Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6381970
-
Patent Number
6,381,970
-
Date Filed
Friday, March 5, 199925 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 7, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Beres; William J.
- O'Driscoll; William
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 062 90
- 062 173
- 062 1765
- 062 199
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A refrigeration system with a high percentage of fresh air. The system comprises a supply air duct; an indoor heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; a reheat heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; an outdoor heat exchange coil; at least one compressor; and an expansion device. The system also comprises refrigeration system tubing connected to and serially arranging the compressor, the outdoor heat exchange coil, the expansion device and the indoor coil into a refrigeration circuit; and reheat tubing connecting the reheat coil to the refrigeration tubing so as to arrange the reheat coil in a parallel circuited arrangement with the outdoor heat exchange coil and in a series circuited arrangement with the compressor, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchange coil. The system further comprises a subcooler located between and operably connected to the indoor heat exchange coil and the parallel circuited arrangement; and a control valve in the reheat tubing operable to control refrigerant flow through the reheat coil.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to air conditioning systems which can allow the introduction of a high percentage fresh air into a building in order to comply with indoor air quality standards in an energy efficient manner.
Basically, the present invention focuses on an outdoor air treatment and ventilation system to deliver properly conditioned outdoor air in HVAC systems. The primary benefit in using this type of system is the ability to independently heat, cool and/or dehumidify the outdoor ventilating air.
Poor indoor air quality can pose many risks for the building designer, owner and manager. The quality of the indoor environment can affect the health and productivity of the building occupants and even affect the integrity of the building structure itself. A building's indoor air quality is the result of the activities of a wide variety of individuals over the lifetime of a building, the atmosphere surrounding the building, the building materials themselves, and the way in which the building is maintained and operated. The interaction of these variables make achieving acceptable indoor air quality a complex, multi-faceted problem. Although complex, the fundamental factors which directly influence indoor air quality can be divided into four categories: (a) contaminant source control, (b) indoor relative humidity control, (c) proper ventilation, and (d) adequate filtration.
Ventilation is the process of introducing conditioned outside air into a building for the purpose of diluting contaminants generated within the spaces and of providing makeup air to replace air which is lost to building exhaust. The amount of ventilation air so required is established by building codes and industry standards, and varies with the intended use of the occupied spaces. Most building codes reference ASHRAE Standard 62-89 “Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality” either in part or in entirety as a minimum requirement for ventilation system design. This standard is hereby incorporated by reference. ASHRAE Standard 62-89 recommends that “relative humidity in habitable spaces be maintained between 30 and 60 percent to minimize the growth of allergenic and pathogenic organisms”. Additionally, indoor relative humidity levels above 60 percent promote the growth of mold and mildew, can trigger allergenic reactions in some people, and have an obvious effect on personal comfort. Extended periods of high humidity can damage furnishings and even damage the building structure itself. Controlling moisture levels within the building and the HVAC system is the most practical way to manage microbial growth.
The increased attention to indoor air quality (IAQ) is causing system designers to look more carefully at the ventilation and humidity control aspects of mechanical system designs particularly including dedicated outdoor air treatment and ventilation systems. These types of systems separate the outdoor air conditioning duties from the recirculated air conditioning duties. The present invention is intended to encompass all air conditioning systems including air handler systems, variable air volume (VAV) systems and constant volume systems.
A problem occurs during the operation of a high percentage fresh air refrigeration unit having a series connected condenser and reheat coil. As cold air from the evaporator is directed over the reheat coil, refrigerant temperature drops and the refrigerant condenses. Hot gas from the compressor flowing through the reheat coil will first give up its superheat. If the refrigerant in the reheat coil is able to be cooled further, the refrigerant will begin to condense. This condensed liquid then flows to the outdoor condenser which has air flowing through the outdoor condenser coil at a higher temperature than the air flowing through the reheat coil. Consequently, the condensed refrigerant may actually re-evaporate, or at least fail to subcool. The result is insufficient subcooling at the expansion valve.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object, feature and advantage of the present invention to solve the problems of prior art systems.
It is an object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide an arrangement to reheat cold saturated air to a more comfortable drybulb temperature before being introduced into an inhabited space and to avoid overcooling the space. It is a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to modulate this reheat using “free” energy from the condensed refrigerant gas in a partially flooded reheat condenser coil.
It is an object, feature and advantage of the present invention to use liquid refrigerant for flooding of a reheat coil piped in parallel with an outdoor condenser coil to control the amount of heat which is rejected to the supply air stream. It is a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to eliminate separate subcooling sections in the condenser coil and replace those subcooling section with a single subcooler located in the supply air stream. It is a still further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to position the subcooler in the general location of the reheat coil. It is a yet further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to locate the receiver just upstream of the subcooler.
It is an object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a reheat coil and an outdoor condenser coil arranged in a parallel refrigerant circuiting arrangement. It is a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to control the refrigeration system with a modulating liquid valve downstream of the reheat coil. It is an object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide a retrofit parallel piped hot gas reheat coil. It is a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to provide subcooling of partially condensed hot gas leaving the hot gas reheat coil and to manage the refrigerant charge required in dehumidification and cooling operating modes. It is a further object, feature and advantage of the present invention to accomplish this using the existing subcooling circuit in the existing condenser coil and by sizing the return piping from the reheat coil in order to match the required charge in the dehumidification mode.
The present invention provides a refrigeration system. The system comprises a supply air duct; an indoor heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; a reheat heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; an outdoor heat exchange coil; at least one compressor; and an expansion device. The system also comprises refrigeration system tubing connected to and serially arranging the compressor, the outdoor heat exchange coil, the expansion device and the indoor coil into a refrigeration circuit; and reheat tubing connecting the reheat coil to the refrigeration tubing so as to arrange the reheat coil in a parallel circuited arrangement with the outdoor heat exchange coil and in a series circuited arrangement with the compressor, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchange coil. The system also comprises a subcooler located between and operably connected to the indoor heat exchange coil and the parallel circuited arrangement.
The present invention also provides a method of arranging a refrigeration system including an indoor heat exchanger, a reheat coil, an expansion device, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a compressor. The method comprises the steps of: placing the indoor heat exchanger in a supply air stream; placing the reheat coil in the supply air stream; sequentially linking the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchanger with tubing into a first refrigeration circuit; and linking the reheat coil, with additional tubing, to the first refrigeration circuit so as to place the reheat coil in a series arrangement with the compressor, expansion device, and indoor heat exchanger and in a parallel arrangement with the outdoor heat exchanger.
The present invention further provides a method of controlling reheat in a refrigeration system. The system includes an outdoor coil in parallel arrangement with a reheat coil and includes a flow control valve downstream of the reheat coil. The method comprises the steps of: closing the valve to block flow from the reheat coil thereby causing refrigerant to condense within the reheat coil until the reheat coil is completely filled with liquid; opening the liquid valve slightly to allow refrigerant to flow out of the reheat coil and cause condensation to begin to occur in the reheat coil; and opening the valve completely to expose more coil surface of the reheat coil and cause the reheat coil to be more active in a condensation process.
The present invention additionally provides a refrigeration system. The system comprises a reheat coil; a liquid control valve; and an outdoor coil. The system also comprises first refrigerant tubing operably connected to the outdoor coil, the reheat and the liquid control valve to place the reheat coil and valve in a series arrangement with the valve downstream of the reheat coil and to place the outdoor coil in a parallel arrangement with the reheat coil and the valve.
The present invention still further provides a refrigeration system. The system comprises a supply air duct; an indoor heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; a reheat heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; an outdoor heat exchange coil; at least one compressor; and an expansion device. The system also comprises refrigeration system tubing connected to and serially arranging the compressor, the outdoor heat exchange coil, the expansion device and the indoor coil into a refrigeration circuit; and reheat tubing connecting the reheat coil to the refrigeration tubing so as to arrange the reheat coil in a parallel circuited arrangement with the outdoor heat exchange coil and in a series circuited arrangement with the compressor, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchange coil. The system further includes a valve in the reheat tubing operable to control refrigerant flow through the reheat coil. A subcooler downstream of the parallel circuited arrangement may also be included.
The present invention yet further provides a method of arranging a refrigeration system including an indoor heat exchanger, a reheat coil, an expansion device, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a compressor. The method comprises the steps of: placing the indoor heat exchanger in a supply air stream; placing the reheat coil in the supply air stream; sequentially linking the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchanger with tubing into a first refrigeration circuit; linking the reheat coil, with additional tubing, to the first refrigeration circuit so as to place the reheat coil in a series arrangement with the compressor, expansion device, and indoor heat exchanger, and in a parallel arrangement with the outdoor heat exchanger; and using a control valve in the additional tubing to control refrigerant flow from the reheat coil.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a circuit diagram of a refrigeration circuit with a reheat coil and outdoor condenser coil in parallel circuiting arrangement in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a alternative embodiment of the present invention in accordance with
FIG. 1
with the addition of a subcooler proximal the reheat condenser in the supply air stream.
FIG. 3
is a further alternative embodiment of the present invention in accordance with
FIG. 1
using the existing subcooler in an outdoor condenser coil.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is directed to a 100% fresh air conditioning system which provides better indoor air quality than systems using a large percentage of recirculated air. Applicant's co-pending and commonly assigned patent applications entitled “Charge Control for a Fresh Air Refrigeration System” in the name of Brian T. Sullivan as filed on Feb. 12, 1999 and accorded U.S. Ser. No. 09/249,411; applicant's patent application entitled “Sizing and Control of Fresh Air Dehumidification Unit”, also with an inventor Brian T. Sullivan as filed on Jul. 17, 1998, and accorded U.S. Ser. No. 09/118,029; and applicant's patent application entitled “Integrated Humidity and Temperature controller” in the name of Radhakrishna Ganesh, Thomas J. Clanin and David M. Foye as filed on Jan. 29, 1997 and accorded U.S. Ser. No. 08/790,407, are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIG. 1
shows an air conditioning system
10
in accordance with the present invention. For purposes of this application, air conditioning system and refrigeration system shall be used interchangeably unless otherwise noted.
The system
10
includes one or more compressors
12
each having a discharge
14
linked by refrigerant tubing
16
to an input
18
of an outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. The outdoor heat exchange coil
20
has an output
22
linked by refrigerant tubing
24
to an input
26
of a receiver
28
. The receiver
28
has an output
30
linked by refrigeration tubing
32
to an input
34
of an expansion device
36
such as a thermal expansion valve or an electronic expansion valve. The expansion device
36
has an output
38
linked by refrigeration tubing
40
to an input
42
of an indoor heat exchange coil
44
. The indoor heat exchange coil
44
has an output
46
linked by refrigeration tubing
48
to an input
50
of the one or more compressors
12
. The refrigerant tubing
16
,
24
,
32
,
42
and
48
collectively links the compressor
12
, the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
, the expansion device
36
and the indoor heat exchange coil
44
into a refrigeration system
52
.
The system
10
also includes a reheat coil
60
having an input
64
connected to the compressor discharge
14
by refrigeration tubing
62
. The reheat coil
60
has an output
66
connected by refrigeration tubing
68
to an input
69
of a liquid control valve
70
. The liquid control valve
70
has an output
72
connected by refrigeration tubing
74
to the refrigeration tubing
24
. The liquid control valve
70
may alternatively be replaced by an on/off solenoid valve which is controlled using stepwise modulation to achieve the same effect. For purposes of this application, the term control valve is intended to encompass the liquid control valve
70
, the stepwise modulation of solenoid valves and other equivalents.
The reheat coil
60
and the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
are in a parallel circuiting arrangement in the system
10
. Each of the reheat coil
60
and the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
are in a series circuiting arrangement with the compressor
12
, the expansion device
36
, and the indoor heat exchange coil
44
.
The indoor heat exchange coil
44
is operably located in a supply air stream
80
bounded by supply air ducting
82
. A supply air fan
84
preferably is provided within the supply air ducting
82
to motivate and control the supply air flow
80
. The reheat coil
60
is located in the supply air flow
80
and within the supply air duct work
82
downstream of the indoor heat exchange coil
44
. Effectively, the indoor heat exchange coil
44
functions to reduce the temperature and humidity of the supply airstream
80
. The reheat coil
60
functions to return the supply air temperature to a desired temperature level as measured by a sensor
90
in the supply air flow
80
downstream of the reheat coil
60
.
