Patent ID: 9482222
Filing Date: 2016-11-01
CPC Classification: F04B,F25B,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A system for heating a compressor assembly of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the system comprising: a heat source comprising a first heater and a second heater; wherein the heat source is configured to operationally connect to a compressor assembly comprising one or more compressor units of the HVAC system, wherein the heat source is configured to transfer thermal energy to the one or more compressor units; a controller operationally connected to the heat source, wherein the controller is configured to vary the thermal energy transferred to the one or more compressor units of the compressor assembly between at least two substantially non-zero rates of transfer of thermal energy in at least a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation of the HVAC system; wherein the first mode of operation comprises transferring heat, by the first heater and the second heater, to a first compressor unit and a second compressor unit, respectively, at a first setting, and wherein the first setting comprises a non-zero first rate of transfer of thermal energy configured to place the first compressor unit and the second compressor unit in a ready-to-operate configuration within a first period of time; wherein, in the first mode of operation, the controller is configured to increase power output of the first and second heaters by operating the first and second heaters in parallel; wherein the second mode of operation comprises transferring heat, by the first heater and the second heater, to the first compressor unit and the second compressor unit, respectively, at a second setting, and wherein the second setting comprises a non-zero second rate of transfer of thermal energy configured to maintain the first compressor unit and the second compressor unit in the ready-to-operate configuration; wherein, in the second mode of operation, the controller is configured to decrease power output of the first and second heaters by operating the first and second heaters in series; wherein the controller: