A motor of a compressor is usually controlled by an inverter and a microcomputer. If the rotational speed of the motor is decreased, a refrigeration cycle apparatus in which the compressor is used can be operated with a power sufficiently lower than a rated value. In addition, Patent Literature 1 provides a technique for operating a refrigeration cycle apparatus with such a low power as cannot be realized by inverter control.
FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner described in Patent Literature 1. A refrigeration cycle is constituted by a compressor 715, a four-way valve 717, an indoor heat exchanger 718, a pressure reducing device 719, and an outdoor heat exchanger 720. A cylinder of the compressor 715 is provided with an intermediate discharge port that opens from the start of a compression process to some point in the process. The intermediate discharge port is connected to a suction path of the compressor 715 via a bypass path 723. The bypass path 723 is provided with a flow rate control device 721 and a solenoid on-off valve 722. The solenoid on-off valve 722 is opened only in operation performed at a low set frequency. This allows operation to be performed with a lower power.