In operation, the system
10
shown in
FIG. 1
provides and modulates reheat using free energy from the condensed refrigerant gas in the reheat coil
60
. The amount of refrigerant flow through the reheat coil
60
relative to the flow through the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
is determined by the liquid valve
70
placed at the exit
66
of the reheat coil
60
. Since the reheat coil
60
operates in the dehumidified supply airstream
80
downstream of the indoor heat exchange coil
44
, the tendency will be for refrigerant to condense in the reheat coil
60
rather than in the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. This is because the dehumidified supply air downstream of the indoor heat exchange coil
44
is at the coldest point in the system
10
and is colder than the air flowing through the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. This tendency is exploited to control the amount of reheat accomplished in the reheat coil
60
.
When the liquid valve
70
is completely closed, refrigerant is blocked from flowing through the reheat coil
60
and is instead forced to flow through the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. Since the reheat coil
60
is exposed to cold air from the indoor heat exchange coil
44
, refrigerant will condense within the reheat coil
60
until the reheat coil
60
is completely filled with liquid. Heat transfer to the supply airstream
80
from the reheat coil
60
is negligible once the liquid refrigerant in the reheat coil
60
has been subcooled to the supply air temperature. When this occurs, reheat is effectively disabled.
When the liquid valve
70
is opened slightly, liquid refrigerant is allowed to flow out of the reheat coil
60
and condensation will begin to occur within the reheat coil
60
. At the same time, refrigerant flow to the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
will be reduced correspondingly. The amount of reheat can be increased by opening the liquid valve
70
further, allowing more of the liquid refrigerant to leave the reheat coil
60
and allowing more of the coil surface of the reheat coil
60
to become active in the condensation process. At maximum reheat, the reheat coil
60
must be properly sized to deliver the maximum required temperature rise to the supply airstream
80
when the reheat coil
60
is on the verge of becoming completely drained of liquid refrigerant.
The amount of reheat can be controlled between the desired minimum and maximum by varying the opening of the liquid valve
70
in response to a proportional control signal generated by a controller
92
and supplied to the valve
70
by an electrical connection line
94
. The proportional control signal generated by the controller
92
is modulated based on a comparison of the supply air drybulb temperature measured by the sensor
90
with a setpoint conventional established within the controller
92
. Alternative measurements including humidity and wet bulb temperature are contemplated.
Since the volume of liquid contained by the reheat coil
60
varies considerably between the minimum and maximum reheat conditions, the receiver
28
is placed in the refrigerant tubing downstream of both the reheat coil
60
and the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. The receiver
28
is sized large enough to contain all of the volume of refrigerant which can be held within the reheat coil
60
to ensure that all operational modes of the system
10
have sufficient charge.
FIG. 2
shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention where like reference numerals are used for like elements.
In
FIG. 2
, the receiver
28
is located in the supply airstream
80
in a location
100
which is downstream of the reheat coil
60
. Additionally, a subcooler
102
is provided in the supply airstream
80
in a location proximal the reheat coil
60
. The subcooler
102
is serially arranged in the refrigeration circuit
52
such that an input
104
of the subcooler
102
is connected by refrigerant tubing
106
to the output
30
of the receiver
28
. Additionally, the subcooler
102
has an output
108
connected by refrigerant tubing
110
to the input
34
of the expansion device
36
.
The alternative embodiment of
FIG. 2
allows subcooling at the expansion device
36
to be reliably maintained over a wide variety of operating conditions. This is accomplished by eliminating separate subcooling sections in the outdoor heat exchange
20
and replacing those separate subcooling sections with the subcooler
102
. Additionally, the location of the receiver
28
is now upstream in the refrigeration circuit
52
of the subcooler
102
.
In the arrangement of the alternative embodiment of
FIG. 2
, the refrigerant from both the reheat coil
60
and the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
is routed first to the receiver
28
and then to the subcooler
102
. The subcooler
102
is located to be always operating at the lowest temperature air in the system, that air being at a location
114
immediately downstream of the discharge air from the indoor heat exchange coil
44
. The subcooler
102
is preferably implemented as an integral section of the reheat coil
60
with separate circuiting but may also be implemented as a separate coil.
The receiver
28
is upstream of the subcooler
102
in the refrigeration circuit
52
to maintain a liquid seal if the temperatures and conditions are such that refrigerant flowing through the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
does not fully condense. The receiver
28
also acts to provide a reservoir of refrigerant charge to supply the system
10
as the reheat coil
60
fills and/or empties with liquid refrigerant during the modulation of the reheat coil by the liquid valve
70
.
