摘要 |
A dry (refrigerantless) heat pump incorporates a single stage centrifugal (outward flow) compressor C which extracts from the space R to be air conditioned the stale air and compresses it. A single stage centripetal (inward flow) turbine E, its rotor being mechanical and directly connected with that of the compressor C is used to decompress the stale air, the power difference between compressor input and turbine output being provided by an electric motor EM preferably directly coupled with the shaft of the combined compressor and turbine rotor. In a regenerative or recuperative heat exchanger HE1 the compressed and hence heated stale air transfers part of its heat to the fresh air, provided by a blower B, before being conducted into the space to be air conditioned. Apart from heating, cooling can be performed by expanding the stale air in the turbine E thus reducing its pressure and hence temperature, extracting heat from the incoming fresh air so as to cool it in the heat exchanger HE1 before being led to the space S to be cooled (Figure 2). Then the pressure of the stale air after having passed through the heat exchanger HE1 is raised by the compressor C to atmospheric pressure before being expelled. The heat of the stale air after leaving the compressor can be utilised for water cooling. Other modified cycles with a similar heating and cooling effect and water heating capability are described as well as methods of control. <IMAGE> |