JP7176938B2 - heat pump water heater - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat pump water heater that supplies hot water using a heat pump circuit.

Conventionally, in this type of heat pump water heater, late-night power is used to efficiently exchange heat between high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant and low-temperature water, and the hot water to be used the next day is stored as high-temperature water in the hot water storage tank. It realized economical hot water supply by supplying hot water at a set temperature while mixing with water supply. (For example, Patent Document 1)

Japanese Patent No. 3055406

By the way, in this conventional system, the contractor manually opens the air vent plug on the heat pump side to bleed the air in the heating circulation circuit. However, if the air is not sufficiently removed, there is a problem that the circulation pump is trapped in the air, resulting in poor circulation, and the hot water heated by the heat pump cannot be supplied to the hot water storage tank.

According to the present invention, a heat pump unit in which an air heat exchanger having a compressor, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor fan is connected in a ring with a refrigerant pipe, and the water-refrigerant heat exchanger includes a circulation pump. A hot water storage tank for storing hot water heated to a high temperature by circulating the hot water, a control device for controlling the test operation performed after the power is turned on, and various types of devices connected communicatively to the control device. In a heat pump water heater provided with a remote controller having a display for displaying information, the test run operation is performed by manually removing air from the heating circulation circuit and then driving the circulation pump of the heating circulation circuit. and a boiling test operation after the air bleeding operation. and a boiling test operation flag indicating that the boiling test operation has been performed, and when the flag is stored, the test operation is omitted, and the control device If the air bleeding flag is not stored, the display unit of the remote controller prompts the user to carry out the air bleeding procedure and displays a confirmation that the air bleeding procedure has been carried out . When an operation for draining the water in the heating circulation circuit is performed in accordance with the operation input of , the memory of the air bleeding treatment flag is reset .

Further, when the air bleeding treatment is confirmed by an operation input to the remote controller during the display prompting the execution of the air bleeding treatment and confirming that the air bleeding treatment has been carried out, the air bleeding treatment flag is stored. did.

In addition, the control device stores information indicating that the operation of draining the water in the heating circulation circuit has been performed in response to an operation input to the remote controller, and stores information indicating that the operation of draining the water has been performed after the power is turned on. The existence or non-existence of memory is checked, and if there is memory, the memory of the air bleeding treatment flag is reset.

According to the present invention, by skipping the already-executed test operation in the test operation performed when the power is turned on, it is possible to quickly return to the normal operation, improving the usability and confirming the manual air bleeding procedure. By displaying the screen, it is possible to reliably urge the contractor to take measures to remove air, thereby reliably preventing poor circulation due to air entrainment due to insufficient air removal from the heating circulation circuit.

Further, when the operation of removing water from the heating circulation circuit is performed, the air removal treatment flag is reset. Since it is possible to prompt the removal of air, it is possible to reliably prevent poor circulation due to air entrainment due to insufficient air removal in the heating circulation circuit.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flag state of each test run operation of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart showing the first embodiment;

Next, a heat pump water heater of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A hot water storage tank unit 1 has a hot water storage tank 2 for storing hot water, a hot water outlet pipe 3 connected to the upper part of the hot water storage tank 2, a water supply pipe 4 connected to the lower part of the hot water storage tank 2, and hot water outlet. A hot water supply mixing valve 6 for mixing high temperature water from the pipe 3 and low temperature water from the hot water supply bypass pipe 5 branched from the water supply pipe 4, and a hot water supply pipe 7 connected downstream of the hot water supply mixing valve 6. A hot water supply temperature sensor 8 and a hot water supply flow switch 9 are provided.

A heat pump unit 10 is composed of a compressor 11, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 as a condenser, an electronic expansion valve 13, and an air heat exchanger 15 as an evaporator having an outdoor fan 14 and exchanging heat with air. a heat pump circuit 16, a circulation pump 20 for circulating the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 via a heating circulation circuit 19 consisting of a heat pump forwarding pipe 17 and a heat pump return pipe 18, and their driving , and carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant in the heat pump circuit 16 to form a supercritical heat pump cycle. Since carbon dioxide is used as a coolant, low-temperature water can be boiled up to a high temperature of about 90° C. without an electric heater.

Here, the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 employs a counter-flow system in which the refrigerant and hot water, which is the water to be heated, in the hot water storage tank 2 flow in opposite directions. Since the water is condensed in a critical state, the water to be heated can be efficiently heated to a high temperature. By controlling the expansion valve 13 or the compressor 11, when the inlet temperature of the water to be heated to the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 is a low temperature of about 5 to 20° C., the COP (energy consumption efficiency) is very good. It is possible to heat the heating water.

