ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,704,328, issued on Aug. 11, was assigned to TRANE INTERNATIONAL INC. (Davidson, N.C.).
"Cold climate heat pump system with energy storage" was invented by Lee R. Cline (West Salem, Wis.), Richard M. Heiden (Holman, Wis.) and Brian J. Fiegen (La Crosse, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A heat pump system for a building can include thermal energy storage tanks, a first air source heat pump for providing energy to the system, a second air source heat pump for providing energy to the system under cold climate conditions, and an additional heat source for supporting defrost operations and/or to provide energy under extreme cold conditions....