Adsorption heat pump system and method of driving adsorption heat pump

Abstract

An adsorption heat pump system includes: an adsorption heat pump including a condenser configured to condense a vapor of a refrigerant; an air-cooling device configured to air-cool a coolant discharged from the condenser in the adsorption heat pump and to resupply the air-cooled coolant to the condenser; and a controller. The controller controls a flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the condenser according to a difference in temperature between the coolant supplied to the condenser and the coolant discharged from the condenser.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An adsorption heat pump system comprising:
 an adsorption heat pump including a condenser configured to condense a vapor of a refrigerant;   an air-cooling device configured to air-cool a coolant discharged from the condenser in the adsorption heat pump and to resupply the air-cooled coolant to the condenser; and   a controller configured to control a flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the condenser according to a difference in temperature between the coolant supplied to the condenser and the coolant discharged from the condenser.   
     
     
         2 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the adsorption heat pump further includes an evaporator configured to generate a vapor of the refrigerant and a plurality of adsorbers disposed in parallel between the evaporator and the condenser, and   each of the plurality of adsorbers includes an adsorbent configured to adsorb the vapor of the refrigerant and a heat-transfer pipe through which hot water passes at intervals of a certain period of time.   
     
     
         3 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the controller controls the flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the condenser such that the difference in temperature between the coolant supplied to the condenser and the coolant discharged from the condenser is equal to or higher than a preset temperature and no dew condensation occurs within the adsorber through which the hot water is passing.   
     
     
         4 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a sensor configured to detect whether or not there is dew condensation within each of the plurality of adsorbers,   wherein a signal outputted from the sensor is inputted to the controller.   
     
     
         5 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the controller controls the flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the condenser such that an amount of heat adsorbed by the adsorber through which the hot water is passing becomes equal to an amount of condensation heat in the condenser.   
     
     
         6 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 2 , wherein
 differential pressure-driven valves configured to be automatically opened and closed by a pressure difference are disposed between the evaporator and the plurality of adsorbers and between the condenser and the plurality of adsorbers.   
     
     
         7 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the air-cooling device includes a pipe through which the coolant passes, cooling fins attached to the pipe, a blast fan configured to blow outside air onto the cooling fins, and a spray pipe configured to spray water onto the cooling fins.   
     
     
         8 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the air-cooling device includes a pipe through which the coolant passes, cooling fins attached to the pipe, a blast fan configured to blow outside air onto the cooling fins, and a spray pipe configured to spray water between the cooling fins and the blast fan.   
     
     
         9 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the controller passes the hot water through the plurality of adsorbers in turn at the intervals of the certain period of time.   
     
     
         10 . The adsorption heat pump system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the adsorbent contains at least one of activated carbon, silica gel and zeolite.   
     
     
         11 . A method of driving an adsorption heat pump configured to cool a coolant discharged from a condenser in the adsorption heat pump by using an air-cooling device, comprising:
 controlling a flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the condenser such that a difference in temperature between the coolant supplied to the condenser and the coolant discharged from the condenser is equal to or more than a set value.   
     
     
         12 . The method of driving an adsorption heat pump, according to  claim 11 , wherein
 the air-cooling device is disposed outdoors.   
     
     
         13 . The method of driving an adsorption heat pump, according to  claim 11 , wherein
 the hot water is water heated by heat discharged from an electronic device.   
     
     
         14 . The method of driving an adsorption heat pump, according to  claim 11 , wherein
 the adsorption heat pump further includes an evaporator configured to generate a vapor of a refrigerant and a plurality of adsorbers disposed in parallel between the evaporator and the condenser, and   each of the plurality of adsorbers includes an adsorbent configured to adsorb the vapor of the refrigerant and a heat-transfer pipe through which hot water passes at intervals of a certain period of time.   
     
     
         15 . The method of driving an adsorption heat pump, according to  claim 14 , comprising:
 controlling the flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the adsorption heat pump such that the difference in temperature between the coolant supplied to the condenser and the coolant discharged from the condenser is equal to or higher than a preset temperature and no dew condensation occurs within the adsorber through which the hot water is passing.   
     
     
         16 . The method of driving an adsorption heat pump, according to  claim 15 , further comprising:
 controlling the flow rate of the coolant to be supplied to the condenser such that an amount of heat adsorbed by the adsorber having the hot water supplied thereto becomes equal to an amount of condensation heat in the condenser.   
     
     
         17 . The method of driving an adsorption heat pump, according to  claim 14 , wherein
 differential pressure-driven valves configured to be automatically opened and closed by a pressure difference are disposed between the evaporator and the plurality of adsorbers and between the condenser and the plurality of adsorbers.