Heat Pump

Abstract

A heat pump system including a water reservoir tank, positioned proximate to a building, having a remote heat source associated therewith and ducting for drawing the heat source to the tank. The tank has an evaporator and a fan positioned to draw heat from the heat source and transfer the heat to the evaporator and a compressor for transferring the heat to the tank. A smart controller designed to optimize the efficiency of the heat pump water heaters may be used. The controller uses various inputs including ambient conditions and water consumption data to make an intelligent decision on when to run the system, based on a set of user preferences.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A heat pump system for moving thermal energy between a heat source and a heat sink, comprising a condenser and an evaporator communicating via a refrigerant driven through said condenser and evaporator via a compressor wherein said evaporator absorbs heat from said heat source and the condenser loses heat to said heat sink characterised in that said system includes access to a heat source remote from said system, said system is adapted for installation to a building structure and said heat source is the roof cavity of said building structure, wherein said system includes a water reservoir tank as said heat sink and said evaporator is positioned at or near the top of said tank and said system includes ducting communicating said evaporator with said roof cavity heat source. 
     
     
         2 .- 4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . A heat pump system according to  claim 1 , further including a fan means positioned to cooperate with said evaporator and adapted to draw air from said roof cavity to said evaporator via said ducting. 
     
     
         6 . A heat pump system according to  claim 5 , wherein said fan is a centrifugal fan or the like adapted to draw air from said remote source and accommodate any increased pressure drop. 
     
     
         7 . A heat pump system according to  claim 1 , wherein said compressor is positioned at or near the base of said tank. 
     
     
         8 . A heat pump kit comprising a system according to  claim 1 , wherein said kit includes:
 a) a water reservoir tank adapted for positioning under the eaves of a building structure having a roof cavity;   b) an evaporator positioned for fitting at or near the top of said tank;   c) a fan positioned at or near the top of said tank to draw air to said evaporator;   d) ducting for communicating with said roof cavity and accessing air within said cavity.   
     
     
         9 . A heat pump system for moving thermal energy between a heat source and a heat sink, comprising a condenser and an evaporator communicating via a refrigerant driven through said condenser and evaporator via a compressor wherein the evaporator absorbs heat from said heat source and the condenser loses heat to said heat sink characterised in that said system includes access to two or more heat sources and a controller adapted to select from said available heat sources to optimise the efficiency of said heat pump, one or more of said heat sources are accessed remote from said system, said two or more heat sources include heat sources at different physical locations or a single heat source accessed at different times of the day, said heat pump system including access to two or more heat sinks and a controller adapted to select from said heat sinks and wherein said controller is adapted to select from a single heat source and identify the optimum time of day to draw heat. 
     
     
         10 .- 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A heat pump system according to  claim 9 , wherein said controller has the ability to select both heat sources and heat sinks. 
     
     
         15 . A heat pump system according to  claim 9 , wherein said controller includes programming to choose optimisation modes selected from highest efficiency, lowest cost, quietest operation and greatest capacity. 
     
     
         16 .- 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A controller for regulating the output power supply to a heat pump said controller comprising an output power supply for said heat pump, a range of input sources for providing data selected from any one or a combination of:
 atmospheric conditions;   heat pump conditions;   output power supplier data;   historical use data;   user direct input;   and a means for analysing said data, wherein said analysing means is adapted to determine the most favourable outcome based on user defined preference.   
     
     
         19 . A hot water control system comprising a reservoir for water storage, a heat pump as the primary source of heating for said water and a controller according to  claim 18 . 
     
     
         20 . A control system according to  claim 19 , wherein said input sources include any one or a combination of:
 source air temperature;   water storage temperature;   source air humidity;   source water temperature;   source water flow rate;   mains current electricity used by said heat pump;   electricity tariff data;   time of day; and   smart meter interface.   
     
     
         21 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , wherein the user defined preference is the energy-efficiency of the system. 
     
     
         22 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , wherein the user defined preference is the cost-efficiency of the system. 
     
     
         23 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , wherein the user defined preference is the hot water capacity of the system. 
     
     
         24 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , wherein the user defined preference is the time of operation of the system. 
     
     
         25 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , wherein the user may override the system completely by bypassing the controller. 
     
     
         26 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , further comprising a processor and data storage unit, wherein the controller may monitor user behaviour and adapt to individual user preferences. 
     
     
         27 . The hot water control system of  claim 19 , further comprising a smart meter, wherein the controller has the ability to communicate with the electricity grid to monitor demand and tariffs and adjust regulation of the heat pump accordingly. 
     
     
         28 .- 29 . (canceled)