FIG. 2
also shows a suction accumulator
120
just upstream in the refrigeration circuit
52
of the compressor
12
. The suction accumulator
120
may be required if the total amount of system refrigerant charge is greater than specified as acceptable by the compressor manufacturer. The suction accumulator
120
acts to capture excess liquid refrigerant present in the refrigeration tubing under dynamic conditions such as system start-up.
Although the reheat coil
60
can be flooded with liquid refrigerant by closing the liquid valve
70
to thereby modulate the heat transfer of the reheat coil
60
to near zero, the subcooler
102
will always be functioning. This means that the reheat operation cannot be completely turned off. However, since it is not desirable to have wet, nearly saturated air flowing through the duct work
82
, some minimum amount of reheat can be tolerated and is actually beneficial from an indoor air quality standpoint.
FIG. 3
is a further alternative embodiment of the present invention where like reference numerals are used for like elements.
In the alternative embodiment of
FIG. 3
, a three-way valve
130
controls the flow of refrigerant to either the reheat coil
60
or the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. A first check valve
132
is provided upstream of the reheat coil
60
and a second check valve
134
is provided downstream of the reheat coil
60
so as to ensure that refrigerant flow through the reheat coil can only occur in the direction indicated by arrow
136
. The discharge
22
from the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
is joined by the discharge
66
of the reheat coil
60
at a point
138
and the combined discharge is directed to a subcooler
140
forming an integral part of the outdoor heat exchange coil
20
. The subcooler
140
has a discharge
142
connected by tubing
144
to the input
34
of the expansion device
36
.
In operation, the alternative embodiment of
FIG. 3
subcools the partially condensed hot gas leaving the reheat coil
60
and equalizes the refrigerant charge required in both cooling and dehumidification operating modes. This is accomplished by using the subcooling circuit
140
typically provided in an outdoor heat exchange coil
20
and by sizing the returned piping
74
from the reheat coil
60
in order to match the required charge in the dehumidification mode to the standard factory provided refrigerant charge used in the conventional cooling mode.
What has been described is a refrigeration system which can use 100% fresh air to supply the air conditioning needs of a building. It will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and alterations are apparent. Such modifications include employing a separate modulating reheat circuit which also contains a main but separate DX dehumidification circuit or separate chilled water dehumidification coil upstream of the indoor heat exchange coil and the reheat coil. Other modifications include the type of heat exchange coils used in the system as well as modifications of the valve
70
. All such modifications and alterations are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.
What is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is set forth in the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A refrigeration system comprising:a supply air duct; an indoor heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; a reheat heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; an outdoor heat exchange coil; at least one compressor; an expansion device; refrigeration system tubing connected to and serially arranging the compressor, the outdoor heat exchange coil, the expansion device and the indoor coil into a refrigeration circuit; reheat tubing connecting the reheat coil to the refrigeration tubing so as to arrange the reheat coil in a parallel circuited arrangement with the outdoor heat exchange coil and in a series circuited arrangement with the compressor, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchange coil; and a subcooler located between and operably connected to the indoor heat exchange coil and the parallel circuited arrangement wherein the subcooler is located in the supply air duct in physical proximity to the reheat coil; further including a refrigerant receiver operably connected to the refrigeration system tubing between the subcooler and the parallel circuited arrangement and a control valve in the reheat tubing operable to control refrigerant flow through the reheat coil wherein the valve is controlled responsive to a supply air duct condition.
- 2. The refrigeration system of claim 1 wherein the receiver is sized large enough to contain all of the volume of refrigerant which can be held within the reheat coil.
- 3. A refrigeration system comprising:a supply air duct; an indoor heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; a reheat heat exchange coil operably positioned in the supply air duct; an outdoor heat exchange coil; at least one compressor; an expansion device; refrigeration system tubing connected to and serially arranging the compressor, the outdoor heat exchange coil, the expansion device and the indoor coil into a refrigeration circuit; reheat tubing connecting the reheat coil to the refrigeration tubing so as to arrange the reheat coil in a parallel circuited arrangement with the outdoor heat exchange coil and in a series circuited arrangement with the compressor, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchange coil; and a valve in the reheat tubing operable to control refrigerant flow through the reheat coil wherein the valve is a liquid flow control valve located between the receiver and the reheat coil, and wherein the valve is controlled responsive to a supply air duct condition.
- 4. A method of arranging a refrigeration system including an indoor heat exchanger, a reheat coil, an expansion device, an outdoor heat exchanger, and a compressor comprising the steps of:placing the indoor heat exchanger in a supply air stream; placing the reheat coil in the supply air stream; sequentially linking the compressor, the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion device and the indoor heat exchanger with tubing into a first refrigeration circuit; linking the reheat coil, with additional tubing, to the first refrigeration circuit so as to place the reheat coil in a series arrangement with the compressor, expansion device, and indoor heat exchanger, and in a parallel arrangement with the outdoor heat exchanger; placing a subcooler in the refrigeration circuit between the expansion device and the parallel arrangement; adding a receiver between the subcooler and the parallel arrangement; and sizing the receiver to contain a volume of refrigerant greater than or equal to the volume of refrigerant contained by the reheat coil.
- 5. A method of controlling reheat in a refrigeration system including an outdoor coil in parallel arrangement with a reheat coil and including a control valve downstream of the reheat coil, the method comprising the steps of:closing the control valve to block flow from the reheat coil thereby causing refrigerant to condense within the reheat coil until the reheat coil is completely filled with liquid; opening the control valve slightly to allow refrigerant to flow out of the reheat coil and cause condensation to begin to occur in the reheat coil; and opening the control valve completely to expose more coil surface of the reheat coil and cause the reheat coil to be more active in a condensation process.
- 6. The method of claim 5 providing a subcooler physically associated with the reheat coil where the subcooler has a circuiting arrangement in series with both the outdoor coil and the reheat coil.
- 7. The method of claim 6 including the further step of locating a receiver in the refrigeration circuit upstream of the subcooler and downstream of both the reheat coil and the outdoor coil.
- 8. The method of claim 7 including locating the reheat coil in an airstream and locating the receiver in the airstream downstream of the subcooler.
- 9. The method of claim 6 wherein the subcooler and the reheat coil are located in an airstream in proximity to each other.
- 10. The method of claim 5 further including a subcooler associated with the outdoor coil and refrigerant piping operably connected to and downstream of the subcooler where the piping is sized to match the required charge in a dehumidification mode.
- 11. A refrigeration system comprising:a reheat coil; a control valve; an outdoor coil; first refrigerant tubing operably connected to the outdoor coil, the reheat and the control valve to place the reheat coil and valve in a series arrangement with the control valve downstream of the reheat coil and to place the outdoor coil in a parallel arrangement with the reheat coil and the control valve. an indoor heat exchange coil operably connected in series with the parallel arrangement and the control valve; and a subcooler and operably connected by second refrigerant tubing between the indoor heat exchange coil and the parallel arrangement; wherein the subcooler is located in physical proximity to the outdoor heat exchange coil; further including receiver tubing downstream of the subcooler wherein the receiver tubing is sized a greater diameter than the first and second refrigerant tubing.
- 12. A refrigeration system comprising:a reheat coil; a control valve; an outdoor coil; first refrigerant tubing operably connected to the outdoor coil, the reheat and the control valve to place the reheat coil and valve in a series arrangement with the control valve downstream of the reheat coil and to place the outdoor coil in a parallel arrangement with the reheat coil and the control valve; an indoor heat exchange coil operably connected in series with the parallel arrangement and the control valve; and a subcooler and operably connected by second refrigerant tubing between the indoor heat exchange coil and the parallel arrangement; wherein the subcooler and the reheat coil are located in a supply air duct in physical proximity to each other.
- 13. The refrigeration system of claim 12 further including a refrigerant receiver operably connected by the refrigerant tubing between the subcooler and the parallel arrangement.
- 14. The refrigeration system of claim 13 further including a control valve in the second refrigerant tubing operable to control refrigerant flow through the reheat coil.
- 15. The refrigeration system of claim 14 wherein the valve is a liquid flow control valve operably connected by the refrigerant tubing between the receiver and the reheat coil.
- 16. The refrigeration system of claim 15 wherein the control valve is controlled responsive to a supply air duct condition.
- 17. The refrigeration system of claim 16 wherein the receiver is sized large enough to contain all of the volume of refrigerant which can be held within the reheat coil.
US Referenced Citations (24)