Low Energy Air Cooler-Heater

Abstract

A set of devices that use pressure envelope (atmosphere) to leverage creating small volume changes with small amount of work to create larger heat energy temperature differences. Piston and turbine based devices using the same principles of exchanging heat for work allow production of temperature change proportional to volume times air pressure, while consuming less power, only the power required to deflect the piston from its point of equilibrium (volume times pressure increase or decrease) or the equivalent effect with a turbine. The devices can be configured for refrigeration and heating. All of the devices allow for improved efficiency, less sensitive to temperature differences between interior and exterior, costs less to manufacture, and consume less than half the energy a Freon/compressor/condenser/evaporator based air conditioner/heat pump.

1 . Disclosed is a class of devices that accomplish temperature change to heat or cool air or vapor. 
     
     
         2 . Devices in  claim 1  are disclosed in 3 variations; Device A is piston based, mixed conditioned air in pressurized space; Device B makes separate conditioned air space and pressurized air/vapor space with piston controlled pressurization, and Device C makes separate conditioned air space and pressurized air/vapor space with turbine controlled pressurization. 
     
     
         3 . Device A, B and C cited in  claim 2  can cool or heat a separate volume of air significantly relative to starting source air temperature, with little force needed to counter air pressure, resulting in heat energy change many times the amount of exterior work applied. 
     
     
         4 . Device A, B and C cited in  claim 2  will for ideal system consume 50% or less of the energy of a conventional Freon air conditioner or heat pump. 
     
     
         5 . Device A, B and C cited in  claim 2  can replace air conditioning (cooling) and heat pump systems, without using Freon or other coolant, condenser, compressor or evaporator. 
     
     
         6 . Device A, B and C cited in  claim 2  uses significantly less consumed power than the net energy of the thermal effect. 
     
     
         7 . Device A cited in  claim 2  operates and consumes a quantity of energy independent of external temperature. 
     
     
         8 . Device A cited in  claim 2  does not have a limited range of external temperatures over which it operates nor a limit on the temperature difference between conditioned air and external air. 
     
     
         9 . Device A, B and C cited in  claim 2  does not use Freon or any other coolant or chemicals, nor evaporator coil, condenser coil, nor compressor. 
     
     
         10 . Device A, B and C cited in  claim 2  can be manufactured for a small fraction of the price of conventional heat pump and air conditioning systems. 
     
     
         11 . Device B and C cited in  claim 2  operate and consume a (smaller) quantity of energy more independent of external temperature than do current Freon based systems. 
     
     
         12 . Device B and C cited in  claim 2  operate with a greater range of external temperatures and have a larger a limit on the maximum temperature difference between conditioned air and external air, than current Freon based systems.