Special Issue Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2016, Vol. 8(10) 1–12
Ó The Author(s) 2016
Development and analysis of a new DOI: 10.1177/1687814016671444
aime.sagepub.com
multi-function heat recovery split air
conditioner with parallel refrigerant
pipe

Win-Jet Luo1, Hung-Chuan Kuo2, Jyun-Yi Wu2 and Dini Faridah2

Abstract
This study developed a heat recovery air conditioner to supply on-demand air conditioning and reclaim waste heat dur-
ing operation. In addition to the conventional refrigerant pipe, a plate heat exchanger was designed and connected in
parallel to the condenser and evaporator. While refrigerant with high pressure and high temperature flows through the
plate heat exchanger, the refrigerant flow is cooled down and condensed by cooling water from a water tank, and con-
densation heat in the exchanger is absorbed by the cooling water and stored in the water tank. In this study, solenoid
valves were installed in the pipe to regulate the refrigerant volume in parallel connected pipes based on the tank water
temperature by duty control logic. This multi-function heat recovery air conditioner has various operation modes. In
summer, the air conditioner not only provides on-demand cooled air to air-conditioned rooms but also reclaims waste
condensation heat through the plate heat exchanger. In winter, the air conditioner supplies on-demand heated air to
indoor spaces and heats the water tank by simultaneously reclaiming waste condensation heat. According to an experi-
mental operation test, the value of average water heating efficiency (COPh) of this air conditioner can reach 3.77 in the
summer operating mode and 1.91 in the winter operating mode.

Keywords
Heat recovery, thermodynamics, heating, ventilating/ventilation, and air conditioning, energy conservation, refrigeration

Date received: 30 May 2016; accepted: 6 September 2016

Academic Editor: Stephen D Prior

Introduction reduce energy consumption from buildings. One way is

The literature has conducted a lot of innovative tech-
nologies and research studies to solve the energy con-
sumption issues as with fossil energy still playing a
major role as a source of fuel after the oil crises in the
1970s.1 This has led researchers to conduct experiments
related to energy-efficient solutions and seek out alter-
native energy sources that could replace fossil energy
such as renewable energy systems. Some researchers
have presented methodologies and results from overall
energy system analysis of a 100% renewable energy sys-
tem to review the feasibility of this type of system.2 The
US Department of Energy suggested two ways to
to offset the rest of the energy usage through onsite
renewable energy generation, and the other way is
to reduce the average energy use of housing by
1
Graduate Institute of Precision Manufacturing, National Chin-Yi
University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
2
Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Energy Engineering, National Chin-
Yi University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
Corresponding author:
Win-Jet Luo, Graduate Institute of Precision Manufacturing, National
Chin-Yi University of Technology, Zhongshan Road 57, Sec. 2, Taichung
4117, Taiwan.
Email: wjluo@ncut.edu.tw

Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without
further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/
open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
40%–100% through improving building energy sys-
tems’ efficiency and conservation.3 Renewable energy
incurs high costs of investment and is difficult to gener-
ate in large quantities, so there have been many other
considerations to achieve this situation. The most
appropriate way to solve problems of energy consump-
tion currently is to reduce the use of fossil energy.
China’s biggest amount of consumption comes from
space-heating and air-conditioning systems, which are
20% of the total annual energy consumption.4 In the
United States, water heating accounts for 18% of all
residential energy use, meaning it is the second largest
user of energy in residential buildings.5 It is forecasted
that energy consumption of building space heating, air
conditioning, and household sanitary water will con-
tinue to increase with economic growth.6 Based on the
statistics, the residential sector can help bring about a
considerable amount of potential energy savings.7–9
Most of the residential buildings are equipped with
conventional heaters generating heat by consuming fos-
sil fuels or electricity, but a heat pump system as a heat-
generating device can supply much more heat with the
same amount of electric input used for a conventional
heater.10 The rejected (sensible and condensation) heat
from air-conditioning systems is a readily available
energy source that can be used to produce hot water.11
Since the 1950s, research has looked into heat pump
water heaters for energy savings,12 with several studies
addressing heat pump performance developed in the
last two decades.13–21 However, the studies mainly
focus on ways to save energy when supplying hot water.
Conversely, a heat pump system can work with a vari-
ety of functions such as individual cooling, cooling and
heat recovery, individual domestic hot water produc-
tion, individual heating, and heating and domestic hot
water production.22 In other words, energy savings can
be extracted with a well-integrated system of air condi-
tioning and hot water supply.
Realizing the potential of air conditioners as a heat
source for generating hot water, some studies have com-
pared the performance of conventional heat pump sys-
tems with integrated air conditioning and hot water
supply systems,23–25 and the results indicate that air-
conditioning equipment contributes to a dramatic
decline in energy costs and thermal pollution to the
environment. Ji et al.26 developed a prototype system
and simulation program for a multi-function heat pump
system. In their research, the hot water and heat exchan-
ger (as the source of hot water) are connected in series,
and the heat exchanger area of the hot water heater is
not restricted. Thus, the system performance can be
enhanced in the function of cooling and heat recovery,
as well as when using individual domestic hot water pro-
duction. Despite that, even the complicated program
cannot achieve heating and production of domestic hot
water simultaneously in winter with unused hot water.
Liu et al.12,27 proposed an improvement to the con-
ventional multi-functional heat pump system, in which
the system can operate in both heating and cooling
modes. This proposed system can provide significant
energy savings in space heating and hot water supply.
In the heating mode, the system with air and water heat
sources in parallel exhibits the best performance in
both the space-heating mode and the space-heating
plus hot water supply mode, compared to the system
with other heat source combinations. However, there is
no detailed analysis provided about the heat pump sys-
tems in parallel adjustment.
This article provides a detailed performance analysis
about this adjustment, whereby the parallel arrange-
ment in the multi-function heat pump systems can
recover a greater amount of heat from the plate heat
exchanger to the water. Because the refrigerant flow
is adjusted by valves based on the water temperature,
the system can generate hot water faster. At the same
time, when the condenser and the plate heat exchan-
ger are connected in a series adjustment, the system
can only recover some portion of the condenser heat.
Another issue that may arise is that the water tem-
perature affects the supply air temperature from the
indoor unit, but in this research, the temperature sup-
ply is kept steady when the parallel adjustment is
applied.
Materials and methods
Overview of system principles of multi-function
parallel heat recovery air conditioner
In this study, the parallel refrigerant pipe is used to
recover the heat generated by a household air condi-
tioner. A set of plate heat exchangers are installed paral-
lel to the outdoor unit condenser, and a water pump
circulates water to recover refrigerant condensation heat
at the high-pressure side of the refrigerant pipe and store
waste heat in a water tank. Figure 1 shows the system
diagram of the refrigerant pipe in the new multi-function
parallel heat recovery air conditioner. In this study, on
and off periods of electromagnetic valves are used to reg-
ulate the refrigerant volume through an air-cooled con-
denser and plate heat exchanger based on load. In
addition, a four-way refrigerant pipe valve from
Saginomiya, Inc. in this study allows the system to simul-
taneously operate in summer and cooling mode. Because
of the parallel refrigerant pipe design, while the system is
producing hot water, the cooling or heating temperature
in the air-conditioned space will not be affected by the
thermal load in the water tank; in addition, the heat
recovery efficiency of the refrigerant on the high-pressure
side will be improved. Moreover, in the spring and sum-
mer seasons, the system can also produce only hot water.
In addition, a special controller in the cooling and
Luo et al. 3

Figure 1. System diagram of refrigerant pipe in the new multi-

function parallel heat recovery air conditioner.

heating air conditioner system is replaced to facilitate the

system test, as shown in Figure 2.
To achieve the goal of multiple functions and to
maintain a reasonable system heat recovery efficiency,
the refrigerant pipe design of the multi-function heat
recovery air conditioner developed in this study is
based on a parallel design mode, as shown in Figure 2.
Electromagnetic valves are used to regulate the refriger-
ant volume through the plate heat exchanger and
air-cooled condenser based on the hot water load varia-
tion. Compared to a series heat recovery mode, this
parallel system can recover thermal energy more effec-
tively and improve the water heating efficiency.
The refrigerant pipe used in this system is based on
an expansion valve, electromagnetic valve, and check
Figure 2. Refrigerant circulation diagram under the dedicated
valve from Danfoss. The actions of these valves, such (a) cooling mode and (b) heating mode.
as the actions of the electromagnetic valve shown in
Table 1, are used to drive the four-way valve and the
electromagnetic valve between the parallel pipes to reg- temperature sensor installed in the hot water tank
ulate the refrigerant flow direction. Therefore, this sys- detects that the tank water temperature has reached a
tem can not only produce hot water while cooling an predefined hot water temperature, the refrigerant con-
indoor space but also can heat water in the heating troller will activate the electromagnetic valve to limit
mode. The controller in this system is based on ‘‘Duty the refrigerant volume through the plate heat exchanger
Control’’ control logic, and a proportional–integral–dif- and increase the refrigerant volume through the
ferential (PID) controller is used to control the on and air-cooled condenser; simultaneously, the air-cooled
off periods of the electromagnetic valve based on the condenser discharges waste heat to the atmosphere
hot water temperature variation sent from the tempera- to maintain the operation efficiency of the air-
ture sensor. In other words, when the temperature sen- conditioning equipment. In this study, the refrigerant
sor detects that the hot water tank temperature is pipe design based on a four-way valve, relevant electro-
relatively low, the refrigerant controller can reduce the magnetic valve, and check valve can achieve the follow-
refrigerant volume through the air-cooled condenser in ing functions and characteristics:
the parallel refrigerant pipe to increase the refrigerant
volume through the plate heat exchanger. When a 1. In summer, the system can provide indoor cool-
relatively high water temperature is needed, an auxiliary ing and simultaneously produce hot water and
electric heater is used for heating. When the store it in a hot water tank.
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
2. In winter, the system can provide indoor heating
and simultaneously produce hot water and store
it in a hot water tank.
3. The parallel heat recovery mode can achieve
high heat recovery efficiency and a rapid
increase in hot water temperature. Even after a
large volume of hot water is consumed and a
large volume of cold water is replenished in the
water tank, rapid heating can be achieved.
4. The heat recovery mode of the most multi-
function air-conditioning products is based on a
series tank heat exchanger and an outdoor unit,
whose heating speed is relatively low. When a
large volume of hot water is consumed and a
large volume of cold water is replenished in the
water tank, the water temperature increase will
be slow.
The equipment specifications of this system are as
follows:
1. Water pump. Output: 0.18 kW, voltage: 220 V,
rated capacity: 9 L/min.
2. Water tank. Rated capacity: 30 L.
3. Indoor unit. Capacity: 2.9 kW, energy consump-
tion: 26 W, size: 800 3 295 3 230.
4. Outdoor unit. Capacity: 1.120 kW, power: AC
220 V 60 Hz, energy consumption: 967 W, refrig-
erant: R-22, size: 770 3 530 3 200.
5. Measurement equipment. Thermocouple type K:
nickel–chromium or nickel–aluminum alloy, tem-
perature range from 2200°C to + 1200°C, mag-
netic, sensitivity of 41 mV/°C, accuracy 6 2.2°C.
The sanitary water heating load, Qw , of the air-
source heat pump system is
Qw = c msw ðTswo  Tswi Þ ð1Þ
where msw is the sanitary water flow rate, c is the spe-
cific heat of water, and Tswo and Tswi are the outlet and
inlet water temperature of plate heat exchanger, respec-
tively. The heating COPh (coefficient of performance)
of the system at any time instant (t) can be defined as
Qw (t)
COPh, t = ð2Þ
W(t)
where Qw (t) is the heat exchange rate in the plate heat
exchanger and W(t) is the power of the compressor;
within an operating period of duration t, the average
COPh is defined as
Ðt
Qh (t)dt
COPh = 0
ð3Þ
Ðt
W(t)dt
0 action under the outdoor heat absorption and hot
Dedicated cooling and heating mode of the
multi-function air conditioner
Figure 2(a) shows the refrigerant circulation diagram
under the dedicated cooling mode. Under the air-
cooled cooling mode, high-temperature and high-
pressure gaseous refrigerant flows into the outdoor
heat exchanger via electromagnetic valve SV2 (solenoid
valve); after heat exchange with the low-temperature
outdoor air, gaseous refrigerant is condensed into
liquid refrigerant, and heat is dissipated via outdoor air
into the outdoor environment. Liquid refrigerant flows
into the expansion valve via the check valve and under-
goes throttle cooling. Then, electromagnetic valve SV4
imports refrigerant to the indoor heat exchanger. After
heat exchange with the indoor air, the refrigerant is
evaporated and turned into gaseous refrigerant; simul-
taneously, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the indoor
air passing by, cools the indoor air and sends low-
temperature air to the air-conditioned indoor environ-
ment. Evaporated liquid refrigerant is sent back to the
compressor for the next circulation and to complete the
cooling function, as shown in Figure 2(a).
Figure 2(b) and Table 1 show the refrigerant circula-
tion diagram and the corresponding electromagnetic
valve action under the dedicated heating mode. Under
this operation mode, four-way valve SV and electro-
magnetic valves SV2 and SV3 are turned on. High-tem-
perature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant enters
the indoor unit heat exchanger via electromagnetic
valve SV2 and four-way valve RV (reverse valve); after
heat exchange with the low-temperature indoor air, the
gaseous refrigerant is condensed to liquid refrigerant,
the indoor air is heated, and the high-temperature air is
sent to the air-conditioned indoor environment. After
heat dissipation, the refrigerant is imported by a check
valve to the expansion valve and undergoes throttle
cooling. Then, electromagnetic valve SV3 imports
refrigerant to the outdoor unit heat exchanger. After
heat exchange with the outdoor air, the refrigerant is
evaporated and turned into gaseous refrigerant; simul-
taneously, the refrigerant absorbs heat from the out-
door air passing by, heats the outdoor air, and cools
down. Then, low-temperature air is sent to the outdoor
environment. After the gaseous refrigerant absorbs
heat, it is sent back to the compressor for the next circu-
lation and to complete the heating function, as shown
in Figure 2(b).
Outdoor heat absorption and hot water production
mode
Figure 3 and Table 1 show the refrigerant circulation
diagram and the corresponding electromagnetic valve
Luo et al. 5

Table 1. Electromagnetic valve action table of multi-function air conditioner.