In addition, the heat pump supply pipe 17 is provided with a heat pump pipe stop cock 22, and a return bypass valve 23 is provided in the middle of the heat pump return pipe 18. When freezing is prevented, the return bypass valve 23 is connected to the water supply pipe 4 below the hot water storage tank 2. By switching to communication on the side of the connected anti-freezing bypass pipe 24, freezing is prevented by circulation of a short circuit using the lower part of the hot water storage tank 2. is located in

Reference numeral 25 denotes a control device comprising a microcomputer or the like, which controls the heat pump control unit 21 to control the temperature of the hot water supply, such as the heating and reheating of the hot water storage tank 2 by the heating circulation circuit 19, the filling and reheating of the bath water, the heat retention, and the like. Also, by pressing a trial operation switch 27 provided on the board of the remote controller 26 or the control device 25, the hot water supply mixing valve 6 of the hot water supply pipe 7 is changed from the 100% open state to the 100% hot water side. The hot water supply pipe 7 is used to supply water while removing air from the hot water storage tank 2 after construction. After a period of time, the boiling test operation is performed, and the boiling target temperature of the predetermined temperature is continued for a predetermined time, and the boiling test operation is completed.

In addition, the control device 25 resets the microcomputer when the power is lost for a predetermined time or longer (here, 30 minutes), and the flag F2 for the air bleeding operation and the flag F2 for the boiling test operation in the test operation described later. The F3 flag is turned off when the microcomputer is reset, and the air bleeding flag F1 is a complicated manual operation recommended by the construction company. should not.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a test run timer configured in the control device 25, which starts counting when the test run switch 27 is pressed. 100% on the water side of the water supply pipe 7 to complete the water filling using the hot water supply pipe 7.

Further, in addition to the test operation switch 27, the remote controller 26 has a hot water supply switch 29, a temperature setting switch 30 for setting the hot water supply set temperature, a hot water filling switch 31 for instructing hot water filling to the bath, and a hot water filling amount setting 32. A display unit 33 made of a dot-matrix fluorescent display tube and a remote control unit 34 made up of a microcomputer for controlling the display unit 33 and communicating with the control device 25 are further provided.

An inlet water temperature sensor 35 is provided on the water inlet side of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 of the heating circulation circuit 19 to detect the inlet water temperature, and an outlet temperature sensor 36 is provided on the outlet side to detect the temperature of the water after heating. Among a plurality of stored hot water temperature sensors 37 for detecting the temperature of hot water in the hot water storage tank 2, which one of the outlet temperature sensor 36 and the uppermost stored hot water temperature sensor 37 is used to detect the hot water temperature. When the boiling target temperature of 30° C. is continuously detected, the boiling test operation is terminated.

Reference numeral 38 denotes an abnormal operation timer that counts the time from the start to the end of the air removal of the heating circulation circuit 19 and the time from the start to the end of the boiling test operation. When the target temperature is not reached even after 1 to 2 hours of the predetermined time that should have reached the boiling target temperature in the test run, the display unit 33 of the remote controller 26 is caused to display "abnormal boiling" or a buzzer is emitted. On the other hand, when the test operation of boiling is completed before a predetermined time, "boiling completed" indicating a normal state is displayed or notified by a buzzer.

39 is a relief valve that communicates with the top of the hot water storage tank 2 to release air from the hot water storage tank 2 and the heating circulation circuit 19, and 40 is a pressure reducing valve provided in the water supply pipe 4. A plug 41 is provided, 42 is a drain plug that communicates with the bottom of the hot water storage tank 2, 43 is a drain plug that communicates with the heating circulation circuit 19, and 44 is a heat pump return pipe 18 that exits the heat pump unit 10 outside the appliance. 45 is a heat exchange drain plug provided immediately before the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 in the heat pump feed pipe 17 .

Next, the heat pump replacement mode, which is one of the operations for draining water, will be described. The heat pump replacement mode is performed when removing water from the heating circulation circuit 19 connecting the hot water storage tank unit 1 and the heat pump unit 10, such as when replacing the heat pump piping and the heat pump unit 10. FIG.

First, when the remote control 26 is operated to select the heat pump replacement mode, the remote control unit 34 transmits to the control device 25 that the heat pump is to be replaced, and the control device 25 causes the return bypass valve 23 to move to the lower portion of the hot water storage tank 2. The communicating port is closed, the heat pump replacement mode is started, and the fact that the heat pump replacement mode has been performed is stored. Next, the contractor shuts off the power supply, closes the stopcock 41 dedicated to water supply, and opens the relief valve 39 . Then, by closing the heat pump piping stop cock 22, water is drained from the heating circulation circuit 19 connecting the hot water storage tank unit 1 and the heat pump unit 10, and then the heat pump piping and the heat pump unit 10 are replaced.

