IE87411B1

IE87411B1 - Boiler device

Info

Publication number: IE87411B1
Application number: IE20220007A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Healy William; Healy Ellen
Original assignee: Healy William; Healy Ellen
Priority date: 2022-01-12
Filing date: 2022-01-12
Publication date: 2023-07-19
Also published as: IE20220007A1; GB2616941A; GB2616941B

Abstract

A boiler device 100 for heating appliances comprising an insulated tank 2 partially filled with a heat transfer fluid 14; a heat exchanger 8 comprising a plurality of fins 16 wherein the fins 16 of the heat exchanger 8 are at least partially submerged in the heat transfer 5 fluid 14; a heating element 12 submerged within the heat transfer fluid 14; wherein a fluid 20 which flows within a tubing system 18 in the heat exchanger 8 is heated.

Description

BOILER DEVICE The present invention relates to a boiler, in particular an electric boiler of increased efficiency.

Background to the Invention Boilers are used in many households worldwide in orderto heat structures such as houses and in order to heat water systems within those structures (for example boilers are commonly engaged for domestic use to provide heating and heated water in appliances such as showers and kitchen taps).

Although there are many different types of boilers, boilers generally use a burn or fuel source (such as electricity, oil or gas) in order to continuously heat an element and the heated element is in turn used to heat a fluid which runs through a heating system (such as oil or water in a radiator system). Boilers may commonly be referred to by the name of the fuel which they use for example, a gas boiler, an oil boiler or an electric boiler.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention, there is provided a boiler device for heating appliances comprising: a thermally insulated tank partially filled with a heat transfer liquid ; a heat exchanger comprising a plurality of fins wherein the fins of the heat exchanger are at least partially submerged in the heat transfer liquid; and a heating element configured to heat the heat transfer liquid; wherein the heat exchanger is located on the surface of the heat transfer liquid such that a tubing system of the heat exchanger, and thus a fluid which flows within the tubing system, is heated by both the fins submerged in the heat transfer liquid and ambient air in the tank.

Preferably, the heat transfer liquid is oil Preferably, the outside of the tank is thermally insulated with a layer of high—density foam.

Preferably, the heating element has a capacity of 5KW — 6KW. Most preferably the heating element has a capacity of 5.4KW.

Preferably, the heating element comprises two heating elements; a first heating element and a second heating element.

Preferably, the each of the at least two heating elements have a capacity within the range of 2KW to 4KW Most preferably, the first heating element has a 3KW capacity and the second heating element has a 2.4KW capacity.

Preferably, the tank is thermally insulated with high density foam.

Preferably, the tank is 20% to 50% filled with a heat transfer liquid.

Most preferably, the tank is 33% filled with a heat transfer liquid.

Preferably, the heating element is electric.

Brief Description of the drawings The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example only one embodiment of a boiler device according to the invention. In the drawings; Figure 1 shows a sectional front elevation view of a boiler device; Figure 2 shows a sectional side view of a tank of a boiler device; Figure 3 shows a control panel of a boiler device; Figure 4a shows an elevation view of an agitator; and Figure 4b shows a plan view of the agitator of Figure 4a.

Detailed Description Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there is shown a boiler device, generally indicated as 100, The boiler device 100 may be used to heat radiators and water for a structure such as a domestic house, although it will be appreciated from the following description that the boiler device 100 could be used in other heating applications and in other environments.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the boiler 100 comprises a tank 2 wherein the tank 2 is preferably fabricated from steel. The walls 4 of the tank 2 preferably have a thickness of 3mm. The tank 2 is sealed such that unintended ingress and egress ofgas orfluid is not possible. The tank 2 also comprises a layer of insulation 6. The insulation 6 is located on the outer side of the tank 2. Preferably, the insulation 6 is a high-density foam insulation. Preferably, the insulation 6 is adhered to the outside of the tank 2 walls. The insulation 6 is important as it ensures that heat which is generated within the tank 2 is retained within the tank 2. The insulation 6 directly affects the efficiency of the boiler device 100. The boiler additionally comprises a heat exchanger 8 and a heating element 12. The heating element 12 is electric.

Preferably the heating element comprises at least two heating elements; a first heating element 12a and a second heating element 12b. In the preferred embodiment, the first heating element 12a has a capacity of 2.4KW and the second heating element 12b has a capacity of 3KW. It will be appreciated that other forms of heating element 12 are possible.

