OPERATION METHOD FOR AIR CONDITIONER AND AIR CONDITIONER

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner and an operation method for the air conditioner, smoothly circulating a refrigerant in starting. SOLUTION: A primary system refrigerant cycle 11 is provided with a compressor 14 for compressing the refrigerant and circulating the same and a four-way valve for switching the direction of a refrigerant flow between a heating cycle and a cooling cycle, and a secondary system refrigerating cycle 12 is provided with a supercritical pump 22 for circulating the refrigerant. Before the start of air conditioning, with the supercritical pump 22 stopped, and with the primary system refrigerating cycle 11 switched to the cooling cycle direction, the compressor 14 is driven to cause the cooled refrigerant to flow to the primary system refrigerant cycle side of the inter-refrigerant heat exchanger 25, thereby preparation operation for condensing the refrigerant in the secondary system refrigerating cycle 12 of the inter-refrigerant heat exchanger 25 to make a liquid refrigerant, and subsequently starting the supercritical pump 22 to start air conditioning. COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT