Hot water supply device associated with heat pump and method for controlling the same

Abstract

A hot water supply apparatus associated with a heat pump is disclosed herein. The hot water supply apparatus may include a main refrigerant circuit that includes a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expander, and an outdoor heat exchanger; a hot water supply circuit connected to the main refrigerant circuit; a first flowrate regulator that adjusts a first flowrate of refrigerant that flows from the compressor through the main refrigerant circuit; a second flowrate regulator that adjusts a second flowrate of refrigerant that flows from the compressor to the hot water supply circuit; and a controller configured to control the first and second flowrate regulators based on a load on at least one of the main refrigerant circuit or the hot water supply circuit.

1 . A hot water supply apparatus associated with a heat pump, comprising:
 a main refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expander, and an outdoor heat exchanger, and configured to perform at least one of a cooling or heating operation;   a hot water supply heat exchanger connected to the main refrigerant circuit and configured to generate hot water using high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor; and   a controller configured to control a flow of refrigerant through the main refrigerant circuit and the hot water supply heat exchanger,   wherein the hot water supply heat exchanger is configured as a primary condenser in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is primarily condensed, and at least one of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger is configured as a secondary condenser in which the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is secondarily condensed,   wherein the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor is divided into a hot water supply side refrigerant that flows into the hot water supply heat exchanger and a cooling/heating side refrigerant that bypasses the hot water supply heat exchanger to flow directly into the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger, and   wherein, when the hot water supply and cooling/heating operations are performed at the same time, a flowrate of at least one of the hot water supply side refrigerant or the cooling/heating side refrigerant are adjusted according to a hot water supply load or a cooling/heating load.   
     
     
         2 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a hot water supply side flowrate regulator disposed upstream of the hot water supply heat exchanger with respect to a flow direction of the refrigerant that adjusts the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant; and   a cooling/heating side flowrate regulator disposed upstream of the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger with respect to the flow direction of the refrigerant to adjust the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant.   
     
     
         3 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the hot water supply side flowrate regulator and the cooling/heating side flowrate regulator are linearly adjusted according to a temperature of the hot water and a cooling/heating temperature. 
     
     
         4 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the hot water supply load exceeds a prescribed load, the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant is increased and the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant is decreased. 
     
     
         5 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the hot water supply load exceeds a prescribed load, the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant is increased, and the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant is decreased or an output of the compressor is increased. 
     
     
         6 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the cooling/heating load exceeds a prescribed load, the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant is increased and the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant is decreased. 
     
     
         7 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the cooling/heating load exceeds a prescribed load, the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant is increased and the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant is decreased, or an output of the compressor is increased. 
     
     
         8 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the hot water supply and cooling/heating operations are performed at the same time, the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant is greater than the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant. 
     
     
         9 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the hot water supply and cooling/heating operations are performed at the same time, the flowrate of the cooling/heating side refrigerant is greater than the flowrate of the hot water supply side refrigerant if the hot water supply load is satisfied. 
     
     
         10 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant from the hot water supply heat exchanger is joined with the refrigerant that bypasses the hot water supply heat exchanger, and wherein the joined refrigerant is configured to flow into one of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger prior to the other heat exchanger. 
     
     
         11 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the hot water supply apparatus is configured to operate in a hot water priority mode, wherein
 when a difference between the current hot water temperature and a target hot water temperature exceeds a prescribed temperature difference, the controller increases the flowrate of refrigerant to the hot water supply heat exchanger to reduce the temperature difference, and   when the temperature difference between the current hot water temperature and the target hot water temperature is below the prescribed temperature difference, the controller restores the flowrate of refrigerant to the hot water supply heat exchanger.   
     
     
         12 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a flow switch that changes a flow direction of refrigerant received from the compressor toward one of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger,   wherein the controller controls the flow switch to change the flow direction of refrigerant in the main refrigerant circuit during a defrost mode of the heating operation such that the hot water is continuously generated during the defrost mode.   
     