In addition, when the heat pump piping is drained in this heat pump replacement mode and the power is turned on, the following trial operation is performed and then normal operation is performed.

Next, the water supply at the time of initial installation in the trial operation when the power is turned on will be described.
First, after installing the appliance and connecting the hot water supply circuit, the water supply pipe 4, and the hot water supply pipe 7, respectively, it is connected to the power supply, and the contractor stops the heat pump pipe provided on the heat pump outgoing pipe 17 side. Open the tap 22, open the relief valve 39 , close the water supply stop cock 41, check for clogging with dust, open the water supply stop cock 41, supply water into the hot water storage tank 2, and supply water to the hot water storage tank 2. is full of water, the relief valve 39 is closed to complete the water supply.

Next, a manual air-bleeding procedure for the heating circulation circuit 19 will be described.
First, open the heat exchange drain plug 45 until the air is sufficiently removed, close the heat exchange drain plug 45 when the air in the heat pump feed pipe 17 is removed, and open the return side drain plug 44 until the air is sufficiently removed. Then, the released air is released from the relief valve 39, and when the air in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 12 and the heat pump return pipe 18 is released, the heat exchange drain plug 45 is closed and the air in the heating circulation circuit 19 is manually removed. to complete.

Next, the air bleeding operation of the heating circulation circuit 19 by the controller 25 will be described.
First, by pressing the trial operation switch 27, the controller 25 drives the circulation pump 20 for a predetermined time (here, 10 minutes) to start an air bleeding operation to remove air remaining in the heating circulation circuit 19. The excess air is removed from the relief valve 39, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the air removal operation of the heating circulation circuit 19 is completed.

Next, after completing the air removal from the heating circulation circuit 19, a boiling test operation is performed to boil the entire amount of the hot water storage tank 2, or a predetermined time boiling test operation is performed to boil the heat pump. Check if there is a lifting error.
In this boiling test operation, if the heat pump unit 10 is not sufficiently vented of air, the circulation pump 20 will be caught in air, resulting in poor circulation, and the heat pump will not be able to supply the hot water heated by the heat pump unit 10 to the hot water storage tank. It is necessary to ensure that air bleeding measures and air bleeding operation are carried out because a lifting abnormality occurs.

Next, ON and OFF of the air bleeding flag F1, the air bleeding operation flag F2, and the boiling test operation flag F3 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.
First, after the power is turned on, it is checked whether it is the first installation (S1). If it is the first installation (S1 is Yes), since the trial operation has not been performed, the air bleeding flag F1 and the air bleeding operation flag F2 are checked. , the boiling test run flag F3 is all turned OFF (S2).

Also, if it is not the first installation (No in S1), then check whether the power supply is lost after normal operation (S3). (No in S3), the air bleeding flag F1, the air bleeding operation flag F2, and the boiling test operation flag F3 are all turned OFF (S2).

Also, if S3 is Yes, it means that the power supply was temporarily lost due to power failure, repair of equipment, or replacement of equipment after all test runs were performed and normal operation was performed (S3 is Yes). The elapsed time during which the power supply was lost is confirmed (S4).

If the power supply has been lost for less than 30 minutes (Yes in S4), the next step is to drain water from the heat pump, replace the heat pump piping, replace the heat pump unit, etc. It is checked whether the control device 25 has been informed that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed (S5).

At this time, if the power has been lost for less than 30 minutes and the heat pump replacement mode has been sent to the controller 25 (Yes in S5), the air bleeding flag F1 is OFF . , the air bleeding operation flag F2 and the boiling test operation flag F3 are turned ON (S6).

In this way, if the power has been lost for less than 30 minutes and the controller 25 has been notified that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed, the heating circulation circuit 19 can be restored by repairing or replacing the appliance. Therefore, it can be determined that the air in the heat pump must be removed, and the contractor can be reliably urged to remove the air.

Further, if the elapsed time of the power loss is within 30 minutes and the fact that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed has not been sent to the control device 25 (S5 is No), the flag F1 for air bleeding treatment is set and the air bleeding operation is performed. and the flag F3 for the boiling test run are all turned ON (S7).

In this way, if the elapsed time of power loss is within 30 minutes and the fact that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed has not been transmitted to the control device 25, the power is temporarily turned off for a short period of time due to a power failure or the like. This means that after the power is turned on, it is possible to quickly return to normal operation by omitting each trial operation.

