Refrigerant circuit with integrated multi-mode thermal energy storage

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and device for a refrigerant-based thermal energy storage and cooling system with integrated multi-mode refrigerant loops. The disclosed embodiments provide a refrigerant-based thermal storage system with increased versatility, reliability, lower cost components, reduced power consumption and ease of installation.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
         1 . An integrated refrigerant-based thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 a refrigerant loop containing a refrigerant comprising:
 a condensing unit, said condensing unit comprising a compressor and a condenser; 
 a thermal energy storage module containing a thermal storage media and a primary heat exchanger that facilitates heat transfer from said refrigerant to said thermal storage media in a charge mode, and said primary heat exchanger that facilitates heat transfer from said thermal storage media to cool said refrigerant in a discharge mode; 
 a storage expansion device connected downstream of said condensing unit and upstream of said thermal energy storage module; 
 an evaporator expansion device connected downstream of said condensing unit and said thermal energy storage module; 
 an evaporator connected downstream of said evaporator expansion device; and, 
 a valve system that facilitates flow of refrigerant to said storage module from said compressor or said condenser or said storage expansion device or said evaporator, said valve system that facilitates flow of refrigerant from said storage module to said compressor or said condenser or said evaporator expansion device. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a refrigerant management vessel in fluid communication with, and located downstream of said condenser. 
 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said storage expansion device is chosen from the group consisting of a thermal expansion valve, an electronic expansion valve, a static orifice, a capillary tube, and a mixed-phase regulator. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said evaporator expansion device is chosen from the group consisting of a thermal expansion valve, an electronic expansion valve, a static orifice, a capillary tube, and a mixed-phase regulator. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of said thermal storage media changes phase in said charge mode and said discharge mode. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said thermal storage media is a eutectic material. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said fluid is water. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said thermal storage media does not store heat in the form of latent heat. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said evaporator is at least one mini-split evaporator. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said charge mode is operated concurrent with and said discharge mode. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said heat transfer medium is a coolant. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1  wherein said heat transfer medium is a refrigerant. 
     
     
         13 . A method of providing cooling with an integrated thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 charging a thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a first time period by:
 compressing and condensing a refrigerant with a compressor and a condenser to create a high-pressure refrigerant; 
 dividing said a high-pressure refrigerant downstream of said condenser into a first high-pressure refrigerant and a second high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said first said high-pressure refrigerant to provide storage cooling with a thermal energy storage media via a primary heat exchanger thereby producing a first expanded refrigerant, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within a thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; and, 
 returning said first expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   expanding said second high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator thereby producing a second expanded refrigerant; and,
 returning said expanded refrigerant and said secondary expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step:
 bypassing said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the step:
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant with an expansion device chosen from the group consisting of a storage expansion device, an evaporator and an evaporator downstream of an evaporator expansion device. 
 
     
     
         16 . A method of providing cooling with an integrated thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 charging a thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a first time period by:
 compressing and condensing a refrigerant with a compressor and a condenser to create a high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant to produce expanded refrigerant and provide storage cooling with a thermal energy storage media via a primary heat exchanger, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within a thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 cooling and condensing a first portion of a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing a second portion of said high-pressure refrigerant from said compressor with said condenser; 
 mixing said first portion and said second portion and expanding said mixture to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 cooling and condensing a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing said warm liquid refrigerant with said condenser to create subcooled refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled refrigerant to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by: 
 subcooling said high-pressure refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce said subcooled liquid refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled liquid refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant exiting said condenser to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; 
 desuperheating said expanded refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce desuperheated refrigerant; and, 
 returning said desuperheated refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step:
 bypassing said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step:
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant with an expansion device chosen from the group consisting of a storage expansion device, an evaporator and an evaporator downstream of an evaporator expansion device. 
 
     
     
         22 . A method of providing cooling with an integrated thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 charging a thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a first time period by:
 compressing and condensing a refrigerant with a compressor and a condenser to create a high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant to produce expanded refrigerant and provide storage cooling with a thermal energy storage media via a primary heat exchanger, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within a thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 cooling and condensing a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing said warm liquid refrigerant with said condenser to create subcooled refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled refrigerant to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 cooling and condensing a first portion of a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing a second portion of said high-pressure refrigerant from said compressor with said condenser; 
 mixing said first portion and said second portion and expanding said mixture to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by: 
 subcooling said high-pressure refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce said subcooled liquid refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled liquid refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant exiting said condenser to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; 
 desuperheating said expanded refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce desuperheated refrigerant; and, 
 returning said desuperheated refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising the step:
 bypassing said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising the step:
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant with an expansion device chosen from the group consisting of a storage expansion device, an evaporator and an evaporator downstream of an evaporator expansion device. 
 
