Patent ID: 8286445

Claim:
A water-cooled air conditioning system comprising: an air conditioner to condition the air in an indoor space; a plurality of panels defining an appearance of the air conditioner; a dividing plate dividing an internal space formed by the plurality of panels into two spaces; a heat exchanger installed in one of the two spaces, for heat exchange between indoor air and refrigerant; a plate type heat exchanger installed in the other of the two spaces for heat exchange between water cooled in a cooling tower and the refrigerant, the plate type heat exchanger formed with a plurality of thin plates separated from one another by predetermined gaps that form spaces through which refrigerant and water flow, wherein the water flows through the plate type heat exchanger and the cooling tower when the air conditioner operates, and wherein the water does not flow through the plate type heat exchanger and the cooling tower when the air conditioner does not operate; a plurality of compressors to compress the refrigerant, wherein the plurality of compressors include: a constant speed compressor that operates with a constant speed; and an inverter compressor that operates with a variable speed, wherein the inverter compressor operates and the constant speed compressor does not operate when a load capacity is relatively low, and wherein the constant speed compressor and the inverter compressor operate together when the load capacity increases; a supply pipe connecting the cooling tower to the air conditioner and guiding water from the cooling tower to the air conditioner; and a recovery pipe connecting the air conditioner to the cooling tower and guiding water from the air conditioner to the cooling tower, the recovery pipe including at least one branch pipe extending from the recovery pipe into the air conditioner and a valve provided at the at least one branch pipe, wherein the valve is closed such that water in the air conditioner does not flow into the recovery pipe through the valve when the air conditioner does not operate.