CA1169321A

CA1169321A - Heating installation

Info

Publication number: CA1169321A
Application number: CA000349587A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Carl-John Gravare
Original assignee: GRAVARE CARL JOHN
Current assignee: GRAVARE CARL JOHN
Priority date: 1979-04-18
Filing date: 1980-04-10
Publication date: 1984-06-19
Also published as: SE7903379L; GB2049921B; SE416672B; GB2049921A; NL8002192A

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A heating installation comprising a storage unit in which is stored surplus heat obtained from a number of solar panels. The heat storage unit consists of a number of hollow piles driven into the ground underneath a building. Water heated by the solar panels flow axially through said hollow piles, thus transferring the heat to the piles and to the ground surrounding the latter. When required, the stored heat can be returned to the water and recovered, preferably with the aid of a heat exchanger.

Description

~ 1 6!33~ 1 BACKGROUND 0~ THE INVEN~ION
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Surplus heat generated by solar panels during the summer months is usually stored in storage units below ground to allow -the stored heat to be used during the winter months. Previously, hollow bodies, e.g. special steel tubes, driven into the ground and heated with hot water from the solar panels were used as heat storage units. After having given off its heat to the tubes and the surrounding ground, the 10 water - the return water -- was led back to the solar panels to be re-heated. Heat-storage units of this kind are very expensive, both because of the high purchase price of steel tubes and because the tubes have to be driven into the ground.
SUMMAR~ OF THE INVENTION
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~ he subject invention is based on the idea of storing surplus heat in the grouhd bu-t the problems involved are solved at considerably lower cos-ts in that the above mentioned hollow bodies, e.g.
~ concrete piles, are used as ground reinforcement undern`eath buildings, A hollow pile of this kind is closed at one of its ends (bottom) a~d a pipe is inserted therein so as to extend axially in the interior of the pile with some lateral clearance and so as to terminate a distance above the pile bottom3 said pipe . -- 1 --~ ,.

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carrying hot water from the solar panels. Since i t i5 neces~ary, when the ~round does not possess sufficien-t supporting capacity~to ram the concrete piles into the ground to reinforce the latter, thus allowing it to support the buildings, no extra costs arise to install the heat~storage unit, only costs for drawing the pipes carrying the water to and fro~ the solar panels and for the installation and provision of such heat exchangers and circulation purnps as might be necessary in the pipes. The total costs of the installation in accordance with the invention thus are considerably lower than comparable costs of prior-art installations.
BRIEF D~SCRIP~ION OF ~HE DRAWINGS
~he invention will be described in closer detail in the following with reference to the accornpanying,~partly diagrarnmatical drawings, wherein ~lg. 1 is a plan view of the ground underneath ; -the foundation of a building, showing also concrete piles driven into the gxound, Fig. 2 illustrates on an enlarged scale a longitudlnal section through one of the piles housing ; therein a hot-water dellvery pipe, and ~ ig. 3 is a coupling diagra~ relating to a heating installation in accordance with -the invention.

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D~AI~D ~ESCRIP~IO _OF A PR~F~RRED_EMBODIMEN~
~ ig. 1 illustrates the manner in which the ground 1 undernea-th a building foundation is reln-forced by a number of hollow concrete piles 2 which have been driven into the ground.
~ ig. 2 illustrates on an enlarged scale a longitudinal section through such a pile 2. ~he latter could comprise two or several pile sections

2', 2" arranged end-to-end and interconnected by a joint 3. The lowermost pile section 2' is provided at its lower end with a pile shoe 4. In accordance with the embodiment illustrated the pile sections 2', 2" are equipped with a casing pipe 5. A rubber or plastics hose 6, prePerably heat-insulated and provided at its lower end with a nozzle 7 is inserted axially into the pile 2. The nozzle 7,tapers conically down-wards so as to ensure that the hose may be easily lnserted into the pile 2 f'rom above without hitting the joints 3 or being blocked thereby. At its upper end the hose 6 passes through a casing 8 which is joined in a watertight manner to the casing pipe 5 at the upper end o~ the latter and which merges into a pipe 9. The hose 6 should pass through the casing 8 in a watertight manner. Seals ? preferably O-ring gaskets (not shown),should be provided in the joints