Function State
RV four-way valve SV1 for plate SV2 for pipe SV3 for SV4 for
heater outdoor pipe indoor pipe

Cooling ON ON
Heating ON ON ON
Hot water (indoor heating) ON ON
Hot water (outdoor heating) ON ON ON
Cooling + hot water T1\TS, ON T1 . TS, ON ON
Heating + hot water ON T1 . TS, D-C ON ON

RV: reverse valve; SV: solenoid valve; T1: hot water tank outflow temperature; TS: hot water tank predefined temperature; D-C: duty control.

water production mode. Under this operation mode,

four-way valve SV and electromagnetic valves SV1 and
SV3 are turned on. High-pressure gaseous refrigerant
vapor from the compressor outlet enters the plate heat
exchanger via electromagnetic valve SV1 and exchanges
heat with the cold water from the water tank. After the
condensed liquid refrigerant enters the expansion valve
and undergoes throttle cooling, it is imported by elec-
tromagnetic valve SV3 to the outdoor heat exchanger
to absorb the outdoor heat, and then, the produced
cold air is sent outdoors. After the gaseous refrigerant
absorbs heat, it is sent via four-way valve RV to the
compressor for the next circulation and to complete the
heat recovery hot water production function, as shown
in Figure 3.

Control logic of hot water production and cooling

multi-function operation
Table 1 and Figure 4(a) and (b) show the refrigerant cir-
culation diagram and the corresponding electromag-
netic valve action under the hot water production and
cooling multi-function operation mode. As shown in
Table 1, when the water temperature measurement of
temperature sensor T1 at the water tank outlet is below
a system predefined outflow temperature, electromag-
netic valves SV1 and SV2 are turned off. As shown in
Figure 4(a), under this operation mode, the water pump
sends water in the water tank to the plate heat exchan-
ger to exchange heat with refrigerant and then returns it
to the water tank. Temperature sensor T1 at the water
tank outlet can send water tank outflow temperature
information back to the PID controller in real-time for
calculation and analysis. When the water tank outflow
temperature is below the predefined water tank tem-
perature TS, electromagnetic valve SV2 is turned off
and electromagnetic valve SV1 is turned on. High-pres-
sure gaseous refrigerant from the compressor outlet
flows into the plate heat exchanger, exchanges heat with
the cold water from the water tank, and is then con-
densed into liquid refrigerant. Next, after expansion
Figure 3. Refrigerant circulation diagram under the outdoor
heat absorption and hot water production mode.
valve expansion cooling, the refrigerant is sent via elec-
tromagnetic valve SV4 to the indoor heat exchanger,
evaporates under low pressure, absorbs thermal energy,
and cools the indoor air. Then, gaseous refrigerant is
sent to the compressor for the next circulation and to
complete the parallel multi-function operation of hot
water production and cooling.
As shown in Table 1, when the temperature sensor
T1 detects that the water tank outflow temperature has
reached a predefined temperature TS, the electromag-
netic valve SV2 is turned on, and the temperature sen-
sor T1 sends a signal back to the PID controller for
calculation and analysis. Electromagnetic valves SV1
and SV2 are used to control the refrigerant volume
through the plate heat exchanger pipe and outdoor heat
exchanger parallel pipe. High-pressure gaseous refriger-
ant from the compressor outlet flows via a three-way
valve into the plate heat exchanger and outdoor heat
exchanger. The on and off periods of electromagnetic
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 4. Refrigerant circulation diagram under the hot water
production and cooling multi-function operation mode: (a)
T1\TS and (b) T1 . TS.
valves SV1 and SV2 and the water tank outflow tem-
perature can be used to control the refrigerant volume
through the plate heat exchanger and outdoor heat
exchanger. Therefore, water tank overheating is pre-
vented and constant temperature hot water production
is achieved. During this process, the indoor cooling will
not be affected. The refrigerant circulation is shown in
Figure 4(b).
Control logic of hot water production and heating
multi-function operation
Table 1, Figure 5(a) and (b) show the refrigerant circu-
lation diagram and corresponding electromagnetic
valve action under the hot water production and
heating multi-function operation mode. As shown in
Figure 5(a), the four-way valve parallel to the compres-
sor can switch the refrigerant circulation to heating
mode. When the water tank outflow temperature is
below the predefined water tank temperature TS, tem-
perature sensor T1 sends a signal back to the PID con-
troller for calculation and analysis. Next, the on and
off periods of electromagnetic valves SV1 and SV2 are
used to control the refrigerant volume through the
plate heat exchanger pipe and indoor heat exchanger
parallel pipe. Therefore, the plate heat exchanger
reclaims heat and water tank overheating is prevented.
Constant temperature hot water is produced while heat
is dissipated to the indoor space via the indoor heat
exchanger to maintain indoor heating.
