Power and Refrigeration Cascade System

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to combined power and cooling generation systems, and, more particularly, to a combined power and refrigeration cascade system (“PARCS”) that includes an electric power system (PS) that produces both electric power and medium-to-high-grade waste heat that can be used for providing the cooling and power supply needs of data centers and the like.

1 . A power and refrigeration cascade system, comprising:
 an electric power system;   a refrigeration system powered at least in part by the electric power system and thermally coupled to a component, wherein said component is selected from the group consisting of the electric power system and a load powered by the electric power system; and   an absorption system thermally coupled to the refrigeration system and configured to remove heat rejected by the refrigeration system, wherein the thermal coupling between the refrigeration system and the absorption system enables a refrigeration system condensing temperature of less than approximately twenty degrees Celsius.   
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said power and refrigeration cascade system is grid-independent. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is thermally coupled to said load powered by the electric power system, and wherein the refrigeration system is operable to match cooling demands of the load. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption system is driven by waste heat from the electric power system. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal coupling between the refrigeration system and the absorption system enables a refrigeration system condensing temperature of less than approximately fifteen degrees Celsius. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electric power system is selected from the group consisting of a heat-engine-driven electric generator and a fuel cell. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electric power system delivers electricity, wherein said electricity is selected from the group consisting of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) electricity. 
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is selected from the group consisting of a vapor compression system, a reversed Brayton system, a reversed Stirling system, a thermoelectric system, and a magneto-caloric system. 
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption system is selected from the group consisting of a water-cooled absorption system and an air-cooled absorption system. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption system is selected from the group consisting of a single-effect absorption system and a multiple-effect absorption system. 
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption system has an evaporator temperature of less than approximately twenty degrees Celsius. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption system has an evaporator temperature in the range of approximately five to ten degrees Celsius. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is thermally coupled to said load powered by the electric power system, and wherein said load comprises a data center. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the refrigeration system is operable to cool said data center. 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the electric power system provides direct current (DC) power to said data center. 
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is thermally coupled to said load powered by the electric power system, and wherein said load comprises an air conditioning system. 
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is thermally coupled to said load powered by the electric power system, and wherein said load comprises a supermarket cooler. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is thermally coupled to said load powered by the electric power system, and wherein said load comprises a display case. 
   
   
       19 . An on-site power generation system, comprising:
 an electric power system; and   a refrigeration cascade system thermally coupled to the electric power system, wherein the refrigeration cascade system is configured to temporally match cooling needs of a load coupled to the electric power system based on actual power supplied to the load.   
   
   
       20 . A refrigeration cascade system, comprising:
 a) a refrigeration system configured:
 i) to be powered at least in part by electricity; and 
 ii) to be thermally coupled to a load powered by electricity; and 
   b) an absorption system thermally coupled to the refrigeration system and configured to remove heat rejected by the refrigeration system, wherein the thermal coupling between the refrigeration system and the absorption system enables a refrigeration system condensing temperature and an absorption system evaporating temperature which are within less than approximately ten degrees Celsius of each other.   
   
   
       21 . The refrigeration cascade system of  claim 20 , wherein said absorption system is driven by waste heat from an electric power system. 
   
   
       22 . A datacenter power and cooling system, comprising:
 an electric power system;   at least one server rack powered by the electric power system;   a refrigeration system powered at least in part by the electric power system and thermally coupled to the at least one server rack for removing heat from the at least one server rack; and   an absorption system thermally coupled to the refrigeration system and configured to remove heat rejected by the refrigeration system, wherein the thermal coupling between the refrigeration system and the absorption system enables a refrigeration system condensing temperature of less than approximately twenty degrees Celsius.   
   
   
       23 . The datacenter power and cooling system of  claim 22 , wherein the electric power system is selected from the group consisting of a direct current (DC) and an alternating current (AC) electric power system. 
   
   
       24 . The datacenter power and cooling system of  claim 22 , wherein the absorption system is driven by waste heat from the electric power system. 
   
   
       25 . The datacenter power and cooling system of  claim 22 , wherein the thermal coupling between the refrigeration system and the absorption system enables a refrigeration system condensing temperature of less than approximately fifteen degrees Celsius. 
   
   
       26 . The system of  claim 22 , further comprising a plurality of server racks, and wherein the refrigeration system comprises a plurality of vapor compression systems, one for each server rack. 
   
   
       27 . The datacenter power and cooling system of  claim 24 , further comprising a plurality of server racks, wherein each server rack is cooled by a separate refrigeration system comprising a condenser, wherein said condensers are cooled by chilled liquid from the absorption system. 
   
   
       28 . A method of reducing energy consumption by a computer chip powered by a power source, comprising:
 thermally coupling the computer chip to a refrigeration system;   powering the refrigeration system at least in part by the power source;   thermally coupling the refrigeration system to an absorption system, wherein the thermal coupling between the refrigeration system and the absorption system enables a refrigeration system condensing temperature and an absorption system evaporating temperature which are within less than approximately ten degrees Celsius of each other.   
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the absorption system is driven by waste heat from the power source. 
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the power source is selected from the group consisting of at least one fuel cell and at least one combustion engine. 
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the power source comprises an on-site power source. 
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the on-site power source comprises a direct current (DC) power source. 
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 32 , wherein the direct current (DC) power source comprises at least one fuel cell. 
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the computer chip comprises CMOS technology. 
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the computer chip is located in a datacenter server rack.