Water evaporative cooled refrigerant condensing radiator upgrade

Abstract

A direct evaporative cooling system add-on to the existing air conditioning system for more effectively removing the Latent-heat-of-condensation of the refrigerant of the system greatly enhances the EER rating of the system. Upgrading the conventional air-conditioning systems from air cooled refrigerant-condensing-radiator to water-evaporative-cooling via an ADD-ON unit, comprising a reservoir that stores water to be periodically pumped up a pipe under pressure controlled by the electronic controller for timing and quantity. The water is sprinkling uniformly with the help of a plurality of holes in the pipeline wetting the condensing radiator, some of which evaporates cooling the radiator and the excess returning to the reservoir to be recycled over the radiator repeatedly allowing the evaporation and heat exchange process to continue. This cooling effect reduces the pressures required by the compressor at the same time reducing the power drawn from the electrical grid saving money on the electric bill and in turn reducing the carbon foot print created by the use of air conditioning.

Claims

1. A system for enhancing energy efficiency of an air conditioning system, the air conditioning system comprises an evaporator radiator, an evaporator radiator fan, a compressor, a condensing radiator, a condensing radiator fan, an expansion valve, and a refrigerant, wherein the compressor is configured to compress a vaporized refrigerant to a high pressure resulting in raising a temperature above a dew point of the vaporized refrigerant before being provided to the condensing radiator for condensing to a liquid state by reducing the temperature of the vaporized refrigerant below the dew point by an air being forced by the condensing radiator fan on a surface of the condensing radiator, the system further comprises: a power consumption sensor for measuring an electric power consumption of the compressor; a controller, configured to regulate cooling of the vaporized refrigerant by intermittent wetting of the surface of the condensing radiator based on the electric power consumption of the compressor measured by the power consumption sensor; a water reservoir comprising water; a water pipe having a first end fluidly connected to the water reservoir, wherein the water pipe further comprises a plurality of holes at a second end of the water pipe; and a pump connected to the first end of the water pipe in the water reservoir, wherein the controller is in communication with the power consumption sensor to monitor the electric power consumption of the compressor and to reduce said electric power consumption by intermittently turning the pump on and off, the pump is turned on to pump the water from the water reservoir to the water pipe and to release the water through the plurality of holes which are positioned above the condensing radiator such that the released water flows via gravity onto the condensing radiator, completely wetting the surface of the condensing radiator, where additional cooling of the vaporized refrigerant inside of the condensing radiator below the dew point for condensing into the liquid state is provided by evaporating the wetting water from the surface of the condensing radiator, the evaporating being assisted by the condensing radiator fan, the additional cooling causes a reduction of the electric power consumption by the compressor due to reducing pressure requirement for the vaporized refrigerant in the compressor, while excess water returns to the water reservoir for recycling.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the water pipe is configured to deliver the water from the first end to the second end in a vertical direction above the condensing radiator.

3. The system of claim 1, comprising a water level sensor for measuring a water level in the water reservoir.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a makeup water pipe, wherein the makeup water pipe is capable of delivering water to the water reservoir.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the pump is submerged in the water in the reservoir.

6. The system of claim 4, comprising a valve in the makeup water pipe, wherein the controller monitors the water level of the water reservoir using the water level sensor and maintains a constant water level in the water reservoir by controlling water flow into the water reservoir through the makeup water pipe by opening or closing the valve in the makeup water pipe.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the water in the water reservoir is a reverse osmosis purified water.