When temperature sensor T1 detects that the water
tank outflow temperature has reached a predefined
temperature TS, electromagnetic valve SV1 is turned
off and electromagnetic valve SV2 is turned on. High-
pressure gaseous refrigerant from the compressor outlet
flows into the indoor heat exchanger, undergoes expan-
sion valve expansion, exchanges heat via the outdoor
heat exchanger, and flows back to the compressor. This
is the dedicated heating refrigerant circulation mode, as
shown in Figure 5(b).
Results and discussions
Performance of the space cooling mode of the
air-conditioning/heat pump system
Figure 6 shows the indoor unit and outdoor unit outlet
air temperature distribution for the heat pump air con-
ditioner operating at a room temperature of 26°C. At
the initial operation stage, the temperatures measured
by temperature sensors T2 and T3 at the outdoor unit
and indoor unit outlets are both 26°C. After approxi-
mately 5 min of system operation, the outdoor unit out-
let temperature is maintained at approximately
35°C 6 1°C, and the indoor unit outlet temperature is
maintained at approximately 10°C 6 1°C. This opera-
tion test can measure the heat dissipation and cooling
performance of this heat pump air conditioner in pure
air-to-air operation at an environmental temperature of
26°C. The subsequent test will use this operation per-
formance as the basis for comparison and investigation.
Performance analysis for multi-function operation of
hot water production and cooling
Figure 7 shows the indoor unit and outdoor unit outlet
air temperatures and water tank outflow temperature
distribution curve for the air-conditioning/heat pump
(AC/HP) system under the multi-function operation
mode of hot water production and cooling. At the
Luo et al.
Figure 5. Refrigerant circulation diagram under the hot water
production and heating multi-function operation mode: (a)
T1\TS and (b) T1 . TS.
initial stage of system operation, the water tank outflow
initial temperature is approximately 22.7°C. After sys-
tem operation starts, temperature sensors T1, T2, and
T3 are used to measure the hot water tank outflow tem-
perature and the temperatures at the outdoor unit and
indoor unit outlets. The diagram shows the temperature
distribution curve under system operation, and the
water tank outflow temperature distribution curve is at
the top. Because the water tank outflow temperature at
the initial operation stage is 22.7°C, which is below the
system predefined hot water tank water storage tem-
perature of 45°C (TS), after system operation starts,
most of the high-pressure gaseous refrigerant from the
compressor outlet flows through the plate heat exchan-
ger and exchanges heat with the cold water from the
water tank. Therefore, after the heated hot water flows
7
Figure 6. Indoor unit and outdoor unit supply air temperature
distributions for the AC/HP heat pump air conditioner operating
at an environmental temperature of 26°C.
back to the storage tank, the temperature of the water
in the tank rises, and the water tank outflow tempera-
ture also increases with the operation time. In the case
of the outdoor unit air-cooled heat exchanger, because
only a low volume of high-pressure gaseous refrigerant
flows in, the temperature of air flowing through the
outdoor air-cooled heat exchanger is maintained at an
approximately constant level. After 13.75 min of system
operation, the water tank outflow temperature has
reached the predefined temperature of 45°C. At this
moment, the T1 sensor sends the temperature measure-
ment to the PID controller for calculation and analysis.
Electromagnetic valves SV1 and SV2 are used to con-
trol the refrigerant volume through the plate heat
exchanger pipe and the outdoor heat exchanger parallel
pipe. The on and off periods of electromagnetic valves
SV1 and SV2 are used to control the water tank out-
flow temperature, prevent water tank overheating, and
maintain a stable indoor unit air supply temperature.
The diagram shows that after the water tank outflow
temperature has reached 45°C, refrigerant diversion
can maintain the water tank outflow temperature in the
range of 45°C 6 1°C. During this period, because a rel-
atively large proportion of high-pressure gaseous refrig-
erant flows through the indoor heat exchanger, the
indoor unit outlet temperature suddenly increases to
approximately 45°C. However, because this controller
uses on and off periods of electromagnetic valves SV1
and SV2 to control the refrigerant volume through the
plate heat exchanger and the indoor heat exchanger,
respectively, the indoor unit outlet temperature distri-
bution fluctuates during this period. In addition,
because the high-pressure side gaseous refrigerant has a
stable flow distribution, regardless of whether the water
tank outflow temperature is below or above the prede-
fined temperature, the indoor unit heat exchange outlet
temperature is always maintained at a stable level of
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Table 2. Heating capacity and average COPh at different water tank outflow temperature under the hot water production and
cooling mode size.