     
     
         28 . A method of providing cooling with an integrated thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 charging a thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a first time period by:
 compressing and condensing a refrigerant with a compressor and a condenser to create a high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant to produce expanded refrigerant and provide storage cooling with a thermal energy storage media via a primary heat exchanger, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within a thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 subcooling said high-pressure refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce said subcooled liquid refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled liquid refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 cooling and condensing a first portion of a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing a second portion of said high-pressure refrigerant from said compressor with said condenser; 
 mixing said first portion and said second portion and expanding said mixture to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 cooling and condensing a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing said warm liquid refrigerant with said condenser to create subcooled refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled refrigerant to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 28  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant exiting said condenser to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; 
 desuperheating said expanded refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce desuperheated refrigerant; and, 
 returning said desuperheated refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 28  further comprising the step:
 bypassing said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 28  further comprising the step:
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant with an expansion device chosen from the group consisting of a storage expansion device, an evaporator and an evaporator downstream of an evaporator expansion device. 
 
     
     
         34 . A method of providing cooling with an integrated thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 charging a thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a first time period by:
 compressing and condensing a refrigerant with a compressor and a condenser to create a high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant to produce expanded refrigerant and provide storage cooling with a thermal energy storage media via a primary heat exchanger, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within a thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant exiting said condenser to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; 
 desuperheating said expanded refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce desuperheated refrigerant; and, 
 returning said desuperheated refrigerant to said compressor. 
   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a second time period by:
 cooling and condensing a first portion of a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing a second portion of said high-pressure refrigerant from said compressor with said condenser; 
 mixing said first portion and said second portion and expanding said mixture to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 cooling and condensing a hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant from said compressor with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing said warm liquid refrigerant with said condenser to create subcooled refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled refrigerant to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34  further comprising the step:
 discharging said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by: 
 subcooling said high-pressure refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce said subcooled liquid refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled liquid refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 34  further comprising the step:
 bypassing said thermal energy storage module of said thermal energy storage and cooling system during a third time period by:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor. 
 
 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 34  further comprising the step:
 expanding at least a portion of said high-pressure refrigerant with an expansion device chosen from the group consisting of a storage expansion device, an evaporator and an evaporator downstream of an evaporator expansion device. 
 
     
     
         40 . A method of providing cooling with a thermal energy storage and cooling system comprising:
 during a first time period:
 compressing and condensing a refrigerant with a compressor and a condenser to create a high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to produce expanded refrigerant and provide storage cooling with a thermal energy storage media via a primary heat exchanger, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within a thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during a second time period:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding a first portion of said high-pressure refrigerant produce said first expanded refrigerant and to provide storage cooling with said thermal energy storage media via said primary heat exchanger, said primary heat exchanger that is constrained within said thermal energy storage module and in thermal communication with said storage media; 
 expanding a second portion of said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling to an evaporator to produce said second expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said first expanded refrigerant and said second expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during a third time period:
 compressing said refrigerant with said compressor to create hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant; 
 cooling and condensing a first portion of said hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing a second portion of said high-pressure refrigerant with said condenser; 
 mixing said first portion and said second portion and expanding said mixture to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during a fourth time period:
 compressing said refrigerant with said compressor to create said hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant; 
 cooling and condensing said hot, high-pressure gas refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce said warm liquid refrigerant; 
 condensing said warm liquid refrigerant with said condenser to create subcooled refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled refrigerant to provide cooling in an evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during a fifth time period:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 subcooling said high-pressure refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce said subcooled liquid refrigerant; 
 expanding said subcooled liquid refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator to produce said expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during a sixth time period:
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; 
 desuperheating said expanded refrigerant with said storage cooling to produce desuperheated refrigerant; and, 
 returning said desuperheated refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during a seventh time period;
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; 
 superheating said expanded refrigerant with said storage media to produce superheated refrigerant; and, 
 returning said superheated refrigerant to said compressor; 
   during an eighth time period;
 compressing and condensing said refrigerant with said compressor and said condenser to create said high-pressure refrigerant; 
 expanding said high-pressure refrigerant to provide cooling in said evaporator and produce expanded refrigerant; and, 
 returning said expanded refrigerant to said compressor.