficient to reduce carbon emissions of the electricity supply, even if powered by coal.
The figure below represents only the simplest embodiment. Many more embodiments and details are given in the links below. The figure below represents an air conditioning cycle, with the addition of an added TES device (3). The TES is located after a common condenser (2). Refrigerant, which is pumped through the refrigerant lines (14) first condenses in the condenser, then the temperature is further reduced by the TES, which has been cooled at night - generally by the "free" source of cool nighttime air. The temperature of the refrigerant entering the throttle (4) is then lowered, which then lowers the temperature at the evaporator (5). This design, thus, is more efficient at lowing the evaporator temperature. This design effectively changes the environment in which the heat pump is run to a smaller temperature differential between the hot and cold sources.
US Regular Utility Patent Application US 16/554,322 has been filed - as of Aug 20, 2019. Due to the pressing problem of climate change, I am sharing this publicly and not waiting for the USPTO to publish.
This disclosure represents a new direction in using TES for cooling and heating. This patent application outlines ways of significantly reducing the energy usage of heat pumps. Further, it discloses embodiments for heating that can be used down to colder nighttime temperatures. The following links open PDF files for the US Utility Patent Application:
Heat Pump with TES Specification - RPA
Drawings:
Abstract
The present invention relates to a heat pump system for the use of cooling or heating comprising at least one TES (3), wherein the TES comprises thermal energy storage. The TES is placed downstream of a heat exchanger (2) and generally placed upstream of a pressure changing device (4) or regenerator (40), wherein the TES exchanges heat energy with a fluid (14) of the heat pump, and wherein the heat pump system exchanges heat energy between an enclosed space (6) and some ambient heat source outside the enclosed space. The TES is generally charged with thermal energy, which may be cool or heat energy, during favorable times of a daily temperature cycle. The TES then transfers the stored thermal energy to assist in cooling or heating the enclosed space. The present disclosure also relating to several species of the invention which all relate to the use of the aforementioned exchange and transfer of heat energy into and/or out of a TES harnessing and using the relative cool of night to cool an enclosed space, and/or using the relative warmth of the day to heat an enclosed space.
Prior Art
Prior art references generally have concentrated on "free" cooling, or using TES on the inside of a building for cooling airflow. These require moving air in and out of a building, which has the obvious disadvantage of requiring extensive ducting and modifications to existing buildings. The present application includes embodiments and methods that overcome these deficiencies. They generally only require the same refrigerant lines entering and exiting a building as does a conventional AC unit/heat pump. Further, the embodiments of this invention are not reliant on outside temperatures to operate. They merely benefit from the daily temperature cycle.
Future Development
Many suggestions are contained within the present patent disclosure, and there may be many obvious alternative embodiments. CIP's (Continuation in Part) applications filled with the present inventor listed as a co-inventor are entitled to have the benefit of the present application to overcome obviousness objections. Thus, please contact temple89450 [at] hotmail.com if you would like to work together to push this new method forward.