     
         13 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a phase separator that separates the refrigerant flowing between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger into a vapor refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant; and   an injection pipe provided to guide the vapor refrigerant from the phase separator to the compressor,   wherein the compressor includes a lower end compressor and an intermediate compressor that compresses the refrigerant that flows from the lower end compressor, the vapor refrigerant configured to be injected into the intermediate compressor.   
     
     
         14 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a flow switch that changes a flow direction of refrigerant received from the compressor toward one of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger,
 wherein the refrigerant from the hot water supply heat exchanger is configured to flow into the flow switch during the heating operation and configured to flow into a first pipe provided between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger in the refrigerant cycle during the cooling operation.   
     
     
         15 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 14 , further comprising
 a second pipe provided between the flow switch and the first pipe provided between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger in the refrigerant cycle, the second pipe configured to guide refrigerant from the flow switch to the first pipe; and   a second flow switch configured to switch a flow direction of the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger into the flow switch or the first pipe provided between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger.   
     
     
         16 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a flow switch that changes a flow direction of refrigerant received from the compressor toward one of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger,
 wherein the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger is configured to flow into a first pipe provided between the flow switch and the indoor heat exchanger in the refrigerant cycle during the heating operation or is configured to flow into a second pipe provided between the flow switch and the outdoor heat exchanger in the refrigerant cycle during the cooling operation.   
     
     
         17 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 16 , further comprising a second flow switch configured to guide the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger into one of the first pipe or the second pipe. 
     
     
         18 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 an indoor side inflow pipe configured to guide the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger to an inflow side of the indoor heat exchanger;   an indoor side bypass pipe configured to guide the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger to a discharge side of the indoor heat exchanger, thereby bypassing the indoor heat exchanger;   an indoor side inflow valve provided on the an indoor side inflow pipe to control a flow of the refrigerant received from the hot water supply side refrigerant into the indoor heat exchanger; and   an indoor side bypass valve provided on the indoor side bypass pipe to control a flow of the refrigerant received from the hot water supply side refrigerant to bypass the indoor heat exchanger,   wherein, during the heating operation, when a ratio of the hot water supply side refrigerant flowrate to the heating side refrigerant flowrate is above a prescribed ratio, the controller is configured to control the indoor side inflow valve to open and the indoor side bypass valve to close, and   when the ratio of the hot water supply side refrigerant flowrate to the heating side refrigerant flowrate is less than the prescribed ratio, the controller is configured to control the indoor side inflow valve to close and the indoor side bypass valve to open such that the indoor heat exchanger is bypassed.   
     
     
         19 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a flow switch that changes a flow direction of refrigerant received from the compressor toward one of the indoor heat exchanger or the outdoor heat exchanger,
 wherein the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger is configured to flow into a first pipe provided between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger in the refrigerant cycle during the heating operation or is configured to flow into a second pipe provided between the flow switch and the outdoor heat exchanger in the refrigerant cycle during the cooling operation.   
     
     
         20 . The hot water supply apparatus according to  claim 19 , further comprising
 a second flow switch configured to change a flow direction of the refrigerant received from the hot water supply heat exchanger towards one of the first pipe or the second pipe.   
     
     
         21 . A hot water supply apparatus, comprising:
 a main refrigerant circuit that includes a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expander, and an outdoor heat exchanger;   a hot water supply circuit connected to the main refrigerant circuit;   a first flowrate regulator that adjusts a first flowrate of refrigerant that flows from the compressor through the main refrigerant circuit;   a second flowrate regulator that adjusts a second flowrate of refrigerant that flows from the compressor to the hot water supply circuit;   at least one flow switch provided to receive the at least one of the first flow of refrigerant or the second flow of refrigerant and configured to change a flow direction of the first and second flows of refrigerant into the main refrigerant circuit; and   a controller configured to control the first and second flowrate regulators and the at least one flow switch based on a load on at least one of the main refrigerant circuit or the hot water supply circuit.