GB2096302A

GB2096302A - Heating system for a building

Info

Publication number: GB2096302A
Application number: GB8201674A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-01-23
Filing date: 1982-01-21
Publication date: 1982-10-13
Also published as: EP0058001A1

Description

1

GB 2 096 302 A 1

SPECIFICATION

Heating system for a building

This invention relates to a heating system for a building, for example a domestic dwelling house, 5 which operates by heat exchange with the hot gaseous combination products of a primary heat source.

According to the present invention there is provided a heating system for a building, 10 comprising a primary heat source operating by combustion of fuel, a flue of good thermally conductive material for carrying the hot gaseous products of combustion through the building to the exterior thereof for emission into the 15 atmosphere, at least one thermally insulated jacket surrounding the flue over the greater part of its length within the building, means for forcing relatively cool fluid to flow along the at least one jacket for heating by thermal conduction from the 20 hot flue gases via the thermally conductive flue, and means for ducting the fluid thus heated to rooms in the building.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to 25 the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figs. 1 to 3 are perspective, side and front views respectively of a heater/chimney unit which may form the lower portion of a system according to the invention,

30 Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the uppor portion of a system according to the invention which connects to the unit of figs. 1 to 3,

Fig. 5 is a simplified view of the unit of figure 1 showing precast concrete blocks for insulation, 35 Fig. 6 is a side view of a primary heat source comprising a combination of a solid fuel cooker and a solid fuel open fire,

Figures 7 and 8 are schematic front and side views respectively of the above system applied to 40 a two-storey house.

Figure 9 is a schematic front view of a bungalow incorporating a system as above, and

Figure 10 is a more detailed schematic view of a bungalow heating system.

45 Figures 1 to 3 illustrate a stainless steel heater/chimney unit 10 may form the lower portion of a system according to the invention for use in a house or other building. The unit 10 comprises a stainless steel flue 11 having a 50 funnel-shaped lower end 12 which communicates with a generally rectangular opening 13 for accommodating a solid fuel open fire (primary heat source). The opening 13 has a tubular metal grate 14 and stainless steel back and sides 15 and 55 16 respectively for containing the solid fuel. The flue 11 is surrounded by a slender rectangular stainless jacket 17 which also extends down the rear and sides of the opening 13. The back 15 of the opening 13 may accommodate a back boiler 60 for hot water supply.

Relatively cool air is drawn from within the building by a fan 21 through ducting 18 into the space between the jacket 17 and flue 11, the air being directed to the lower end of the unit by an

65 internal pipe 19 with two or more nozzles 20. The air then rises up around the flue 11 and is heated, by thermal conduction through the wall of the metal flue 11, from the hot flue gases resulting from the solid fuel fire in the grate 14. The heated 70 air is then directed through one or more ducts 22 to various rooms of the house or other building to be heated.

Higher efficiency is gained through the use of heating tubes 23 and draft flues 24 at the sides 75 and rear of the opening 13, and hollow metal fins 25 set in the sides of the flue 11 provide extra heating surface area. Baffles 26 are provided to direct the rising air around the outer surface of the flue 11. A valve (not shown) is fitted to either the 80 front or side of the unit through which hot air is pumped. This allows for extra heat to be provided in the room containing the unit. The hollow metal tubular grate 14 can transfer heat either independently or coupled with the above system. 85 The flue 11 extends throughout the height of the building to the roof, not necessarily vertically, for emission of the flue gases into the atmosphere via a chimney stack. Within the body of the building the greater part and preferably 90 substantially all of the length of the stainless steel flue 11 is surrounded by one or more further stainless steel jackets 27 as shown in figure 4. Each such jacket 27 has an input duct 28 for relatively cool air and one or more output ducts 29 95 for the heated air which is led to further rooms to be heated. The flow of air through the jacket 2 7 is effected by a fan 30. Baffles 31 force the air to flow near the outer surface of the flue 11 so as to - improve heat transfer efficiency.

100 A single input fan 21 or 30 may be used to supply cool air to several jackets 27 and/or 17, and the cool air is preferably drawn from the coolest part of the building such as the attic. The fan or fans 21 and/or 30 may be thermostatically 105 controlled in known manner so that when the temperature at a given location in the room or rooms fed by that fan reaches a predetermined temperature the fan is switched off. The stainless steel jackets 17 and 27 are thermally insulated so 110 as to reduce the loss of heat through the walls of the jackets. Such insulation may be provided in part by the materials used in the building, for example by precast concrete blocks 32 (figure 5) surrounding the jacket 17 and flue 11, and in part 115 by separate lagging material wrapped around the jackets 27 in known manner.

