Patent ID: 8733429

Claim:
A system comprising: at least one heat pump including a source side and a load side, the heat pump being configured to move heat between the source side and the load side; at least one heat exchanger coupled to the source side of the at least one heat pump, for providing a working fluid to the source side of the heat pump; a heating energy storage system coupled to at least the source side of the at least one heat pump, the heating energy storage system configured to provide heat for tempering the working fluid passing into an input to the source side of the heat pump; and a delivery system coupled to the load side of the at least one heat pump; and a solar heating system coupled to the source side of the at least one heat pump to provide heat for tempering the working fluid passing into the input to the source side of the heat pump and coupled to the load side of the at least one heat pump to provide heat for tempering a working fluid passing into an input to the load side of the at least one heat pump in a hybrid heating/cooling mode, and wherein the solar heating system is coupled to the delivery system to provide heat directly to the delivery system such that solar heated working fluid passes directly into the delivery system in a direct solar heating mode, and wherein the solar heating system is configured to pass the solar heated working fluid directly into the delivery system in the direct solar heating mode when a temperature of stored solar heat reaches a predetermined level.