GB2110360A

GB2110360A - Improved gas-fired appliance

Info

Publication number: GB2110360A
Application number: GB08232602A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eric Jordan; John Trevor Garrod; Graham John Sandall
Original assignee: RITE VENT Ltd
Current assignee: RITE VENT Ltd
Priority date: 1981-11-26
Filing date: 1982-11-15
Publication date: 1983-06-15

Abstract

A gas fire for heating a room includes, conventionally, radiant elements (6), an outlet (8) for flue gases and a flow path (10) for room air between an inlet (12) for said air in the lower regions of the fire and a primary outlet (14) for the heated air in the upper regions of the fire. The fire further includes one or more secondary outlets (26, 28) for the heated air for directing said heated to associated regions remote from the room containing the gas fire, and control means (24) for controlling the proportion of heated air flowing from the inlet (12) to the primary outlet (14) and the secondary outlets (26, 28). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved gas-fired appliances This invention relates to gas-fired appliances and more particularly to gas fires primarily for domestic use.

Standard domestic gas fires heat a room and its occupants by a combination of radiant heat and convected heat. The radiant heat is emitted from a series of radiant elements positioned at the front of the appliance, while the convected heat results from the heat exchange between the burning and burnt gases and ventilating air from the room circulating through the gas fire to be emitted from the top of the fire as heated air.

It is now becoming well-established practice to build houses and flats with relatively small and very well insulated rooms, and it has been found that standard gas fires in such rooms, even when operating at the minimum possible efficient setting, produce too much heat output for such rooms.

According to the present invention there is provided a gas fire for heating a room, said gas fire including a source of radiant heat, an outlet for the flue gases from said source, a flow path through the fire for air from the room, said flow path being separate from but in heat exchange relationship with the source of radiant heat and/or its flue gases and including an inlet at or adajcent the lower regions of the fire and a primary outlet at or adjacent the upper regions of the fire, the fire further including at least one secondary outlet from said flow path connected to an associated region remote from said room, and control means operable to control the proportion of the heated air flowing from the inlet to the primary outlet and the or each secondary outlet.

Preferably the or each secondary outlet has a heated air duct attached thereto for directing heated air from the fire to the associated region remote from the room containing the fire. For example said fire may be in the living room of a domestic residence, some of the heated air flowing from the primary outlet into said room, the or each heated air duct extending into an associated room, such as a bedroom, above the room containing the fire to which the remainder of the heated air can thus be fed.

Gas fires according to the invention are particularly suited to use in rooms with false chimney breasts in which the extent of the flue duct within the room containing the fire is concealed behind a prefabricated metal construction which can be painted or papered to resemble a conventional chimney breast and in which the extent of the flue duct within, for example, a bedroom above the room containing the gas fire is concealed behind a services duct or jacket, the flue duct terminating to atmosphere externally of the building. In such a case, the or each heated air duct extending from an associated secondary outlet of the fire is conveniently concealed behind the false chimney breast and within said services duct or jacket. The or each heated air duct may terminate in a register grille located in a wall, the floor or the ceiling of the associated room.

The gas fire preferably includes an outlet manifold within the upper regions of the fire with which the primary outlet and the or each secondary outlet communicate, the control means for the heated air flowing from the fire conveniently comprising a pivotal flap within said outlet manifold and under either manual or automatic control, for example thermostatically operated in accordance with the temperature of the air at the or each region remote from the room containing the fire.

The flow of heated air from the fire may be supplemented by eiectro-mechanical means such as an electric fan.

By way of example only an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 shows a gas fire according to the invention incorporated in a heating system including a false chimney breast; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through part of the system of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the part of the system of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line X-X in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings there is shown a gas fire indicated generally at 2 of relatively standard construction, including burners 4, radiant elements 6 and an outlet 8 for flue gases. The fire further includes a flow path 10 behind the radiant elements 6 for the passage therethrough of room air which enters said path 10 at an inlet 12 in the lower regions of the fire and can leave the path 10 through an outlet 14 in the upper regions of the front of the fire. During its passage along the path 10, the air is heated by heat exchange from the radiant elements and from the flue gases in conventional manner and issues from the outlet 14 as heated convected air. It is to be emphasised that the flue gases and the heated air in the flow path 10 are separate from each other at all times and are not mixed, heat exchange being indirect and by way of metal panels defining the flow path 10.

