Experimental study on small residential VRV air conditioning system with thermal storage

A experimental residential thermal-storage air conditioning system has been developed. The system combines VRV technology and ice-storage technology using direct evaporation of the refrigerant inside ice coil. During the ice charging, the coil in the chilled water storage tank is used as the evaporator, moreover the ice layer is gradually formed outside the coil and charges cold capacity. During the ice discharging, the coil is used as sub-cooler afterwards the condenser to enhance the sub-cooling degree of refrigerant. So the refrigeration capacity and COP of the system during ice discharging can be improved. In the heating period the system can also operate well to heat and store heat. Experiments have been conducted and operational characteristics of ice charging and discharging are analyzed.