One aspect provides an air conditioner, including a compressor; a condenser; an evaporator; and one or more flexible lines connecting two or more of the compressor, condenser, and the evaporator to place them into fluid communication with one another. Other aspects include a method of providing flexible lines for an air conditioner as well as kits relating thereto.

An evaporator system includes an evaporator chamber 28 having one or more heat exchanger tubes 4 passing therethrough for transmitting a fluid to be cooled through the evaporator chamber 28; and a refrigerant separator configured to separate a two-phase refrigerant into refrigerant vapour and liquid refrigerant, and having a first outlet 32 for the separated vapour refrigerant and a second outlet 30 for the separated liquid refrigerant; the first outlet 32 is arranged for supplying the vapour refrigerant into the evaporator chamber 28 at a location above at least some of the heat exchanger tubes 4, and the second outlet 30 is arranged for supplying the liquid refrigerant into the evaporator chamber 28 at a location below at least some of the heat exchanger tubes 4.

An evaporator system includes an evaporator chamber 28 having one or more heat exchanger tubes 4 passing therethrough for transmitting a fluid to be cooled through the evaporator chamber 28; and a refrigerant separator configured to separate a two-phase refrigerant into refrigerant vapour and liquid refrigerant, and having a first outlet 32 for the separated vapour refrigerant and a second outlet 30 for the separated liquid refrigerant; the first outlet 32 is arranged for supplying the vapour refrigerant into the evaporator chamber 28 at a location above at least some of the heat exchanger tubes 4, and the second outlet 30 is arranged for supplying the liquid refrigerant into the evaporator chamber 28 at a location below at least some of the heat exchanger tubes 4.

Thermal management systems for cooling high-power, low-duty-cycle thermal loads by rejecting heat from the thermal loads to the ambient environment are provided. The thermal management systems include a two-phase pump loop in fluid communication with a vapor compression system loop, evaporators disposed in parallel between the two-phase pump loop and the vapor compression system loop, and a thermal energy storage loop including a cold-temperature tank and a warm-temperature tank thermally coupled to the two-phase pump loop and the vapor-compression system loop. Methods of transferring heat from one or more thermal loads to an ambient environment are also provided.

The air conditioning system with solar-powered subcooling system includes a main cooling system having an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve configured to operate in a conventional vapor compression refrigerant cycle. The subcooling system includes a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve, the compressor being powered by at least one rechargeable battery connected to a photovoltaic solar panel. The main system and the subcooling system are linked by a heat exchanger having a primary coil in the main system between the condenser and the expansion valve and a secondary coil in the subcooling system disposed between the expansion valve and the compressor. The main system and the subcooling system may use the same type of refrigerant, or different refrigerant types. The additional cooling provided to the refrigerant in the main system by subcooling increases the efficiency of the air conditioning system.

The air conditioning system with solar-powered subcooling system includes a main cooling system having an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve configured to operate in a conventional vapor compression refrigerant cycle. The subcooling system includes a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve, the compressor being powered by at least one rechargeable battery connected to a photovoltaic solar panel. The main system and the subcooling system are linked by a heat exchanger having a primary coil in the main system between the condenser and the expansion valve and a secondary coil in the subcooling system disposed between the expansion valve and the compressor. The main system and the subcooling system may use the same type of refrigerant, or different refrigerant types. The additional cooling provided to the refrigerant in the main system by subcooling increases the efficiency of the air conditioning system.

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 controller for a refrigeration system includes a processing circuit having one or more processors and memory. The processing circuit is configured to calculate a superheat of a gas refrigerant exiting a first side of a subcooler based on a measured temperature and a measured pressure of the gas refrigerant and compare the calculated superheat to a superheat threshold. In response to a determination that the calculated superheat is less than the superheat threshold, the processing circuit closes an expansion valve to restrict a flow of the gas refrigerant through a second side of the subcooler. In response to a determination that the calculated superheat is equal to or greater than the superheat threshold, the processing circuit operates the expansion valve to drive a temperature of a subcooled liquid refrigerant exiting the second side of the subcooler to a subcooled liquid temperature setpoint.

A controller for a refrigeration system includes a processing circuit having one or more processors and memory. The processing circuit is configured to calculate a superheat of a gas refrigerant exiting a first side of a subcooler based on a measured temperature and a measured pressure of the gas refrigerant and compare the calculated superheat to a superheat threshold. In response to a determination that the calculated superheat is less than the superheat threshold, the processing circuit closes an expansion valve to restrict a flow of the gas refrigerant through a second side of the subcooler. In response to a determination that the calculated superheat is equal to or greater than the superheat threshold, the processing circuit operates the expansion valve to drive a temperature of a subcooled liquid refrigerant exiting the second side of the subcooler to a subcooled liquid temperature setpoint.

A thermal management device having an indirect air conditioning circuit for a motor vehicle is disclosed. The device has a first refrigerant fluid loop (A) with a compressor, a two-fluid heat exchanger, a first expansion device, an evaporator, a second expansion device, an evaporator/condenser, and a first by-pass line including a first stop valve, a first and a second internal heat exchanger. A second by-pass line includes a third expansion device arranged upstream from a cooler, a shunt branch comprising a first external radiator. The device also has a second heat transfer fluid loop (B) in which a heat transfer fluid is intended to flow. The two-fluid heat exchanger is arranged jointly on the one hand on the first refrigerant fluid loop downstream of the compressor, between said compressor and the first expansion device, and on the second heat transfer fluid loop (B).