3 ~ 1 as well as between the pile shoe 4 and the casing pipe 5 in order to ensure ~atertight connections, As appears from the coupling diagram illustrated in ~ig, 3, the pipe 9 is connected to the lower portion of solar panels 10, ~ositioned e.g. on the roof of the building. At their upper portion the solar panels are connected to a second pipe 11 which passes through a heat-exchanger equip-ment 12 and is coupled to the hose 6 via a pipe 13.
10 A circulation pump 14 is inserted in the pipe 13. The pipe 9 i9 connected to the pipe 13 via a pipe 15, in which pipe is provided a cut-off valve 16. Also in the pipe 9, between the pile 2 and the pipe 15, is provided a cut-off valve 17. A thLrd cu-t-off valve 19 is provided in a pipe 18 between the pipes 9 and 11 and a fourth cut-off valve 20 is provided in the pipe 9 between the pipe 18 and the solar panels.
~; A storage water heater 21 is connected to the heat exchanger 12 as well as to a boiler 22, the ~ 20 latter being intended to heat a number of radiators ; 23 in the~bullding.
AlI piles 2 are coupled in parallel with the solar panels 10 and are filIed with water or other suitable heat-conducting mediurn, so as to give a .
closed system.

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When surplus heat, obtained during hot summer days, is to be stored in the heat storage 1, the valves 16 and 1g are closed whereas the valves 17 and 20 are opened. Hot wa-ter, heated by the solar panels 10, is then allowed to flow - or ls conducted by means of the circulation pump 14 - from the solar panels through the heat exchanger 12 and down through the hoses 6 to the lower end of the piles 2, and to return along the casing pipes 5, thus heating the 10 latter, via the pipe 9 and back to the solar panels 10 where it is re-heated. ~he heat absorbed by the casing pipes 5 is -transferred via the concrete in the piles 2 to the ground surrounding the latter, which means that the temperature of the entire ground 1 15 (Fig. 1) underneatch the building rises.
The heat thus stored can then be used during the cold weather periods. To recover the hea-t thus stored, the valves 16 and 20 are closed whereas the valves 17 and l9 are kept open. Water is then forced 20 by the pump 14 down through the hose 6 and the ascending ; flow of water is heated by the casing pipe 5. When the flow of water thus heated passes through the heat exchanger 12 heat is emitted to the latter and this heat may be used by the consumers, i.e. the storage 25 water heater 21 and the radiators 23.
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~ - 5 -3 ~ 1 When it is desired to supply the consumers with heat s-traight from the ~olar panels 10, that is, without first storing the heat in the ground 1, the valves 17 and 19 are closed and the valves 16 and 20 are kept open. In this case, water heated in the solar panels 10 is forced by the pump 14 to flow only through the heat exchanger 12.
Other pipe and conduit systerns than the one illustrated in ~ig. 3 are possible. ~he invention is not either limited to pile structures of the type shown and illustrated. Concretè piles without casing pipes 5 could be used. ~he invention is not either limited to application in piles of concrete but also steel tubes intended for the same purpose, i.e. for ground reinforcement, could be used in connection with the subject invention.

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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A heating installation for buildings and comprising solar panels which by means of delivery and return pipes are connected to a heat storage unit of the installation, said unit consisting of hollow bodies inserted in the ground and heated by hot water or like medium from the solar panels, characterized in that the hollow bodies are in the form of hollow concrete piles serving to reinforce the ground underneath the building, said hollow concrete piles being closed at their bottom end, a pipe carrying heated water being inserted in each pile 80 as to extend axially therein with some lateral clearance and so as to terminate some distance above said closed pile bottom.

2. A heating installation as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that in one of the pipes leading to or from the heat storage unit is inserted a heat exchanger from which a heat-transfer medium of a higher temperature is conducted to the consumer.

3. A heating installation as claimed in claim 2 in which the heat exchanger is a radiator in the building.

4. A heating installation as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the central pipe in each hollow pipe is a hose of plastics material, said hose being equipped at its lower end with a nozzle having a conically tapering lower end.