A method of monitoring a refrigerant leak. The method includes monitoring, by a first controller, operation of a first HVAC system for conditioning air within a first level of a residence, monitoring, by a second controller, operation of a second HVAC system for conditioning air within a second level of the residence and determining, using a plurality of leak detectors, whether refrigerant within the first HVAC system is leaking. Responsive to a positive determination in the determining step, receiving, by the first controller, a refrigerant leak warning signal, forwarding, by the first controller to the second controller, the refrigerant leak warning signal. Responsive to receiving the refrigerant leak warning signal from the first controller, activating, by the second controller, a variable-speed circulation fan of the second HVAC system.

An air conditioning system, including a compressor, two outdoor heat exchange units, a liquid pipe used for communicating with indoor units, a high-pressure gas tube and a low-pressure gas tube; the air conditioning system further includes a valve assembly. One outdoor heat exchange unit has a first state in which one end thereof communicates with the high-pressure gas tube and another end thereof communicates with the liquid pipe, and has a second state in which one end thereof communicates with the low-pressure gas tube and the other end thereof communicates with the liquid pipe. Further disclosed is a control method for the air conditioning system.

An air conditioning apparatus includes an outdoor device that is configured to circulate refrigerant and that includes a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger, a plurality of indoor devices configured to circulate water, and a heat exchange device connecting the outdoor device with the indoor device. The heat exchange device includes a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant and the water, and a switch device configured to control flow of refrigerant between the indoor devices and the heat exchanger.

A heat transport system includes: a refrigerant circuit that seals therein a fluid including HFC-32 and/or HFO refrigerant as a refrigerant and that includes a refrigerant booster that boosts the refrigerant, an outdoor air heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air, a medium heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and a heat transfer medium, and a refrigerant flow path switch that switches between a refrigerant radiation state and a refrigerant evaporation state; and a medium circuit that seals carbon dioxide therein as the heat transfer medium.

A water distribution apparatus and method including cold and hot water supplies, a fan coil (or chilled beam device), a control valve having cold and hot water inlets and outlets, cold and hot water outputs configured to supply cold and hot water to the fan coil, cold and hot water return inlets configured to receive from the fan coil the water supplied by the cold and/or water outputs and outputting the cold and/or hot water to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively, via the cold and hot water outlets, respectively. Cold and hot water is supplied from the cold and/or hot water outputs to the fan coil and received into the cold and hot water return inlets, respectively, and the cold and hot water supplied by the cold and hot water outputs to the fan coil is output to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively.

A refrigeration system includes a first compressor system, a second compressor system, a first conduit, a heat exchanger, a second conduit, and a third conduit. The first compressor system includes a plurality of first compressors. The second compressor system includes a plurality of second compressors. The first conduit is configured to provide refrigerant from the first compressor system to the second compressor system. The second conduit is fluidly coupled to the first conduit and configured to provide the refrigerant from the first compressor system to the heat exchanger. The third conduit is configured to provide the refrigerant from the second compressor system to the heat exchanger.

A gas refrigerating machine having: an input for gas to be cooled; a recuperator; a compressor having a compressor input, the compressor input being coupled to a first recuperator output; a heat exchanger; a turbine; and a gas output, wherein the recuperator is rotationally symmetrical, wherein an axis of symmetry of the recuperator coincides with an axis of the compressor, or an axis of the turbine, or an axis of a rotor of a drive motor, or an axis of the gas output, or an axis of the input, or an axis of a suction region basically or within manufacturing tolerances.

A gas refrigerating machine having: an input for gas to be cooled; a recuperator; a compressor having a compressor input coupled to a first recuperator output; a heat exchanger; a turbine; and a gas output, wherein the gas refrigerating machine has a housing in the wall of which the input for gas to be cooled is located and in the wall of which the gas output is located, the recuperator, the compressor, the turbine and the heat exchanger arranged in the housing, and the gas refrigerating machine formed as an open system, wherein the input for gas is located in a region to be cooled and the gas output is located in the region to be cooled to suck warm gas from the region to be cooled via the input for gas and to discharge cold gas into the region to be cooled via the gas output.

The invention provides a system for energy distribution that uses liquid carbon dioxide as a working fluid. Evaporation of the carbon dioxide provides cooling, and compression of the carbon dioxide gas back to the liquid state provides heat. The amount of heat transferred at both stages is sufficient to provide environmental heating and cooling. Waste thermal energy from a power plant, in the form of hot water, is fed into the system and used to drive the overall process. An underground thermal energy storage system is used to store energy flowing into the system that is in excess of the current demand.

A configuration management system for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a controller having a memory storing a baseline configuration of the HVAC system. The baseline configuration of the HVAC system indicates that the HVAC system is an air conditioning system or a heat pump system. Additionally, the controller is configured to determine a current configuration of the HVAC system based on detecting whether a reversing valve is present in the HVAC system. The current configuration of the HVAC system includes an air conditioning system configuration or a heat pump system configuration. The controller is also configured to perform a control action in response to determining that the current configuration is different than the baseline configuration.