If the power has been lost for 30 minutes or longer, it is determined that the air bleeding operation flag F2 and the boiling test operation flag F3 are OFF due to the microcomputer reset (S4 No), then it is checked whether a message indicating that the heat pump replacement mode will be performed has been sent to the control device 25 (S8).

At this time, if the elapsed time of power loss is 30 minutes or more and the fact that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed has been sent to the control device 25 (Yes in S8), the flag F1 for air bleeding treatment, air bleeding Both the operation flag F2 and the boiling test operation flag F3 are turned off (S9).

In this way, if the power has been lost for 30 minutes or more and the control device 25 is informed that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed, the heating circulation circuit 19 can be restored by repairing or replacing the appliance. Therefore, it can be determined that the air in the heat pump must be removed, and the contractor can be reliably urged to remove the air.

Further, if the elapsed time of the power loss is 30 minutes or more and the fact that the heat pump replacement mode is to be performed has not been transmitted to the control device 25 (S8 is No), the air bleeding operation flag F2 is set, and the boiling test operation is performed. Since it is determined that the flag F3 is OFF due to the reset of the microcomputer, the air bleeding flag F1 is ON, and the air bleeding operation flag F2 and the boiling test operation flag F3 are OFF (S10). .

In this way, if the power supply has been lost for 30 minutes or longer and the water in the heating circulation circuit 19 is not being drained, the air bleeding from the heating circulation circuit 19 is sufficient. , Since the air bleeding operation flag F2 and the boiling test operation flag F3 are OFF due to the microcomputer reset, it is necessary to operate the test operation switch 27 to perform the air bleeding operation and the boiling test operation. It is possible to skip air bleeding procedures that require complicated operations and return to normal operation.

Next, the test run operation and flags of this embodiment will be described based on the flow chart of FIG.
First, the appliance is installed, the hot water supply circuit, the water supply pipe 4, and the hot water supply pipe 7 are connected by pipes, and then connected to the power source. Then, it is confirmed whether the microcomputer was reset or whether the power was turned on again within 30 minutes after turning off (S11).

When the power is turned on after 30 minutes or more have passed since the power was lost (Yes in S11), the control device 25 checks whether the air bleeding flag F1 is ON (S12). is OFF (S12 is No), for example, a confirmation screen is displayed from the display unit 33 of the remote controller 26 to the effect that "Have you manually performed air bleeding from the heat pump piping? Yes or No." (S13), and when the "yes" switch is operated (Yes in S14), the air bleeding flag F1 is stored as ON (S15), and the air bleeding operation is started by operating the test run switch 27 (S16). ).

If the air bleeding flag F1 is ON (Yes in S12), the confirmation screen display is skipped because the air bleeding process is completed. The operation of 27 starts the air bleeding operation (S16).

Then, when the operation of the trial operation switch 27 of the remote control 26 starts the air bleeding operation (S16), the circulation pump 20 starts to be driven (S17), and the trial operation timer 28 starts counting a predetermined time (here, 10 minutes). Then, when the control device 25 confirms that the air bleeding operation has been completed after a predetermined time has elapsed (Yes in S18), the driving of the circulation pump 20 is stopped (S19), and the air bleeding operation flag F2 is turned ON. Store (S20).

Then, when the air bleeding operation is completed, it shifts to the boiling test operation, and starts the full amount boiling test operation for boiling the entire amount of the hot water storage tank 2, or the predetermined time boiling test operation for boiling for a predetermined time (S21), and the heat pump is boiled. A check is made to see if an abnormal lift occurs (S22).

If there is no abnormality in the boiling test run (Yes in S22), the flag F3 for the boiling test run is stored as ON (S23), and when a series of test run operations are completed, the process shifts to normal operation (S24).

If there is an abnormality in the boiling test run (No in S22), the memory of the air bleeding flag F1, the air bleeding flag F2, and the boiling test run flag F3 is reset and an error is reported ( S25).

In this way, if the air bleeding process and the air bleeding operation are not performed, there is a danger that air will be caught in the heating circulation circuit 19 during the boiling test operation, resulting in poor circulation and an error. The treatment is manually performed by the contractor, and in case of an error caused by forgetting to remove the air, the confirmation screen is displayed only when the air removing treatment is not performed. You can skip troublesome operations.

