Patent Application
20130139534
The present disclosure relates to air conditioning energy-saving technology, and more specifically, to an energy-saving device for an air conditioner outdoor unit and an energy-saving method thereof.
For the existing Central Office (CO)/Data Centre (DC) machine room, due to the continuous increase of the density of power consumption of various devices and the increasing demand for refrigeration, more and more air conditioners are required for heat dissipation. However, air conditioner outdoor units typically are installed closely with the distance between respective outdoor units being decreased continuously due to the limited outdoor space for arrangement, a phenomenon of “heated air interference” between outdoor units frequently occurs. The phenomenon causes the temperature of the airflow at the air inlet of the air conditioner outdoor unit to be excessively high, which severely affects the refrigeration performance of the air conditioner and is unfavourable for the energy-saving operation of the refrigeration system.
Moreover, some machine rooms is not properly designed. The installation regions for outdoor units usually face south or west which causes the air conditioner outdoor units to over-expose to sunlight during hot summer. Thus the airflow temperature at the air inlet of the outdoor unit becomes excessively hot, badly reducing the efficiency of heat dissipation of the outdoor unit and exerting unfavourable influences on the reliability of the operation of the indoor Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment.
As shown in
During the implementation of the present disclosure, the inventor has found the following defects in the technical solution of the prior art:
Since this solution adopts a wet curtain which significantly increases airflow resistance of the system and requires an additional fan for overcoming this resistance, the operating expense (electricity bill for the operation of the fan), together with the material cost (fan) of the system, are increased;
Since the spray header is located above the evaporation wet curtain according to this solution, in such a coarse spraying manner, a large amount of water is not practically sprayed onto the wet curtain, which is not favourable for saving water resources.
In order to solve the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an energy-saving device for an air conditioner outdoor unit and an energy-saving method thereof, wherein, the energy-saving device lowers the temperature of the air conditioner outdoor unit by water mist generated from a water mist generator, improves the spraying effect of the outdoor unit, and controls the generation of water mist by monitoring the temperature at the air inlet and the refrigerant evaporating pressure, thereby further saving energy.
On one hand, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an energy-saving device for an air conditioner outdoor unit, which comprises: a water mist generator which is installed opposite to an air inlet of the air conditioner outdoor unit for atomizing water to generate water mist, thereby sending the generated water mist to the air conditioner outdoor unit along with external airflow; a water circulating system which connects the water mist generator with an external water source, so as to supply the water mist generator with water needed for atomizing; a controller which is connected to the water circulating system for controlling operational states of the water circulating system based on monitored results of the temperature at an air inlet of a condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure, thereby starting and stopping the generation of water mist.
On the other hand, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an energy-saving method for an air conditioner outdoor unit, which comprises: detecting the temperature at an air inlet of a condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure; controlling operational states of the water circulating system based on monitored results of the temperature at the air inlet of the condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure, thereby starting and stopping the generation of water mist; the water circulating system is used for connecting a water mist generator with an external water source, thereby supplying the water mist generator with water needed for atomizing; the water mist generator is installed opposite to the air inlet of the air conditioner outdoor unit for atomizing water to generate water mist, thereby sending the generated water mist to the air conditioner outdoor unit along with external airflow.
The device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure adopts a water mist generator for lowering the temperature of an outdoor unit and enhances the spraying effect, requires no additional fans and saves costs, and performs a control on the timing of spraying which further saves energy.
a is a diagram of the spraying of the two-side opposite spray water mist generator;
a is a diagram of the spraying of the dot spray water mist generator; and
The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an energy-saving device for an air conditioner outdoor unit and an energy-saving method thereof. The device adopts a water mist generator for spraying the outdoor unit, controls the generation of water mist by monitoring the temperature at an air inlet of a condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure. The temperature at the air inlet can be lowered by the water mist, thereby improving the heat dissipating performance of the outdoor unit under a high-temperature environment and accomplishing purposes of enhancing refrigeration efficiency of the air conditioner outdoor unit and saving power consumption thereof.
In order to make the objects, the technical solution and the advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure become much clearer, the technical solution of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, instead of the entire embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments that can be obtained by one of ordinary skill in the art without paying creative efforts also belong to the claimed scope of the present disclosure.
The embodiments of the disclosure provide energy-saving devices for an air conditioner outdoor unit.
Specifically, the device further comprises: a temperature detection unit 304 which is provided at the air inlet of the condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit for detecting the temperature at the air inlet; a pressure detection unit 305 which is provide in the condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit for detecting the refrigerant evaporating pressure.
Specifically, the controller 303 further connects the temperature detection unit 304 with the pressure detection unit 305. When the value of the temperature at a temperature monitoring point is T−TH≧0 or the value of the pressure at a pressure monitoring point is P−PH≧0, the water pump is started; when T−TH≦T0 and P−PH≦P0, the water pump is stopped from working. Wherein, TH is a predetermined temperature, PH is a predetermined pressure, T0 is a non-return temperature, and P0 is a non-return pressure.
The energy-saving device for an air conditioner outdoor unit of this embodiment is typically applied to the following two main scenes: one scene in which the air conditioner outdoor unit is horizontally installed and the other scene in which the air conditioner outdoor unit is vertically installed. Below, the specific structures of the device under these two installation scenes will be described in detail.