8. An add-on system attachable to an existing air conditioning system for enhancing energy efficiency of the air conditioning system, which air conditioning system comprises an evaporator radiator, an evaporator radiator fan, a compressor, a condensing radiator, a condensing radiator fan, an expansion valve, and a refrigerant, wherein the compressor is configured to compress a vaporized refrigerant to a high pressure resulting in raising a temperature above a dew point of the vaporized refrigerant before being provided to the condensing radiator for condensing to a liquid state by reducing the temperature of the vaporized refrigerant below the dew point by an air being forced by the condensing radiator fan on a surface of the condensing radiator, the add-on system comprising: a power consumption sensor for measuring an electric power consumption of the compressor; a controller, configured to regulate cooling of the vaporized refrigerant by intermittent wetting of the surface of the condensing radiator based on the electric power consumption of the compressor measured by the power consumption sensor; a water reservoir comprising water; a water pipe having a first end fluidly connected to the water reservoir, wherein the water pipe further comprises a plurality of holes at a second end of the water pipe; and a pump connected to the first end of the water pipe in the water reservoir, wherein the controller is in communication with the power consumption sensor to monitor the electric power consumption of the compressor and to reduce said electric power consumption by intermittently turning the pump on and off, the pump is turned on to pump the water from the water reservoir to the water pipe and to release the water through the plurality of holes which are positioned above the condensing radiator such that the released water flows via gravity onto the condensing radiator, completely wetting the surface of the condensing radiator, where additional cooling of the vaporized refrigerant inside of the condensing radiator below the dew point for condensing into the liquid state is provided by evaporating the wetting water from the surface of the condensing radiator, the evaporating being assisted by the condensing radiator fan, the additional cooling causes a reduction of the electric power consumption by the compressor due to reducing a required high pressure for the vaporized refrigerant provided by the compressor, while excess water returns to the water reservoir for recycling.

9. The add-on system of claim 8, wherein the pump is submerged in the water in the water reservoir.

10. The add-on system of claim 8, wherein the water pipe is configured to deliver the water from the first end to the second end in a vertical direction above the condensing radiator.

11. The add-on system of claim 8, comprising a water level sensor for measuring a water level in the water reservoir.

12. The add-on system of claim 8, further comprising a makeup water pipe, wherein the makeup water pipe is capable of delivering water to the water reservoir.

13. The add-on system of claim 12, comprising a valve in the makeup water pipe, wherein the controller monitors the water level of the water reservoir using the water level sensor and maintains a constant water level in the water reservoir by controlling water flow into the water reservoir through the makeup water pipe by opening or closing the valve in the makeup water pipe.

14. The add-on system of claim 8, wherein the water in the water reservoir is a reverse osmosis purified water.

15. A method for enhancing energy efficiency of an air conditioning system, which air conditioning system comprises an evaporator radiator, an evaporator radiator fan, a compressor, a condensing radiator, a condensing radiator fan, an expansion valve, and a refrigerant, wherein the compressor is configured to compress a vaporized refrigerant to a high pressure resulting in raising a temperature above a dew point of the vaporized refrigerant before being provided to the condensing radiator for condensing to a liquid state by reducing the temperature of the vaporized refrigerant below the dew point by an air being forced by the condensing radiator fan on a surface of the condensing radiator, the method comprises: measuring electrical power consumption of the compressor using a power consumption sensor, turning on a pump depending on the electrical power consumption of the compressor by control signals from a controller configured to regulate cooling of the vaporized refrigerant by intermittent wetting of the surface of the condensing radiator based on the electric power consumption of the compressor measured by the power consumption sensor, pumping water from a water reservoir to a water pipe by the pump using the control signals from the controller, wherein the water pipe having a first end which is fluidly connected to the water reservoir, the pump being connected to the first end of the water pipe in the water reservoir, and the water pipe further comprises a plurality of holes at a second end of the water pipe, and releasing the water in the water pipe onto the condensing radiator through the plurality of holes, and uniformly wetting the radiator with the released water, while excess water returns to the water reservoir for recycling, wherein the controller is in communication with the power consumption sensor to monitor the electric power consumption of the compressor and to reduce said electric power consumption by intermittently turning the pump on and off, the pump is turned on to pump the water from the water reservoir to the water pipe and to release the water through the plurality of holes which are positioned above the condensing radiator such that the released water flows via gravity onto the condensing radiator, completely wetting the surface of the condensing radiator, where additional cooling of the vaporized refrigerant inside of the condensing radiator below the dew point for condensing into the liquid state is provided by evaporating the wetting water from the surface of the condensing radiator, the evaporating being assisted by the condensing radiator fan, the additional cooling causes a reduction of the electric power consumption by the compressor due to reducing a required high pressure for the vaporized refrigerant provided by the compressor.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: keeping water level within the water reservoir at a constant level using a water level sensor and a makeup water pipe for delivering water to the water reservoir, a valve in the makeup water pipe and the controller, wherein the water level sensor is for measuring the water level within the water reservoir, and the controller is configured to control flowing of water from the makeup water pipe to the water reservoir by turning the valve in the makeup water pipe on and off depending on the water level measured by the water level sensor.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the water in the water reservoir is a reverse osmosis purified water.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a typical residential air conditioning.

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic representation illustrating the apparatus.

(4) FIG. 3 is another schematic representation that includes the typical residential air conditioning system illustrated in FIG. 1 combined with the schematic representation of the apparatus included in the ADD-ON unit illustrated in FIG. 2 that facilities the water-evaporative-cooling of the existing condensing-radiator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) In the following detailed description reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that the embodiments may be combined, or that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural and logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

(6) FIG. 1: For the readers to understand the improvements provided by the present invention they must first understand how current air conditioning systems work. Here is a simplified explanation of the current systems that refers to the schematic representation of a typical residential air conditioning system in FIG. 1.

(7) The typical air conditioning system or refrigeration system is comprised of seven basic components: the temperature controller 11, the evaporator radiator 7, the evaporator radiator fan 6, the compressor 15, the condensing radiator 2, the condensing radiator fan 3, and the expansion valve 4.

(8) High pressure liquid refrigerant is expelled through the expansion-valve 4 where the pressure suddenly drops to a lower pressure that is below the dew point of the refrigerant causing the liquid refrigerant to rapidly vaporize 5. This sudden vaporization 5 of the refrigerant requires by the laws of physics that the heat energy (latent heat of vaporization) required to facilitate evaporation is absorbed from the surrounding environment, the evaporator-radiator 7 while the fan 6 forces warm air from the cooled space through the evaporator-radiator 7 providing the necessary energy (latent heat of vaporization) for vaporization to take place by transferring the heat energy from the warm air coming from the cooled space to the evaporator-radiator 7, that is being chilled by the refrigerant-evaporation process cooling that air 8 and returning it to the cooled space. The vaporized refrigerant after leaving the evaporator-radiator 7 is drawn into the compressor 15 that compresses it to a pressure takes the refrigerant above its dew point needed to force condensation of the vaporized-refrigerant back to the liquid form. The condensing process of the refrigerant requires by the laws of physics that the vaporized refrigerant give off the energy (latent heat of condensation) to the surrounding environment, the Condensing-radiator 2, in order to return to the liquid state and the heat energy 25 from the condensing-radiator 2 is dispersed to the outside environment by the fan 3. This now condensed liquid refrigerant under the high pressure created by the compressor 15 passes back through the expansion-valve 4 decompressing returning to a vapor 5 to repeat the cycle.

(9) The water vapor contained in the humid warm air passing over the evaporator-radiator 7 is rapidly cooled 8. This cooling takes the air temperature below the dew point of the water vapor thus causing the water vapor to condense into liquid water 9 on the evaporator-radiator 7 and is collected by catch pan 10 and disposed of, thus the system in removing water from the air in the cooled space lowers the relative humidity of the cooled space at the same to time that it cools the air.

(10) The air being expelled from the condensing-radiator 2 by the fan 3 can exceed temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Centigrade depending on the ambient air temperature of the air supplied to the fan 3. The higher the ambient air temperature supplied to fan 3, the higher the pressure required by the compressor 15 to force condensation of the refrigerant in the condensing-radiator 2. The power consumption of the Compressor 15 is directly proportional to the pressure it needs to force condensation of the refrigerant vapor inside the refrigerant-condensing-radiator 2, therefor the cost to operate the air conditioning system is dependent upon the pressures that the compressor 15 produces. As the reader can see the higher the ambient outside air temperature the poorer the efficiency (EER rating) of the entire system, thus air cooling of the refrigerant-condensing-radiator 2 is grossly inadequate and costly. The compressor 15, fan 3 and fan 6 are all controlled by the temperature controller 11 in the cooled space that maintains the desired temperature by controlling the delivery power to them via electric cables 12 from the electrical grid.

(11) FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the components contained in the present invention as an ADD-ON to the conventional air conditioning system described in FIG. 1. A detailed description of the entire system combined will be described in detail in FIG. 3. One can see that the original system described in FIG. 1 does not depend on the add-on shown in FIG. 2 for normal operation, but does benefit greatly by the extra cooling effect of the equipment shown in FIG. 2.