Water temperature (°C) 25 30 35 40 45

Current (A) 3.73 3.93 4.26 4.66 5.01
Time (s) 75 263 462 653 825
Heating capacity (W) 3864.00 3497.34 3354.55 3338.13 3405.82
Electric power (W) 810.77 855.01 925.97 1015.66 1090.96
COPh 4.766 4.090 3.623 3.287 3.122

1 W = 0.0009478 Btu/s; COP = 1.163 EER.

10°C. In other words, the indoor unit air supply tem-
perature of this system will not be affected by the water
tank temperature and high-pressure side gaseous refrig-
erant diversion control.
Table 2 shows the corresponding system heating
capacity and average heating COPh data at different
water tank outflow temperatures for the AC/HP system
under the hot water production and cooling multi-
function operation mode. The table shows that when
the water tank outflow temperature is relatively low,
the high-pressure side refrigerant has relatively low
pressure; therefore, the compressor also consumes a rel-
atively low level of electric current and electric power.
However, at this moment, the water tank outflow tem-
perature is relatively low and the high-pressure side
refrigerant condensation heat can easily be carried away
by circulating water. Therefore, the system momentary
heating capacity is also relatively high. When the water
tank outflow temperature is at 25°C, the average system
COPh can reach 4.766. With the gradual rise in water
tank outflow temperature, the compressor also con-
sumes an increasing level of electric current and electric
power. However, at this moment, because the water
tank outflow temperature increases, it is more difficult
for the high-pressure side refrigerant condensation heat
to be carried away by circulating water; therefore, the
system momentary heating capacity also gradually
decreases. After 825 s of heating, the water tank outflow
temperature reaches 45°C and the system average
COPh at that moment drops to 3.122.
can reach as high as 80°C. However, because the hot
water temperature is 55°C, the pressure at the high-
pressure side of the gaseous refrigerant from the com-
pressor outlet is already 24 kg/cm2 (gauge pressure). To
ensure long-term operation of the machine, the hot
water temperature is set to 45°C. Because this tempera-
ture is higher than comfortable bathing temperature,
there is no need to further increase this number. Future
applications in larger equipment may set this value dif-
ferently according to the application requirements.
Performance analysis for different hot water supply
loads under the hot water production and cooling
operation mode
Figure 9 shows the water tank outflow temperature dis-
tribution curve of the AC/HP system with different hot
water supply loads under the hot water production and
cooling operation mode. After the water tank hot water
temperature has reached 45°C, it is assumed that
normal bathing takes 10 min. During these 10 min, a
certain volume of hot water is supplied and an identi-
cal volume of 22.7°C cold water is replenished.
Simultaneously, the system maintains its operation.
The outflow temperature variation curve is obtained
via a temperature sensor at the water tank outlet. The

Operation mode of outdoor heat absorption and hot

water production
Figure 8 shows the indoor unit outlet air temperature
and water tank outflow temperature distribution curve
of the AC/HP system under the hot water production
and cooling operation mode. This system operates at
an environmental temperature of 26°C. At the initial
stage of system operation, the water tank outflow initial
temperature is approximately 23°C. After approxi-
mately 15 min of system operation, the hot water tem-
perature can reach a predefined temperature of 45°C; Figure 7. Supply air temperature distribution of indoor unit,
after 44 min of operation, the hot water temperature outdoor unit, and outflow temperature of water tank.
Luo et al. 9

Figure 10. AC/HP operation systems under heating mode at

Figure 8. Supply air temperature distribution of indoor unit room temperature of 23.7°C.
and outflow temperature of water tank under the hot water
production and cooling operation mode.

Figure 11. Temperature distribution of indoor, outdoor unit

outlet air temperatures and water tank outflow temperature
when the AC/HP system under the hot water production and
Figure 9. Temperature water tank outflow distribution of AC/
heating multi-function operation mode.
HP systems with different hot water supply loads under the hot
water production and cooling operation mode.