In the illustrated system, the fire is shown mounted to a fire box 16 forming part of a false chimney breast including a main cowl 18;The flue gas outlet 8 feeds into a flue duct 20 concealed behind the cowl 18 and extending through the ceiling of the room containing the fire 2, through a bedroom above said room and thence to vent to atmosphere. A service duct or jacket 22 encases the extent of the flue duct 20 in the bedroom.

The system so far described is of substantially conventional form. As mentined above, however, the room containing the fire 2 may be overheated even with the fire at its minimum setting, and the invention enables redistribution of the heat emanating from the gas fire in a manner which overcomes this problem.

More particularly, the flow path 10 for the heated air includes an outlet manifold 24 within the upper regions of the fire, said manifold communicating with the outlet 14.

A pair of ducts 26, 28 also extend from the manifold 24 up through the false chimney breast behind the cowl 18, through the ceiling of the room containing the fire 2, and behind the duct or jacket 22 in the room above the fire. In the illustrated arrangement, said ducts extend parallel with the flue duct 20 and then branch one above the ceiling of said room above the fire and one above the ceiling of an adjacent room to terminate in register grilles 30, 32 set in the ceilings of said rooms as seen in Fig. 1.

Alternatively, said grilles may be set in the floor or walls of an associated room to be heated.

It will thus be appreciated that heated air flowing up path 10 to the manifold 24, as well as being able to exit through outlet 14, can flow through the ducts 26, 28 to exit through grilles 30, 32 into the upstairs rooms. If desired, the flow heated air to or from the manifold 24 may be supplemented by electro-mechanical means such as an electric fan.

Control of the proportion of the heated air flowing to outlet 14 and to ducts 26, 18 is achieved by means of a pivotal flap 34 within the manifold 24. Movement of said flap 34 may be manually controlled by means of a control knob 36 external of the fire 2 and/or automatically controlled for example in dependence upon the temperatures in the various rooms served by the fire.

Thus, a controlled proportion, which may be between 0 and 100%, of the convected air that would normally issue from the fire 2 into the room containing said fire can be redirected to heat other rooms, whereby overheating of said firstmentioned room is prevented whilst at the same time making full use of the heat energy not required for said room.

Clearly the number of secondary outlets and ducts from the gas fire additional to the primary outlet 14 can be chosen to suit particular requirements, as can the locations to which said ducts extend. All ducts such as 26, 28 would be well insulated to prevent heat loss therefrom.

Although shown in combination with a false chimney breast, fires according to the invention could be used with conventional brick-built chimneys.

Claims

1. A gas fire for heating a room, said fire including a source of radiant heat, an outlet for the flue gases from said source, a flow path through the fire for air from the room, said flow path being separate from but in heat exchange relationship with the source of radiant heat and/or its flue gases and including an inlet at or adjacent the lower regions of the fire and a primary outlet at or adjacent the upper regions of the fire, the fire further including at least one secondary outlet from said flow path connected to an associated region remote from said room, and control means operable to control the proportion of the heated air flowing from the inlet to the primary outlet and the or each secondary outlet.

2. A gas fire as claimed in claim 1 in which the or each secondary outlet as a heated air duct attached thereto for directing heated air from the fire to the associated region remote from the room containing the fire.

3. A gas fire as claimed in claim 2 and including a flue duct extending through the room containing the fire and through a further room above said room containing the fire to terminate to atmosphere externally of the building the extent of the flue duct within the room containing the fire being concealed behind a false chimney breast and the extent of the flue duct within the further room being concealed behind a services jacket, the or each heated air duct extending from an associated secondary outlet of the fire being concealed behind said false chimney breast and within said services jacket to terminate in a register grille located in the wall, floor or ceiling of an associated further room above the room.

containing the fire.

4. A gas fire as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and including an outlet manifold within the upper regions of the fire with which the primary outlet and the or each secondary outlet communicate.

5. A gas fire as claimed in claim 4 in which the control means for the heated air flowing from the fire comprises a pivotal flap within said outlet manifold and under either manual or automatic control.

6. A gas fire as claimed in claim 5 in which the control means is thermostatically operated in accordance with the temperature of the air at the or each region remote from the room containing the gas fire.

7. A gas fire as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the flow of heated air from the fire is supplemented by an electric fan.

8. A gas fire for heating a room substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.