Also, if the power is turned on within 30 minutes after the power loss (No in S11), it is checked whether the air bleeding flag F1 is ON (S26), and if it is OFF (NO in S26). Since there is a possibility that air remains in the heat pump piping because air bleeding has not been performed, an air bleeding confirmation screen is displayed in order to ensure that air bleeding is performed (S13).

It is checked whether the air bleeding flag F1 is ON (S26), and if it is ON (Yes in S26), the air bleeding process is skipped because the air bleeding process is completed. Proceed to S27.

Next, it is confirmed whether the F2 for the air bleeding operation is ON (S27), and if it is OFF (S27 is No), the air bleeding operation is not performed and air remains in the heat pump piping. Since there is a possibility, the air bleeding operation is started (S16).

Also, it is checked whether the air bleeding operation flag F2 is ON (S27), and if it is ON (Yes in S27), the air bleeding operation is skipped because the air bleeding operation is completed. and proceed to S28.

Next, it is confirmed whether the F3 for the boiling test operation is ON (S28), and if it is OFF (S28 is No), the air bleeding and the air bleeding operation are performed, and the air in the heat pump piping is removed. However, since the boiling test operation has not been performed, the boiling test operation is started (S21).

Also, it is checked whether the flag F3 for the boiling test run is ON (S28), and if it is ON (Yes in S28), each test run operation is completed, and the boiling test run is skipped. Then, the normal operation is started (S24).

In this way, if the power supply is temporarily lost due to a power failure, etc., but it is not necessary to perform test operation such as air bleeding, the display of the air bleeding confirmation screen and various test operations are skipped. It is possible to quickly return to normal operation without performing troublesome trial operation.

Further, after replacing the heat pump piping for disconnecting the hot water storage tank unit 1 and the heat pump unit 10, replacing the heat pump unit, or draining the water in the heating circulation circuit 19, the memory of the air bleeding flag F1 is reset. Thus, when air bleeding must be carried out, a notification to prompt the air bleeding can be given to reliably prevent poor circulation due to air entrainment, and the execution can be skipped when not required.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and does not impede modification within the scope of the present invention. Although the manual operation procedure may change depending on the location of the device and the connection location of the piping, the air bleeding treatment of the present invention is reliably completed to reliably prevent poor circulation due to air entrainment. However, it is acceptable as long as the gist that the implementation can be skipped when not required is not changed.

In addition, in the embodiment, as an example of the water draining operation, when the heat pump replacement mode is operated, the remote control unit 34 transmits to the control device 25 to store that the heat pump replacement mode has been performed. Alternatively, the control device 25 may memorize the execution of the water draining operation when the water draining operation for draining the water in the heating circulation circuit 19 is performed.

2 hot water storage tank 4 water supply pipe 19 heating circulation circuit 20 circulation pump 21 heat pump controller 25 controller 26 remote control 27 trial operation switch 28 trial operation timer 33 display 34 remote control controller 38 abnormal operation timer

Claims (3)

A heat pump unit in which an air heat exchanger having a compressor, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor fan is connected in a ring with a refrigerant pipe, and the water-refrigerant heat exchanger is a heating circulation circuit having a circulation pump. A hot water storage tank that communicates and stores hot water heated to a high temperature by circulating hot water, a control device that controls the test operation performed after the power is turned on, and a display unit that is communicatively connected to the control device and displays various information. In a heat pump water heater comprising a remote controller having
In the test operation, after manually removing the air from the heating circulation circuit, the air removing operation of the heating circulation circuit for driving the circulation pump and the boiling test operation after the air removing operation are performed.
The control device includes an air bleeding treatment flag indicating that the air bleeding treatment has been performed, an air bleeding operation flag indicating that the air bleeding operation has been performed, and a boiling test operation flag that indicates that the boiling test operation has been performed. A flag is stored, and when the flag is stored, the test run operation is omitted,
When the air bleeding action flag is not stored, the control device prompts the user to carry out the air bleeding action on the display unit of the remote controller and displays a confirmation that the air bleeding action has been carried out,
The heat pump type hot water supply device is characterized in that the control device resets the storage of the air removal treatment flag when an operation to remove water from the heating circulation circuit is performed in response to an operation input to the remote controller. machine. When the air bleeding treatment is confirmed by an operation input to the remote controller during the display prompting the execution of the air bleeding treatment and confirming that the air bleeding treatment has been performed, the air bleeding treatment flag is stored. The heat pump water heater according to claim 1, characterized by: The control device stores an operation to drain the water in the heating circulation circuit according to an operation input to the remote controller, and stores the operation to drain the water after the power is turned on. 3. The heat pump water heater according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of the flag is checked, and if the flag is stored, the memory of the air removal treatment flag is reset.

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