For example, the heating element 12 could form an integral part of the tank 2 or it could be an elongate element located at the base of the tank 2. The heating element 12 could alternatively be located outside the tank 2, around the tank 2 or under than tank 2. The tank 2 is at least partially filled with a heat transfer liquid 14. Preferably, the heat transfer liquid 14 is oil. The device 100 also comprises an agitator 40 which ensures that the heat transfer liquid 14 circulates within the tank 2. Circulation of the heat transfer liquid 14 ensures that the heat transfer liquid 14 is evenly heated.

The tank 2 is approximately 25% to 50% (preferably 33%) filled with a heat transfer liquid 14. In the preferred embodiment, the two heating elements 12a, 12b are located within the heat transfer liquid 14. The heat exchanger 8 is positioned so that it sits on the surface of the heat transfer liquid 14. The heat exchanger 8 has fins 16 but only the fins 16 of the heat exchanger 8 are submerged or partially submerged in the heat transfer liquid 14. The heat exchanger 8 is a standard heat exchanger 8 comprising a tubing system 18 wherein a fluid , such as, but not limited to, water, runs through the tubing system 18. The fluid 20 is cold when it enters the tubing system 18 and heated when it exits the tubing system 18. The heat transfer liqud 14 should not cover any part of the tubing system 18 of the heat exchanger 8. As illustrated in Figure 4a and figure 4b, the agitator 40 is a standard agitator comprising fins 42 which rotate and thus create movement within the surrounding heat transfer liquid 14. In the preferred embodiment the agitator 40 is electric and is powered through means of a 220 volt electric cable 44.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the boiler device 100 comprises a filling port 26 through which a heat transfer liquid 14 can be fed into the boiler device 100 and a plug 28 which closes the storage area of the heat transfer liquid 14 such that that the heat transfer liquid 14 can be contained in the tank 2. The tank 2 is manufactured from metal plates (such as mild steel).

The plates may be joined together to form a tank 2 in a variety of different methods, such as, for example, welding. One such method comprises the use of a plurality of studs 32 which hold the plates together while a rubber gasket renders the joints impermeable. A variety of stud 32 configurations are possible with this jointing method. For example, studs 32 of 8mm could be arranged with 4 studs 32 on each joint at a top and bottom of the tank and 3 studs 32 on each of the wall 4 joints of the tank 2. The tank also has an air vent 30.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the boiler device 100 has a control panel 34. The control panel 34 includes a timer 22 and a thermostat 36. The heating element 12 can also be controlled via the control panel 34 with a heating element control switch 38. As a safety precaution, the boiler device 100 has an overflow switch so that in the eventuality of a leakage of fluid from the tubing system 18 of the heat exchanger 8, the entire boiler device 100 will shut down.

The tank 2 also has a temperature switch so that the boiler device 100 will automatically shut down if the temperature of the heat transfer liquid 14 in the tank 2 reaches a threshold temperature. This threshold temperature is approximately 2000 Celsius.

In use, the boiler device 100 can be operated directly, or it can be set on the timer 22 such that the boiler device 100 turns on and off according to a predefined schedule. When boiler device 100 is in operation, a pump pushes a fluid, such as water, through the tubing system 18 of the heat exchanger 8. The heating element 12, preferably in the form of at least two heating elements 12a, 12b, are activated. The heating elements 12, 12a, 12b, which are preferably electric heating elements, heat the heat transfer liquid 14 through radiation and the heat transfer liquid 14 heats the air in the tank 2 through convection. The agitator 40 ensures that the heat transfer liquid 14 is circulating and thus the heat transfer liquid 14 is evenly heated. The heated heat transfer liquid 14 also heats the fins 16 of the heat exchanger 8 which are submerged, or partially submerged, in the heat transfer liquid 14. As the air 24 within the tanks 2 is heated, the air 24 surrounding the tubing system 18 of the heat exchanger 8 is heated, thus heating the contents of the tubing system 18. The tubing system 18 thus benefits from radiation, conduction and convection heating through the heat transfer liquid 14, the air 24 and the fins 16. As the fluid 20 is continuously flowing through the tubing system 18, this fluid 20 is continuously heated within the tubing system 18 before being distributed to an appliance for use (such as, for example, a radiator). The positioning of the heat exchanger 8 in relation to the heat transfer liquid 14 is extremely important in ensuring the efficiency of the boiler device 100.

