Air conditioner units and methods for cold-weather mitigation

Abstract

An air conditioner unit may include an outdoor heat exchanger, and outdoor fan, an indoor heat exchanger, an indoor fan, a compressor, an outdoor temperature assembly, and a controller. The compressor may be in fluid communication with the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger to circulate a refrigerant between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger. The outdoor temperature assembly may be disposed apart from the indoor heat exchanger and configured to detect an outdoor temperature. The controller may be in operative communication with the compressor and the outdoor temperature assembly. The controller may be configured to initiate a protective operation. The protective operation may include receiving a temperature signal from the outdoor temperature assembly corresponding to the outdoor temperature, determining a heating wattage for the compressor based on the received temperature signal, and heating the compressor according to the determined heating wattage.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An air conditioner unit comprising:
 an outdoor heat exchanger and an outdoor fan;   an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor fan;   a compressor in fluid communication with the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger to circulate a refrigerant between the outdoor heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger;   an outdoor temperature assembly disposed apart from the indoor heat exchanger and configured to detect an outdoor temperature;   a controller in operative communication with the compressor and the outdoor temperature assembly, the controller being configured to initiate a protective operation comprising
 receiving a temperature signal from the outdoor temperature assembly corresponding to the outdoor temperature, 
 determining a heating wattage for the compressor based on the received temperature signal, and 
 heating the compressor according to the determined heating wattage. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein determining the heating wattage comprises calculating the heating wattage using a predetermined function, graph, or look-up table. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein heating the compressor comprises directing a heating current to the compressor. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 3 , wherein heating the compressor further comprises calculating the heating current based on the determined heating wattage and a resistance value of the compressor prior to directing the heating current to the compressor. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 4 , wherein the resistance value is a predetermined, fixed value programmed within the controller. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 4 , wherein heating the compressor further comprises measuring resistance across the compressor to determine the resistance value. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 3 , wherein directing the heating current comprises directing the heating current at a fixed frequency. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 7 , wherein the fixed frequency is less than or equal to 10 Hertz. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioner unit of  claim 3 , wherein the heating current is directed according to as an open loop input. 
     
     
         10 . A method of operating an air conditioner unit, the method comprising:
 receiving a temperature signal from an outdoor temperature assembly corresponding to an outdoor temperature;   determining a heating wattage for a compressor of the air conditioner unit based on the received temperature signal; and   heating the compressor according to the determined heating wattage.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein determining the heating wattage comprises calculating the heating wattage using a predetermined function, graph, or look-up table. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein heating the compressor comprises directing a heating current to the compressor. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein heating the compressor further comprises calculating the heating current based on the determined heating wattage and a resistance value of the compressor prior to directing the heating current to the compressor. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the resistance value is a predetermined, fixed value programmed within a controller of the air conditioner unit. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein heating the compressor further comprises measuring resistance across the compressor to determine the resistance value. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein directing the heating current comprises directing the heating current at a fixed frequency. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the fixed frequency is less than or equal to 10 Hertz. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the heating current is directed according to as an open loop input.