System for condensate energy utilization

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9765987-B2
Application number	US-201114116437-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2011
Priority date	May 11, 2011
Publication date	Sep 19, 2017
Grant date	Sep 19, 2017

Abstract

An air conditioning system includes an inlet duct, supply duct, return duct and exhaust duct: a heat exchanger for providing heat transfer between air from the inlet duct and air from the return duct: a cooling coil position in the supply duct: a pan for collecting condensate from the cooling coil; a pump to pump condensate from the pan: and a sprayer coupled to the pump, the sprayer spraying condensate into an air path to increase efficiency of the air conditioning system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air conditioning system comprising:
an inlet duct, supply duct, return duct and exhaust duct;
a heat exchanger for providing heat transfer between air from the inlet duct and air from the return duct;
a cooling coil position in the supply duct;
a pan for collecting condensate from the cooling coil;
a pump to pump condensate from the pan;
a sprayer coupled to the pump, the sprayer spraying condensate into an air path to increase efficiency of the air conditioning system;
a second heat exchanger downstream of the first heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger for providing heat transfer between air from the inlet duct and air from the return duct; and
a second sprayer spraying condensate into an air path to increase efficiency of the air conditioning system.

2. The air conditioning system of claim 1 wherein:
the second sprayer is positioned in the return duct between the heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; and
the sprayer is positioned in the return duct upstream of the heat exchanger.

3. The air conditioning system of claim 1 further comprising:
a chiller system having an evaporator coupled to the cooling coils and a condenser; and
a condenser sprayer spraying the condensate in an air path over coils of the condenser.

4. The air conditioning system of claim 3 further comprising:
a second pump for pumping condensate from the condensate pan to the condenser sprayer.

5. The air conditioning system of claim 1 further comprising:
a wet bulb temperature sensor producing a wet bulb temperature;
a dry bulb temperature sensor producing a dry bulb temperature; and
a controller for monitoring the wet bulb temperature and the dry bulb temperature, the controller configured to activate the pump in response to the wet bulb temperature and dry bulb temperature.

6. The air conditioning system of claim 5 wherein:
the wet bulb temperature sensor and the dry bulb temperature sensor are positioned to measure the wet bulb temperature and the dry bulb temperature in return air from the return duct.

7. The air conditioning system of claim 1 wherein:
the heat exchanger is a plate type heat exchanger.

Assignees

• Grabon Michel
• Carrier Corp

Inventors

• Grabon Michel

Classifications

• F24F11/83

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

• F24F12/00 Primary

  Use of energy recovery systems in air conditioning, ventilation or screening (with both heat and humidity transfer between supplied and exhausted air F24F3/147) · CPC title

• F24F12/006

  using an air-to-air heat exchanger (F24F12/002 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24F3/1405 Primary

  in which the humidity of the air is exclusively affected by contact with the evaporator of a closed-circuit cooling system or heat pump circuit · CPC title

• F24F13/222

  for evacuating condensate · CPC title