Connected chilling-heating system

Abstract

The present invention provides a connected chilling-hating system capable of saving delivering power during reduced load periods. The system comprises load-side equipment, a set of chiller-heater modules connected in parallel, and a cold/hot water pipe connected between the load-side equipment and the set of chiller-heater modules to form a loop, wherein each chiller-heater module is connected to a cold/hot water inlet pipe for supplying cold/hot water to the module and a cold/hot water outlet pipe for collecting cold/hot water from the module, said inlet or outlet pipe having a flow valve, wherein the flow control of cold/hot water is accomplished by opening or closing the respective flow valves placed on the cold/hot water inlet pipes or the cold/hot water outlet pipes of the chiller-heater modules in response to the number of chiller-heater modules in operation.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A connected chilling-heating system comprising load-side equipment, a set of chiller-heater modules connected in parallel, and a cold/hot water pipe connected between the load-side equipment and the set of chiller-heater modules to form a loop, 
 wherein the set of chiller-heater modules is connected to a cooling/heat source water pipe, in addition to the cold/hot water pipe,    wherein the cold/hot water pipe comprises a cold/hot water supply pipe for supplying cold/hot water from the chiller-heater modules to the load-side equipment and a cold/hot water return pipe for returning cold/hot water from the load-side equipment to the chiller-heater modules,    wherein the cooling/heat source water pipe comprises a cooling/heat source water return pipe for collecting cooling/heat source water from the chiller-heater modules and a cooling/heat source water supply pipe for supplying cooling/heat source water to the chiller-heater modules,    wherein each chiller-heater module is connected to a cold/hot water inlet pipe for supplying cold/hot water to the module and a cold/hot water outlet pipe for collecting cold/hot water from the module, said inlet and/or outlet pipe having a flow valve,    wherein the system has a means for regulating the number of chiller-heater modules in operation depending on chilling/heating load, and the flow control of cold/hot water is accomplished by opening or closing the respective flow valves placed on the cold/hot water inlet pipes and/or the cold/hot water outlet pipes of the chiller-heater modules in response to the number of chiller-heater modules in operation.    
     
     
         2 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 1 , which further comprises a speed-controller-equipped pump or a plurality of pumps placed on the route of the cold/hot water pipe between the set of chiller-heater modules and the load-side equipment, 
 wherein a variation in discharge pressure of the pump(s) or differential pressure between the cold/hot water supply pipe and the cold/hot water return pipe, produced by opening or closing the flow valves, is adjusted to ensure optimum pressure by the action of the speed controller equipped on the pump or by controlling the number of pumps in operation.    
     
     
         3 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 2 , which further comprises a bypass channel connecting the cold/hot water supply pipe and the cold/hot water return pipe, said bypass channel being placed on the route of the cold/hot water pipe between the set of chiller-heater modules and the load-side equipment, 
 wherein the bypass flow through the bypass channel is adjusted to approach zero by the action of the speed controller equipped on the pump or by controlling the number of pumps in operation.    
     
     
         4 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 2 , which further comprises a cold/hot water supply header placed on the cold/hot water supply pipe and a cold/hot water return header placed on the cold/hot water return pipe, 
 wherein a variation in differential pressure between these two headers, produced by opening or closing the flow valves, is adjusted to ensure optimum pressure by the action of the speed controller equipped on the pump or by controlling the number of pumps in operation.    
     
     
         5 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 3 , which further comprises a cold/hot water supply header placed on the cold/hot water supply pipe, a cold/hot water return header placed on the cold/hot water return pipe, and a bypass channel connecting these two headers, 
 wherein the bypass flow through the bypass channel is adjusted to approach zero by the action of the speed controller equipped on the pump or by controlling the number of pumps in operation.    
     
     
         6 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 1 , wherein each chiller-heater module is further connected to a cooling/heat source water inlet pipe for supplying cooling/heat source water to the module and a cooling/heat source water outlet pipe for collecting cooling/heat source water from the module, said inlet and/or outlet pipe having a flow valve, 
 wherein the flow control of cooling/heat source water is accomplished by opening or closing the respective flow valves placed on the cooling/heat source water inlet pipes and/or the cooling/heat source water outlet pipes of the chiller-heater modules in response to the number of chiller-heater modules in operation.    
     
     
         7 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 6 , which further comprises a speed controller-equipped pump or a plurality of pumps placed on the route of the cooling/heat source water pipe, 
 wherein a variation in discharge pressure of the pump(s) or differential pressure between the cooling/heat source water return pipe and the cooling/heat source water supply pipe, produced by opening or closing the flow valves, is adjusted to ensure optimum pressure by the action of the speed controller equipped on the pump or by controlling the number of pumps in operation.    
     
     
         8 . The connected chilling-heating system of  claim 7 , which further comprises a bypass channel connecting the cooling/heat source water supply pipe and the cooling/heat source water return pipe, said bypass channel being placed on the route of the cooling/heat source water pipe, 
 wherein the bypass flow through the bypass channel is adjusted to approach zero by the action of the speed controller equipped on the pump or by controlling the number of pumps in operation.