A scene in which the air conditioner outdoor unit is horizontally installed
When the air conditioner outdoor unit is horizontally installed, the structure of the device of the present disclosure is shown in
As shown in
The operational principle of the device of this embodiment goes as follows. The water mist generator and the water circulating system are mutually connected. Water inside the sink is transported to the water mist generator through the water pump, then the water mist generator atomizes the water. Due to the suction effect of the fan system of the air conditioner outdoor unit, the region nearby the water mist generator is a negative pressure zone, the airflow carries the mist into the outdoor unit. When the mist passes the condenser of the outdoor unit, the condenser is subjected to heat dissipation by an endothermic effect induced by the evaporation of water. Using such water mist evaporation manner can significantly lower the temperature of the external hot air (by about 8° C.˜12° C.), thus improving the state of heat dissipation of the air conditioner outdoor unit and enhancing its refrigeration efficiency.
The sink of this embodiment is connected with an external water supply system, for realizing auto replenishment of water resources with the use of the water replenishing float, and collects drips dropped from the condenser of the outdoor unit for recycle. In order to ensure that the sprayed water will not contaminate the water within the sink during back-flow, a mesh screen can be provided over the upper portion of the water tank, and a cleaning treatment on the water inside the water tank may be periodically carried out, for example, by putting non-oxidative cleanser 805A into the water tank once after every 700-hour service hours).
In order to reduce operating expense while ensuring the sufficient and high-efficient heat dissipation of the outdoor unit, it is necessary to finely regulate the operating time of the water pump. Since the heat dissipation efficiency of the outdoor unit is restrained by both the temperature at its air inlet and the refrigerant evaporating pressure, the controller of this embodiment monitors the air inlet temperature of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure, thereby realizing the real-time control of the generation of water mist and saving the electricity consumed by the operation of the water pump.
2) A Scene in Which the Outdoor Unit is Vertically Installed
When the air conditioner outdoor unit is vertically installed, the installation structure of the device of the present disclosure is shown in
The water mist generator is an important module of the embodiments of the present disclosure. This embodiment provides two specific implementation manners, which are applicable to the aforementioned horizontal installation structure and vertical installation structure;
(a) Two-Side Opposite Spray
As shown in
(b) Dot Spray
As shown in
This embodiment also provides an energy-saving method for an air conditioner outdoor unit.
S801, detecting the temperature at an air inlet of a condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure;
S802, controlling operational states of the water circulating system based on monitor results of the temperature at the air inlet of a condenser of the air conditioner outdoor unit and the refrigerant evaporating pressure, thereby starting or stopping the generation of water mist. Wherein, the water circulating system is used for connecting a water mist generator with an external water source, thereby supplying the water mist generator with water needed for atomizing. The water mist generator is installed opposite to the air inlet of the air conditioner outdoor unit for atomizing water to generate water mist, thereby sending the generated water mist to the air conditioner outdoor unit along with external airflow.
Specifically, S802 comprises: obtaining monitoring results of the temperature at the air inlet and the refrigerant evaporating pressure; when the value of the temperature at a temperature monitoring point is T−TH≧0 or the value of the pressure at a pressure monitoring point is P−PH≧0, the water pump of the water circulating system is started; when T−TH≦T0 and P−PH≧P0, the water pump is stopped from working. Wherein, TH is a predetermined temperature, PH is a predetermined pressure, T0 is a non-return temperature, and P0 is a non-return pressure.
The device and method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can realize the following beneficial technical effects:
This device adopts a module design, has a wide adaptive capability, and can be applied to the traditional air-cooled air conditioner air conditioner outdoor unit for reduction of power consumption;
This device and method control the timing of the spraying, require no additional fans, and reduce the production cost and the operating expense of the energy-saving system, that is, reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO);
The sink of this device can be used for collecting drips dropped from the condenser, realizing the recycle of water and saving water resources;
This device and method adopt a fine management technology of operation, enhance the spray effect of the outdoor unit, and reduces the consumption of water resources while improving the Coefficient of Performance (COP) of the Computer Room Air Conditioner (CRAC);
The structure of this device can loosen the installation constraints of the energy-saving system of the air conditioner outdoor unit and expand its application range.
In summary, as compared with the traditional energy-saving device of an air conditioner outdoor unit, the device of the present disclosure has advantages of low Capital Expenditure (CapEx), low Operating Expense (OpEx), small occupied space, flexible installation, easy for operation, and notable effect of saving energy and reducing exhaust.
The water mist generator of the present disclosure also can be arranged in the vicinity of the air outlet of the CRAC outdoor unit, such that the energy of the hot currents exhausted from the outdoor unit can be absorbed by the spray, in which way, the temperature of the exhaust air of the outdoor unit can be lowered and the influence on the environment by the exhaust air can be improved, and meanwhile, the heated water vapour can be recycled for further uses (e.g. in civil area, such as, for washing hands, showering, washing clothes, hot-water heating, or the like) so as to further enhance the utilization efficiency of energy.
One of ordinary skill in the art can understand that, all or part of the flowchart of the method described in the above embodiments can be completed by computer programs instructing relevant hardware, wherein, said programs can be stored in a computer readable memory medium and can comprise the flowchart as the above method embodiments when being executed. The memory medium can be a magnetic disc, an optical disc, a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM).
The aforementioned embodiments are merely used for describing the technical solution of the present disclosure, but are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above in detail with reference to the previous embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art should understand that, the technical solutions recited in the previous embodiments can be modified or some of the technical features in the previous embodiments can be equivalently replaced; moreover, these modifications or replacements will not make the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope and range of the technical solutions recited in various embodiments of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201010255556.7 | Aug 2010 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2011/075044, filed May 31, 2011, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201010255556.7, filed Aug. 16, 2010, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2011/075044 | May 2011 | US |
| Child | 13763199 | US |
