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Chapter 1. Optimal Performance in Residential Air Conditioning Systems
In 2006 Danfoss engineers set themselves a task that today has revolutionized expansion technology. Designed to eliminate maldistribution in evaporator circuits, the innovative EcoFlow™ plays a central part in increasing system COP and reducing energy consumption in both heat pumps and A/C systems.
Testing in our own labs revealed that simply by installing an EcoFlow™ to an air conditioning unit, the capacity of the evaporator increased by as much as 20%, a figure that was confirmed in independent field tests by OEM customers. In the U.S. the performance increase raised the SEER rating of EcoFlow™-fitted A/C systems by one point, providing owners with the possibilty to reduce their energy consumption significantly.
Chapter 2. How EcoFlow™ Works
Using advanced algorithms, the EcoFlow™ system continuously monitors and optimises the performance of the evaporator. The data enables the EcoFlow to create a hypothesis about the refrigerant flow in the individual circuits and then distribute the exact amount of refrigerant necessary to each circuit.
By distributing refrigerant dynamically to each circuit, the system ensures that the entire evaporator area is fully utilized, making it possible for manufacturers to reduce the size of the evaporator and save costs on materials.
Chapter 3. Future Potential in Heat Pumps
Danfoss is currently developing an EcoFlow™ solution for heat pumps, where the system’s dynamic distribution enables defrost on-the-fly. We have called the method Silent Defrost, which works by stopping the refrigerant flow to each circuit one at a time. This causes the temperature to rise, melting any buildup of ice. The remaining circuits remain in function. This method has proven far more efficient the the commonly used process, where the refrigerant flow in all circuits is reversed at the same time.
Chapter 4. Tomorrow's Technology is Available Today
Although they have improved considerably through the years, both mechanical and electronic expansion valves and distributors still do not provide the optimal mass flow to each circuit.
By integrating the valve, driver, distributor, cables and pressure/temperature sensor in a single EcoFlow™ unit, it is now possible to build air conditioning systems and heat pumps that offer unparallelled performance and energy efficiency.
