Self contained water-to-water heat pump

Abstract

A self-contained water-to-water heat transfer system is provided that mixes hot water produced by a heat exchange with cold output fluid expelled from the heat pump to make source fluid. More specifically, in order to reduce the fluid flow rate required within a heat pump and substantially prevent freezing of evaporator coils within the heat pump, source water fed into the heat pump is taken from a mixture of the output hot water that was generated in the heat pump and the cool water exiting the heat pump. The system alleviates the need to employ a ground loop outside of a structure that is required by traditional geothermal heating systems.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 775,739, filed Jul. 10, 2007, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 806,902, filed Jul. 10, 2006, the entire disclosure of each are incorporated by reference herein.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to a thermoelectric apparatus that transfers thermal energy from one location to another that can be used alternatively to either heat or cool an area.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Heat pumps are basically air conditioning units that function in reverse and are commonplace in many residential and commercial structures. The most common air-to-air pumps employ a conduit filled with a thermally conductive coolant, such as Freon, that transfers heat taken from the air outside of the structure into the structure. The vapor compression cycle that facilitates the heat transfer comprises generally...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]More specifically, one advantage of the system is that there is no need to drill or alter the landscape to provide a location for ground loops, thus, the system is less expensive to implement. Embodiments of the present invention are also self-contained wherein a single conduit system is employed that includes segments of varying temperatures that define the vapor compression cycle. In addition, due to the system's size and lack of external componentry, it may be located indoors, thereby avoiding outside exposure concerns such as temperature fluctuations and moisture. Further, since hot water (i.e. hotter than the fluid heated by the ground that enters the heat pump in a traditional system), is directed into the heat pump as the source of heat energy, the mass flow through the heat pump may be slowed dramatically. More specifically, prior art systems require a source mass flow of about 12-15 gallons per minute to prevent the coolant in the evaporator from freezing. In embodiments of the present invention, the temperature of the source fluid is about 95° F., thereby preventing coolant freezing. Thus the flow rate of source fluid may be slowed and a smaller more energy efficient source pump may be utilized.

[0010]It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a system that is easily incorporated onto current water-to-water heat pumps. That is, water-to-water heat pumps that use an external source to heat source water may be altered by the addition of embodiments of the present invention where the source of heat energy is replaced by the aforementioned preheating scheme.

[0011]It is still yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a system that can be used with traditional ground source heat exchange systems of the prior art. That is, embodiments of the present invention may be employed along with a traditional ground source earth loops wherein a single loop provides source heat that is directed to a plurality of self-contained heat pumps. Since the ground loop water is substantially cooler than the heated water generated by the heat pump, a mixing valve, tee, or any other common fluid mixing device may be used to direct water from the traditional ground source heat pumps into a portion of the hot water exiting the heat pump to provide source water that prevents evaporator coils from freezing as described above.

Problems solved by technology

One skilled in the art will appreciate that additional compression may be needed in order to sustain the temperature of the water exiting the heat pump, but the system as contemplated herein is more efficient than air-to-air heat pumps and do not have the drawbacks inherent in ground loop systems and / or air-to-air systems.

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