It will be appreciated that the boiler device 100 can be scaled up or scaled down in order to meet specific requirements of a variety of different scenarios. An example of a set of requirements and corresponding scale of boiler device 100 is given below, however, it will be appreciated that the boiler device 100 is in no way limited to these values and the values have been provided solely for exemplary purposes.

In the following exemplary scenario, the boiler device 100 is configured so that an electrical input of 10.9KWH heats a house of 1,000 square foot with a heating output of 7.327KWH (25000BTU), over a 3 hour period. 8 litres of heat transfer liquid 14, in this case oil, are provided in the tank 2. The tank measures 380 mm2. The heating element comprising a first heating element 12a of 2.4KW capacity and a second heating element 12b of 3KW capacity, is then activated. In the first hour the electrical input required by the boiler device 100 will be 4.4KWH. The initial water 20 temperature is 12° Celsius and after one hour the water 20 temperature has risen to 64° Celsius. The largest input requirement is always at the start of operations, as the boiler device 100 is cold and electrical energy is needed both to heat up the cold heating elements, heat transfer liquid 14 and the heat exchanger and to maintain the heat level. In the subsequent second and third hour, the required input is 3.25KWH per hour as the electrical energy is used solely in a maintain mode in order to maintain the temperature of boiler device 100. Based on current energy rates, the electrical energy usage over three hours equates to 10.9KWH at 0.2052 cents per KWH It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein which are given by way of example only and that various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended Claims.

CLAIMS: 1. A boiler device (100) for heating appliances comprising: a thermally insulated tank (2), partially filled with a heat transfer liquid (14); a heat exchanger (8) comprising a plurality of fins (16) wherein the fins (16) of the heat exchanger (8) are at least partially submerged in the heat transfer liquid (14); and a heating element (12) configured to heat the heat transfer liquid (14); wherein the heat exchanger (8) is located on the surface ofthe heat transfer liquid (14), so that, a tubing system (18) of the heat exchanger (8), and thus a fluid (20) which flows within the tubing system (18), is heated by both the fins (16) submerged in the heat transfer liquid (14) and ambient air (24) in the tank (2).

. The boiler device (100) of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer liquid (14) is oil.

. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the outside of the tank (2) is thermally insulated with a layer of high-density foam.

. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the heating element (12) has a capacity of 5KW — 6KW, preferably 5.4KW.

. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the heating element (12) comprises at least two heating elements (12a, 12b); a first heating element (12a) and a second heating element (12b) . The boiler device (100) of claim 5, wherein each of the heating elements has a capacity within the range of 2KW to 4KW.

. The boiler device (100) of claim 6, wherein the first heating element (12a) has a 3KW capacity and the second heating element (12b) has a 2.4KW capacity.

. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the tank (2) is 25% — 50%, preferably 33%, filled with the heat transfer liquid (14).

. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the heating element (12) is electric.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A boiler device (100) for heating appliances comprising: a thermally insulated tank (2), partially filled with a heat transfer liquid (14); a heat exchanger (8) comprising a plurality of fins (16) wherein the fins (16) of the heat exchanger (8) are at least partially submerged in the heat transfer liquid (14); and a heating element (12) configured to heat the heat transfer liquid (14); wherein the heat exchanger (8) is located on the surface ofthe heat transfer liquid (14), so that, a tubing system (18) of the heat exchanger (8), and thus a fluid (20) which flows within the tubing system (18), is heated by both the fins (16) submerged in the heat transfer liquid (14) and ambient air (24) in the tank (2).

2. The boiler device (100) of claim 1, wherein the heat transfer liquid (14) is oil.

3. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the outside of the tank (2) is thermally insulated with a layer of high-density foam.

4. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the heating element (12) has a capacity of 5KW — 6KW, preferably 5.4KW.

5. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the heating element (12) comprises at least two heating elements (12a, 12b); a first heating element (12a) and a second heating element (12b)

6. The boiler device (100) of claim 5, wherein each of the heating elements has a capacity within the range of 2KW to 4KW.

7. The boiler device (100) of claim 6, wherein the first heating element (12a) has a 3KW capacity and the second heating element (12b) has a 2.4KW capacity.

8. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the tank (2) is 25% — 50%, preferably 33%, filled with the heat transfer liquid (14).

9. The boiler device (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the heating element (12) is electric.