room temperature of 23.7°C. The heating system stabi-

lizes within 5 min of operation. In the diagram, the
diagram shows that when the water tank outflow is
curve at the top shows that the indoor unit outlet tem-
above 4.5 L/min, the water tank outflow temperature
perature is maintained at a constant level of
gradually decreases over time. After 10 min of system
50°C 6 1°C, which reflects the heating performance of
operation, the water tank outflow temperature is
the original air conditioner. Subsequent tests use this
below 30°C.
diagram as the basis for comparison and investigation.
When not used in tandem with a water heater, the
Figure 11 shows the indoor unit and outdoor unit
hot water outflow for 10 min of bathing can only be
outlet air temperatures and water tank outflow tem-
maintained at 3 L/min; at 2.57 L/min, the temperature
perature distribution curve of the AC/HP system under
drop curve is the gentlest. However, heat recovery aims
the hot water production and heating multi-function
to warm up water, offload the large amount of energy
operation mode. This system operates under an out-
consumed by an electric water heater to heat water
door environment temperature of 26°C. At the initial
from room temperature to the intended range, and
stage of system operation, the water tank outflow initial
reduce the heating period of an electric water heater.
temperature is approximately 22.7°C. After system
operation starts, temperature sensors T1, T2, and T3
are used to measure the hot water tank outflow tem-
Performance analysis for multi-function operation of
perature and the temperatures at the outdoor unit and
hot water production and heating indoor unit outlets. Because the water tank outflow
Figure 10 shows the operation curve of an AC/HP temperature at the initial operation stage is 22.7°C,
under heating mode when the AC/HP operates at a which is below the system predefined hot water tank
10
Table 3. System heating capacity and average heating COPh data at different water tank outflow temperatures.
Water temperature (°C) 25
Current (A) 3.44
Time (s) 160
Heating capacity (W) 2598.75
Electric power (W) 750.77
COPh 3.461
1 W = 0.0009478 Btu/s, COP = 1.163 EER.
Figure 12. Temperature distribution of various hot water
supply loads for the AC/HP system under the hot water
production and heating operation mode.
water storage temperature of 45°C (TS), after system
operation starts, part of the high-pressure gaseous
refrigerant from the compressor outlet flows through
the plate heat exchanger and exchanges heat with the
cold water from the water tank. Therefore, the heated
hot water flows back to the storage tank, the water
temperature in the tank rises, and the water tank out-
flow temperature also increases with operation time.
Because only part of the high-pressure gaseous refriger-
ant flows in, the temperature of the indoor air back
from the heat exchanger increases to 35°C after 1 min
of system operation. After that, with the increase in the
water tank outflow temperature, the temperature of the
refrigerant flowing into the indoor unit heat exchanger
increases proportionally. Furthermore, the air tempera-
ture from the indoor unit gradually increases with
increasing refrigerant volume. After 33 min of system
operation, because the water tank outflow temperature
has reached the predefined temperature of 45°C, the T1
sensor sends temperature information to the PID con-
troller for calculation and analysis. Then, electromag-
netic valves SV1 and SV2 are used to control the
refrigerant volume through the plate heat exchanger
pipe and outdoor heat exchanger parallel pipe. High-
pressure gaseous refrigerant from the compressor outlet
flows into the plate heat exchanger and outdoor heat
exchanger via a three-way valve. The on and off periods
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
30 35 40 45
4.1 4.51 4.86 5.22
580 1080 1680 2140
1803.10 1551.67 1372.50 1371.87
894.01 982.96 1059.72 1135.66
2.017 1.579 1.295 1.208
of electromagnetic valves SV1 and SV2 and the water
tank outflow temperature are used to control the refrig-
erant volume through the plate heat exchanger and out-
door heat exchanger, to prevent the water tank from
overheating and to maintain a stable indoor unit air
supply temperature. The diagram shows that after the
system refrigerant is diverted, the water tank outflow
temperature can be maintained at 45°C 6 1°C.
Because a relatively large proportion of high-pressure
gaseous refrigerant flows through the outdoor air-
cooled heat exchanger, the outdoor unit outlet tempera-
ture increases to approximately 28°C. However,
because this controller uses on and off periods of elec-
tromagnetic valves SV1 and SV2 to control the refriger-
ant volume through the plate heat exchanger and
air-cooled heat exchanger, the outdoor unit outlet tem-
perature distribution fluctuates during this period. In
addition, because the high-pressure side gaseous refrig-
erant has a stable flow distribution, regardless of
whether the water tank outflow temperature is below
or above the predefined temperature, the outdoor unit
heat exchanger outlet temperature always stabilizes at
22°C. In other words, the indoor unit air supply tem-
perature of this system will not be affected by the water
tank water temperature or the high-pressure side gas-
eous refrigerant diversion control. Under the hot water
production and cooling operation mode, it takes
approximately 35.67 min for the water tank outflow
temperature to increase from 22.7°C to 45°C. However,
under the hot water production and heating operation
mode, because the heat acquired from the outdoor unit
air heat source is supplied simultaneously to heating
the circulating water in the water tank and indoor heat-
ing, it takes approximately 33 min for the water tank
outflow temperature to increase from 22.7°C to 45°C.
Table 3 shows the corresponding system heating
capacity and average heating COPh data at different
water tank outflow temperatures for the AC/HP
system under the hot water production and heating
multi-function operation mode. The table shows that
when the water tank outflow temperature is relatively
low, the high-pressure side refrigerant has relatively low
pressure and the compressor consumes a relatively
low level of electric power. At this moment, because the
water tank outflow temperature is relatively low, the
Luo et al. 11

Table 4. System heating capacity and average heating COPh data at different water tank outflow temperatures when the water
stored in the water tank is electrically heated from 22.7°C to 60°C.

