Heat pump system utilising the latent heat of fusion of an ice-water reservoir as a buffer energy source

摘要

There is disclosed a heat pump wherein the evaporator 16 extracts heat from a low temperature heat exchanger in the form of water-immiscible fluid F, for example kerosene and transfers the extracted heat to the condenser 13 of the heat pump. The water-immiscible fluid is maintained at a temperature of virtually 0 DEG C by the injection of many small droplets of water that freeze to form beads of ice as they settle in the fluid. The settled beads of ice float on water below the fluid and can then be separated and delivered to a combined ice-water reservoir (25, Fig. 3). The heat extracted from the water-immiscible fluid and the injected water droplets is replaced in the ice-water reservoir from natural heat sources, by means such as a ground loop (41), a solar panel (50, Fig. 4) or an air-water heat exchanger (60, Fig. 5). The heat provided by the ice-water reservoir includes its latent heat of fusion, which acts as a buffer when heat demand exceeds the rate of heat available from natural sources.