Although several separate jackets 17 and 27 have been described above each with their own input and output for cool and hot air respectively, 120 it is clear that a single multi-section jacket 17/27 could extend substantially all the way from the opening 13 to the chimney stack and have one or more cool air input ducts and a plurality of hot air output ducts to various rooms of the building. 125 Clearly, the flow of heated air along each duct 22 and 29 may further be controlled by an adjustable valve or flap in each room which controls the rate of flow of heated air into the room.

Furthermore, it is possible to use water or

2

GB 2 096 302 A 2

another liquid as the heat exchange medium rather than air as described above, and in such a case the heated medium would be supplied to room radiators via the ducts 22 and 29. Also, the 5 primary heat source may include a gas fire or solid fuel cooker each having its own flue which merges into the main flue 11. This is shown in figure 6 where the contribution to the main flue 11 is derived from a solid fuel fire in a lounge 32 and a 10 solid fuel cooker 33 in a kitchen 34.

Figures 7 and 8 show, in schematic front and side views respectively, the application of the above technique for heating a typical two-storey house with attic. In this case a continuous jacket 15 17/27 surrounds the flue 11 all the way from the opening 13 to the chimney stack 35, the jacket insulation being shown at 36. Air is drawn into the jacket by a thermostatically-controlled fan 30 from the attic 37, and passes downwardly to floor-20 level output ducts 38 in the first floor rooms 39 and floor level output ducts 40 in the ground floor rooms 41. Although there are no hot air output ducts in the attic portion of the jacket 27, the warm air circulating up in this portion of the jacket 25 will contribute to the eventual heat transfer to the underlying rooms of the house. Clearly, the jacket 27 is blocked-off at the chimney stack 35 to prevent the loss of hot air to the atmosphere. In this embodiment the internal pipe 19 is absent as 30 the air is not intended to rise in the jacket 17.

Figure 9 illustrates schematically how the above technique may be adapted to a bungalow. In this case cool air is once again drawn into a continuous jacket 17/27 surrounding the flue 11 35 by a thermostatically-controlled fan 30 in the attic 37, and is supplied to the lower end of the jacket 17 through the pipe 19 (figure 1). From there some of the hot air is ducted at 42 to the immediately adjacent rooms and the remainder 40 passes up through the jacket 17 to one or more overhead ducts 43 which supply more remote rooms. The duct(s) 43 branch or turn downwardly to supply respective rooms at floor level. The unit

10 in this case includes a back boiler for heating 45 water in a hot water cylinder 44 supplied with water from a tank 45 in the attic 37.

Figure 10 shows a complete bungalow layout in more detail, similar reference numerals being used as in figure 9. In this case the cool air is 50 drawn via a single thermostatically-controlled fan 30 from the attic 37 and/or from the ceiling area of one or more of the cooler rooms such as the hall 46 of the bungalow via a duct 47. From there the air follows two separate paths. The first path is 55 down through the jacket 17 for exit via floor level ducts 48 to living rooms and hall 49 and 46 respectively, and the second path is up along the inclined jacket 27 and then down through ducts 50,51 to two front bedrooms 52,53 and two rear 60 bedrooms (not shown), all outputs being at or near floor level.

Claims

1. A heating system for a building, comprising a primary heat source operating by combustion of

65 fuel, a flue of good thermally conductive material for carrying the hot gaseous products of combustion through the building to the exterior thereof for emission into the atmosphere, at least one thermally insulated jacket surrounding the flue 70 over the greater part of its length within the building, means for forcing relatively cool fluid to flow along the at least one jacket for heating by thermal conduction from the hot flue gases via the thermally conductive flue, and means for ducting 75 the fluid thus heated to rooms in the building.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid is air and the means for forcing the air to flow through the at least one jacket comprises a fan.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the 80 or each jacket includes internal baffles which confine the air to flow close to the outer surface of the flue.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1 substantially as described herein with reference to the

85 accompanying drawings.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by the Courier Press, Leamington Spa, 1982. Published by the Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AY, from which copies may be obtained.