The disclosed technology includes a method for identifying and determining a fault or a potential fault in an air system having an outdoor unit and an indoor unit in fluid communication via a refrigerant circuit. The method can include receiving, from a sensor, vibration data indicative of one or more sounds or vibrations detected by at least a portion of the refrigerant circuit. The method can include identifying, based at least in part on the vibration data and stored baseline vibration data, an abnormality in the vibration data. The abnormality can be indicated by vibration data indicative of a frequency that is outside a range of acceptable frequencies. The method can include analyzing the identified abnormality according to a predetermined set of evaluation factors to determine the fault or the potential fault.

A refrigeration cycle apparatus includes a refrigerant circuit, a controller, a bypass pipe, a refrigerant cooler, a second expansion device, and a controller temperature sensor. In a case where a temperature measured by the controller temperature sensor is lower than or equal to a set temperature in a state where an opening degree of the second expansion device is controlled to an instruction opening degree that is lower than or equal to a set opening degree, the controller is configured to perform foreign substance release control where the controller is configured to increase the opening degree of the second expansion device and then is configured to return the opening degree of the second expansion device to the instruction opening degree.

A method of evaluating performance of a chiller is provided. The method includes detecting a plurality of operating parameters of the chiller with a plurality of sensors. The method also includes individually determining a first coefficient of performance degradation due to condenser fouling. The method further includes individually determining a second coefficient of performance degradation due to condenser water flow reduction. The method yet further includes individually determining a third coefficient of performance degradation due to evaporator fouling. The method also includes determining a total coefficient of performance degradation of the chiller with a summation of the first, second and third coefficient of performance degradations.

An air conditioning apparatus and a method for controlling an air conditioning apparatus are provided. The air conditioning apparatus may include a controller that performs an abnormal operation diagnosis of the air conditioning apparatus based on an output signal of a pump, thereby directly checking introduction of air into pipes or clogging of valves.

A cooling system drains oil from low side heat exchangers to vessels and then uses compressed refrigerant to push the oil in the vessels back towards a compressor. Generally, the cooling system operates in three different modes of operation: a normal mode, an oil drain mode, and an oil return mode. During the normal mode, a primary refrigerant is cycled to cool one or more secondary refrigerants. As the primary refrigerant is cycled, oil from a compressor may mix with the primary refrigerant and become stuck in a low side heat exchanger. During the oil drain mode, the oil in the low side heat exchanger is allowed to drain into a vessel. During the oil return mode, compressed refrigerant is directed to the vessel to push the oil in the vessel back towards a compressor.

Tools, methods and systems for detecting and reporting the presence of an obstruction to an AC system of the present disclosure are able to detect the presence of the obstruction using one or more sensors connected to the air conditioning unit and displaying an alert on the computer system of the AC system when the sensors detect the presence of the obstruction. By displaying an alert at the computer system's output device, the presence of the obstruction is brought to the user's attention, allowing the user to take remedial action as needed before initiating the air conditioning system into operation, preventing the obstruction from harming the components of AC system if the system was initiated while the obstruction was still present. Additionally, the AC system may further disable or prevent the operation and initiation of itself when the sensors of the air conditioning system detect the presence of an obstruction.

A part for a Joule-Thomson cooler, comprising a gas discharge pipe and a seal closing the gas discharge pipe, the seal being capable of breaking, at least partially, under the effect of gas expansion triggered by the cooler so as to allow the gas to be discharged out of the cooler through the gas discharge pipe. The part is obtained by an additive manufacturing method that comprises stacking layers of powder along a stacking axis in order to form the part, the stacking axis being parallel to a central axis of a second gas discharge pipe separate from the first discharge pipe.

An anti-clogging liquid dispersion system and method for an air conditioner or heat pump is disclosed. A tank holds an anti-clogging liquid. A pump or valve connected with the tank periodically supplies the liquid to a condensate drain pan or the outlet of an existing drain line located exteriorly of a structure. One or more sensors are provided to detect moisture, flooding and/or lack of condensate flow and, when so detected, a control circuit causes the liquid to be supplied to the condensate drain pan to prevent flooding of a condensate drain pan or to clear a clogged drain line of an air handler of the air conditioner or heat pump. An additional dose of the liquid can also be supplied at any time when an unacceptable amount of condensate moisture and/or a clogged drain line has been detected.

An air-conditioning apparatus includes a heat exchanger, a fan, and a controller. The heat exchanger causes heat exchange to be performed between a medium that transfers heat, and air. The fan sends air to the heat exchanger. The controller determines whether clogging due to foreign matter has occurred in the heat exchanger, based on a command voltage varying in accordance with the rotation speed of a fan motor that drives the fan.

Disclosed is a valve, an expansion valve and their stepping control methods. The valve includes a valve body, a limiting unit, and a heating unit installed in the limiting unit. The valve body has an actuation space, and a first through hole and a second through hole communicated with the actuation space, and the actuation space further contains a valve seat disposed between the first and second through holes, and the limiting unit is installed in the actuation space, and a variable spacing is defined between the limiting unit and the valve seat. When the variable spacing is reduced, the heating unit heats up the interior of the limiting unit for heating to prevent ice buildups, so as to maintain a flowing state of the variable spacing.