(12) The present invention in FIG. 2 illustrates the simple and inexpensive components that can take many forms but at a minimum require a controller 14, a power consumption sensor 13, a reservoir 20, a solenoid valve 17, a pump 19, a water level sensor 21, a water delivery pipe 24 a pipe with a series of holes 26 for wetting the condensing-radiator 2 shown in FIG. 1, and a purified water supply 16 which all are responsible for the timely and orderly delivery of water 1 that will run down through the condensing-radiator 2 FIG. 1 wetting it allowing evaporation of some of the water with the remaining water 23 returning to the reservoir 20 for recycling. All of these components in FIG. 2 are readily available and of low cost.

(13) FIG. 3 a schematic representation of the entire combined system will focus on the detail operation of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 added as an ADD-ON to the original air conditioning system described in FIG. 1.

(14) As illustrated in FIG. 1 and described in the subsequent paragraphs, the efficiency rating (EER) of the overall air conditioning system is dependent upon the pressure require by the compressor 15 to force the condensation of the refrigerant with only the outside hot ambient air 25 to cool the condensing-radiator 2 while being forced though the condensing-radiator 2 by the fan 3 and the air 25 can exceed temperatures of 50 degrees Centigrade.

(15) The present invention provides a reservoir 20 that is supplied with purified water 16 via makeup water pipe 18 and solenoid 17 that is controlled by controller 14 to maintain a constant water level 22 by monitoring water level sensor 21. The controller 14 monitors the power consumption of the compressor 15 via power sensor 13 and looks for increases in power consumption, and if it sees an increase in power consumption of the compressor 15 the controller 14 then starts pump 19 forcing water up pipe 24 to the top part of the pipe with a plurality of holes 26 allowing water 1 to flow onto the top of the condensing-radiator 2, the water 1 runs down by gravity thought the condensing-radiator 2 uniformly wetting it, the excess water 23 returns to the reservoir 20 to be recycled. The original fan 3 forces air from the outside environment through the condensing-radiator 2 greatly enhancing the rate of water 1 evaporation thus also greatly increasing the cooling effect on the condensing-radiator 2 at a rate of removing 970 BTU (per pound of water evaporated) of heat energy from the condensing-radiator 2. The water pump 19 runs only for a few second to wet the condensing-radiator 2 and allows the water to evaporate that has wetted it, watching for any increase in power consumption via sensor 13, which increase in power will happen when the wetting water is almost finished evaporating at which time the controller 14 will again start the pump 19 for a few seconds. The pump 19 can't run for more than a few seconds without affecting the evaporation rate negatively reducing the cooling affect by as much as 20%. The effect of the water 1 evaporation is very similar to what one feels if they are swimming and when they exit the water they feel very cold, even more so if there is a wind, and that is the water evaporating and absorbing heat energy from your skin that makes one feel so cold and is what is happening here with the present invention at a rate of 970 BTU per pound of water evaporated. The water evaporating from the condensing-radiator 2 cools it and the expelled air 25 temperature being now only at ambient outside air temperature or even less, not the 50+ degrees Centigrade as described in FIG. 1 with the conventional system. The cooling of the condensing-radiator 2 by water evaporation lowers the dew point of the refrigerant inside significantly allowing it to condense at much lower pressures than with just air cooling, reducing the load on the compressor 15 thus reducing the power used and the cost to operate. The condensate 9 from the evaporating-radiator 7 is delivered to the reservoir 20 to be used for evaporative-cooling along with the makeup water 16 providing as much as 10% reduction in power consumption of the compressor 15 when used eliminating the need to dispose of the condensate 9 in a wasteful manner.

(16) The above-mentioned, water-evaporative-cooled radiator provides a dynamically efficient way for the condensing-radiator to dispose of the latent-heat-of-condensation during the condensing process. It is helpful in reducing the electricity bill by consuming less electric power and further, reducing the load on the electrical grid. It eliminates the inefficiencies of the old process which used only air for cooling the condensing-radiator, and as the ambient temperature rises only gets more inefficient. Thus the system is also extremely environmentally friendly by reducing the great amount of load on the electrical grid in turn reduces carbon emissions created during the production of the electricity. Furthermore, the system is operating at much lower refrigerant pressure, hence the compressor becomes quieter reducing the noise pollution.

(17) It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. The above-discussed embodiments may be used in combination with each other. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

(18) The benefits and advantages which may be provided by the present invention have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. These benefits and advantages, and any elements or limitations that may cause them to occur or to become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features of any or all of the embodiments.

(19) While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Many variations, modifications, additions and improvements to the embodiments described above are possible. It is contemplated that these variations, modifications, additions and improvements fall within the scope of the invention.