Water temperature (°C) 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

Voltage (V) 221.5 222 221.9 221.6 221 222.5 222.4
Current (A) 26.38 26.32 26.38 26.42 26.39 26.4 26.43
Time (s) 254 390 530 671 821 981 1154
Heating capacity (W) 4662.99 4652.31 4612.08 4581.82 4512.06 4418.35 4301.91
Electric power (W) 5843.17 5843.04 5853.72 5854.67 5832.19 5874.00 5878.03
COPh 0.798 0.796 0.788 0.783 0.774 0.752 0.732

1 W = 0.0009478 Btu/s, COP = 1.163 EER.

high-pressure side refrigerant condensation heat can be
easily carried away by the circulating water, and the
system momentary heating capacity is relatively high.
When the water tank outflow temperature is 25°C, the
system average COPh can reach 3.461. Compared to
the system under the hot water production and cooling
multi-function operation mode in Table 2, in the hot
water production and heating operation mode, the heat
acquired from the outdoor unit air heat source is simul-
taneously supplied to heat the circulating water in the
water tank and indoor heating; therefore, the water
heating capacity by comparison is relatively low.
Similarly, with the gradual increase in the water tank
outflow temperature, the compressor consumes an
increasing level of electric current and electric power;
the system momentary heating capacity decreases gra-
dually. After 35.67 min of heating, the water tank out-
flow temperature reaches 45°C, and the system average
COPh at that moment drops to 1.208.
the indoor outlet, the cooling of each flow is accelerated.
However, heat recovery warms up the water, offloads
the large amount of energy consumed by an electric
water heater to heat water from room temperature to
the intended range, and reduces the heating period of an
electric water heater.
Table 4 shows the corresponding system heating
capacity and average heating COPh data at different
water tank outflow temperatures when the water stored
in the water tank is electrically heated from 22.7°C to
60°C. The table shows that, regardless of the water tem-
perature in the water tank, the electric current, electric
power, and heating capacity are all fairly stable, while the
system average operation COPh only slightly decreases.
Compared to the operation modes in Tables 2 and 3,
under the hot water production and cooling or heating
operation mode, in the temperature range of hot water
for domestic use, this system has higher operation effi-
ciency than the conventional electric heating method.

Performance analysis of various hot water supply

loads under the hot water production and heating
multi-function operation mode
Figure 12 shows water tank outflow temperature distri-
bution curves of various hot water supply loads for the
AC/HP system under the hot water production and
heating operation mode. After the water tank hot water
temperature has reached 45°C, a constant supply of hot
water is provided in 10 min and an identical flow of
22.7°C cold water is replenished; simultaneously, the
system maintains its operation, and the outflow tem-
perature variation curve is obtained from the tempera-
ture sensor at the water tank outlet. The diagram shows
that when the water tank outflow is above 6 L/min, the
water tank outflow temperature gradually decreases
over time. After 10 min of system operation, the water
tank outflow temperature is below 30°C.
When not used in tandem with a water heater, the
hot water outflow for 10 min of bathing can only be
maintained at 3 L/min, and the water tank outflow tem-
perature can be maintained above 40°C; at 2.3 L/min,
the temperature decrease curve is the gentlest. Under
the heating mode, because half of the heat is supplied to
Conclusion
In this study, a multi-function AC/HP air conditioner is
developed based on a parallel refrigerant pipe design
and a duty control refrigerant flow control method.
The parallel refrigerant pipe design can improve the
condensation heat recovery efficiency of the high-
pressure side refrigerant. When the water tank outlet
temperature is set to 45°C, tests show that this system
can complete water heating within 15 min, which
reduces both water heater power consumption and the
heating period. The refrigerant flow is regulated accord-
ing to the load so that when the system is simultane-
ously providing hot water, cooling and heating, the
cooling and heating temperatures, and the system
operational performance will not be affected by varia-
tions in the water tank outlet temperature, and the air
temperature can be maintained at a stable level.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
12
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support
for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article:
This study was financially supported by the Ministry of Science
and Technology of Taiwan under grant Nos. MOST 103-2622-
E-167-019-CC3 and MOST 104-2221-E-167-026-MY2.
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Appendix 1
Notation
c specific heat
m flow rate
Q heat load
T temperature
W compressor power
Subscripts
h heating
sw sanitary water
swi inlet water temperature of plate heat
exchanger
swo outlet water temperature of plate heat
exchanger