Control System And Air Source Heat Pump

Abstract

The present teachings provide a modular air source heat pump system (ASHP system) with an internal assembly, an external assembly, a refrigerant module, sensors, and a control system. The refrigerant module is removably connected to the external assembly. The sensors are located within the internal assembly and configured to monitor internal conditions, internal system conditions, or both. The sensors are located within the external assembly and configured to monitor external conditions, external system conditions, or both. The control system in communication with the sensors located within the internal assembly and the external assembly. The control system is configured to: change a heat transfer fluid charge in the internal assembly, the external assembly, or both by adding or subtracting heat transfer fluid from the refrigerant module in response to changes in the external conditions, the external system conditions, the internal conditions, the internal system conditions, or a combination thereof.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A modular air source heat pump system (ASHP system) comprising:
 an internal assembly comprising one or more internal system components located on an outside of a structure;   an external assembly comprising one or more external system components located on an inside of the structure;   a refrigerant module removably connected to the external assembly;   a plurality of sensors located within the internal assembly and configured to monitor one or more internal conditions, one or more internal system conditions, or both;   a plurality of sensors located within the external assembly and configured to monitor one or more external conditions, one or more external system conditions, or both;   a control system in communication with the plurality of sensors located within the internal assembly and the plurality of sensors located within the external assembly, the control system configured to:
 change a heat transfer fluid charge in the internal assembly, the external assembly, or both by adding or subtracting heat transfer fluid from the refrigerant module in response to changes in the one or more external conditions, the one or more external system conditions, the one or more internal conditions, the one or more internal system conditions, or a combination thereof. 
   
     
     
         2 . The ASHP system or  claim 1 , wherein the control system increases the charge of the heat transfer fluid when the one or more external conditions indicate an increase in ambient external temperature. 
     
     
         3 . The ASHP system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system removes heat transfer fluid when a load on the ASHP system decreases, a setpoint is achieved, or both. 
     
     
         4 . The ASHP system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant module includes a reservoir that comprises an additional amount of the heat transfer fluid so that the control system adds or subtracts heat transfer fluid to the external assembly on demand. 
     
     
         5 . The ASHP system of  claim 4 , wherein adding the additional amount of the heat transfer fluid provides additional conditioning and reduces or maintains power consumption of the ASHP system. 
     
     
         6 . The ASHP system of  claim 1 , wherein the external assembly comprises an external heat exchanger and the control system is configured to change a speed of the heat exchanger while the heat transfer fluid charge is being changed. 
     
     
         7 . The ASHP system of  claim 6 , wherein the external assembly comprises a reversing valve and an expansion valve and the control system is configured to change operation of the reversing valve and the expansion valve while changing the charge of the heat transfer fluid within the ASHP system. 
     
     
         8 . A modular air source heat pump system (ASHP system) comprising:
 an external assembly comprising:
 one or more external heat exchangers; 
 one or more reversing valves; 
 one or more expansion valves; and 
 one or more external sensors in communication with the one or more external heat exchangers, the one or more reversing valves, the one or more expansion valves, or a combination thereof, wherein the one or more external sensors are configured to monitor the one or more heat exchangers, the one or more reversing valves, the one or more expansion valves, or a combination thereof during operation; 
   an internal assembly comprising:
 an internal heat exchanger, and 
 one or more internal sensors in communication with the internal heat exchanger to monitor operation of the internal heat exchanger; and 
   a control system in communication with the one or more external sensors that monitor external system data regarding operation of the external assembly and one or more internal sensors that monitor internal system data regarding operation of the internal assembly, wherein the control system monitors operation to determine if operation of the external assembly, the internal assembly, or both vary over time.   
     
     
         9 . The ASHP system of  claim 8 , wherein the control system analyzes the external system data and the internal system data to determine when preventative maintenance is needed. 
     
     
         10 . The ASHP system of  claim 8 , wherein the control system generates signals that indicate an action regarding the internal assembly, the external assembly, or both are needed. 
     
     
         11 . The ASHP system of  claim 10 , wherein the control system determines, based on the external system data, that performance of the external assembly is decreasing over time. 
     
     
         12 . The ASHP system of  claim 11 , wherein the control system indicates that the one or more external heat exchangers, the one or more reversing valves, or the one or more expansion valves are causing the decrease in performance over time. 
     
     
         13 . The ASHP system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more external heat exchangers comprise four or more of the one or more external sensors. 
     
     
         14 . A modular air source heat pump system (ASHP system) comprising:
 a plurality of system components that are individually connected together by a plurality of connectors so that the plurality of system components are configured to provide conditioning to a structure and the plurality of system components are configured to connect and/or disconnect from the ASHP system;   a plurality of sensors in communication with one or more of the plurality of system components; and   a control system in communication with the plurality of sensors, the control system configured to:   monitor system data provided to the control system by the plurality of sensors;   analyze the system data;   review an efficiency of the ASHP system based on the analyzed system data; and   provide feedback regarding the ASHP system based on the analyzed system data, wherein the feedback includes:
 resize the ASHP system, 
 control the ASHP system, 
 relocate one or more of the plurality system components of the ASHP system, 
 repair or replace one or more of the plurality of system components of the ASHP system; or 
 a combination thereof. 
   
     
     
         15 . The ASHP system of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of sensors include a thermostat to monitor an interior of the structure and a system thermostat to monitor one or more conditions of the ASHP system. 
     
     
         16 . The ASHP system of  claim 14 , wherein the control system comprises:
 a mode controller including modes that comprise system mode 1, system mode 2, and system mode 3, wherein the mode controller controls the ASHP system based on the modes selected.   
     
     
         17 . The ASHP system of  claim 16 , wherein the mode controller controls the ASHP system based on power consumption when mode 1 is selected. 
     
     
         18 . The ASHP system of  claim 16 , wherein the ASHP system uses less power when mode 1 is selected in comparison to when mode 2 or mode 3 are selected. 
     
     
         19 . The ASHP system of  claim 14 , wherein control of the ASHP system by the control system comprises a variable mode where the control system continuously varies operation of the plurality of system components to adjust the ASHP system based on environmental conditions. 
     
     
         20 . The ASHP system of  claim 19 , wherein the variable mode comprises dynamically adjusting the plurality of system components so that each of the plurality of system components are varied to change conditioning output of the ASHP system based on changes in the environmental conditions.