20110030404 | HEAT PUMP WITH INTGERAL SOLAR COLLECTOR - The present invention generally relates to heat pumps that utilize at least one thermal source operating with the same working fluids. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a hybrid solar heat pump comprised of at least one microchannel heat exchanger with integral solar absorber, at least one compression (i.e., mass flow regulator) device as the heat pump for concurrent compression to a higher pressure and mass flow regulator of the working fluid, and at least one working fluid accumulator with the entire system operating with the same working fluid. The present invention also generally relates to heat pump systems that utilize an inventory management system to provide both efficient and safe operation under a wide range of operating conditions. | 02-10-2011 |