Coordinated Operation of Multiple Space-Conditioning Systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018252425-A1
Application number	US-201715450260-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 6, 2017
Priority date	Mar 6, 2017
Publication date	Sep 6, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A controller controls a first air-conditioning system and a second air-conditioning system having separate refrigerant circuits, but arranged for conditioning a common space. The controller includes a multi-variable regulator to determine control signals for controlling operations of first components of the first and the second refrigerant circuits to reduce jointly and concurrently an environmental error between setpoint and measured values of environment in the common space. The controller also includes at least two single-variable regulators to receive operational errors between setpoint and measured values of an operation of a second component of the first and the second refrigerant circuits. The controller separately determines control signals for controlling the operation of different refrigerant circuits that reduce the operational errors. The controller also includes a lookup table that stores values for other inputs of the systems that improve its performance, and which selects specific input values for both systems according to the outputs of the multi-variable and/or single variable regulators. The controller includes an electrical circuit for controlling the first and the second air-conditioning systems according to the determined control signals.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A controller for controlling at least a first air-conditioning system and a second air-conditioning system arranged for conditioning a common space, wherein a refrigerant circuit of the first air-conditioning system is separate from a refrigerant circuit of the second air-conditioning system, comprising:
a multi-variable regulator to receive one or more setpoint signals and one or more measured value signals from the common space to determine control signals for controlling operations of first components of the first and the second refrigerant circuits to jointly and concurrently reduce at least one environmental error between the setpoint signals and the measured value signals; a first single-variable regulator to receive a first setpoint signal and a measured value signal of the operation of a second component of the first air-conditioning system and to determine a control signal for controlling the operation of the second component of the first air-conditioning system that reduces a first operational error of the second component of the first air-conditioning system; a second single-variable regulator to receive a second setpoint signal and a measured value signal of the operation of a second component of the second air-conditioning system and to determine a control signal for controlling the operation of the second component of the second air-conditioning system that reduces a second operational error of the second component of the second air-conditioning system; a memory storing a lookup structure mapping control signals controlling operations of a third component of the first air-conditioning system and a third component of the second air-conditioning system as a function of the control signals controlling operations of the first components of the first and the second air-conditioning systems; a processor to determine the control signals controlling operations of the third components of the first and the second air-conditioning systems by selecting the control signals from the lookup structure according to the control signals determined by the multi-variable regulator; and an electrical circuit for controlling the first and the second air-conditioning systems according to the determined control signals.

2 . The controller of claim 1 , wherein the first components include compressors of the of the first and the second air-conditioning systems, and the multi-variable regulator outputs speeds of the compressors, such that the first and the second refrigerant circuits operated by the compressors running with the outputted speeds jointly reduce the environmental error.

3 . The controller of claim 2 , wherein the values of the environment in the common space include one or combination of values of temperature and humidity in the common space, such that the speeds of compressors of the first and the second air-conditioning systems are jointly determined to reduce the environmental error including an error between setpoint values of temperature and humidity in the common space and measured values of the temperature and the humidity in the common space.

4 . The controller of claim 1 , wherein the second components of the first and the second refrigerant circuits are valves,
wherein the first single-variable regulator determines an opening of a valve of the first air-conditioning system that reduces an error between a target suction superheat of the first air-conditioning system and a current suction superheat of the first air-conditioning system; and wherein the second single-variable regulator determines an opening of a valve of the second air-conditioning system that reduces an error between a target suction superheat of the second air-conditioning system and a current suction superheat of the second air-conditioning system.

5 . The controller of claim 1 , further comprising:
a set of sensor for determining one or combination of signals indicative of measurements of environment in the common space and measurements of operations of the first and the second air-conditioning systems; and a set of couplers for combining the signals with corresponding target values of the environment and the operations of the first and the second air-conditioning systems to produce the environmental error and the first and the second operational errors.

6 . The controller of claim 1 , wherein the lookup structure is determined based on a model of the first and the second air-conditioning systems.

7 . The controller of claim 6 , wherein the processor optimizes the operations of third components of the first and the second air-conditioning systems for the operations of the first components of the first and the second air-conditioning systems using the model of the first and the second air-conditioning systems.

8 . The controller of claim 7 , wherein the control signals for the third components are predetermined to optimize total energy efficiency of the first and the second air-conditioning systems having the first components controlled with the control signals determined by the multi-variable regulator.

9 . The controller of claim 7 , wherein the first components of the first and the second air-conditioning systems include is a compressor of the first air-conditioning system and a compressor of the second air-conditioning system, wherein the third components of the first and the second air-conditioning systems include a fan in the first air-conditioning system and a fan in the second air-conditioning system, and wherein the processor selects from the memory values of the speed of the fans in the first and the second air-conditioning systems optimizing total energy efficiency of the first and the second air-conditioning systems operating according to the values of the speed of the compressors in the first and the second air-conditioning systems.

10 . The controller of claim 9 , wherein the second components of the first and the second refrigerant circuits are valves,
wherein the first single-variable regulator determines an opening of a valve of the first air-conditioning system that reduces an error between a target suction superheat of the first air-conditioning system and a current suction superheat of the first air-conditioning system; wherein the second single-variable regulator determines an opening of a valve of the second air-conditioning system that reduces an error between a target suction superheat of the second air-conditioning system and a current suction superheat of the second air-conditioning system; and wherein the processor selects from the memory a value of the target suction superheat of the first air-conditioning system and a values of the target suction superheat of the second air-conditioning system based on the values of the speed of the compressors in the first and the second air-conditioning systems.

11 . The controller of claim 1 , wherein the first air-conditioning system is a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS), and wherein the second air-conditioning system is a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system.

12 . The controller of claim 1 , wherein the multi-variable regulator receives a signal indicative of the environmental error between the setpoint signals and the measured value signals.

13 . A controller for controlling at least two air-conditioning systems including a first air-conditioning system and a second air-conditioning system arranged for conditioning a common space, wherein a refrigerant circuit of the first air-conditioning system is separate from a refrigerant circuit of the second air-conditioning system, comprising:
a multi-variable regulator to determine concurrently a first speed of a first compresso

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Res Laboratories Inc

Inventors

• Laughman Christopher R
• Qiao Hongtao
• Burns Daniel
• Bortoff Scott A

Classifications

• F25B2313/0293

  related to the indoor fan, e.g. controlling speed · CPC title

• F24F2140/20

  Heat-exchange fluid temperature · CPC title

• F25B2700/1933

  Suction pressures · CPC title

• F24F11/83

  by controlling the supply of heat-exchange fluids to heat-exchangers · CPC title

• F24F11/30 Primary

  for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring · CPC title