NL1041288B1

NL1041288B1 - System for heating or cooling of a room using active shields and heat exchangers.

Info

Publication number: NL1041288B1
Application number: NL1041288A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Petrus Wilhelmus Engelen Martinus
Original assignee: Engelen Consultancy
Priority date: 2015-05-04
Filing date: 2015-05-04
Publication date: 2017-01-19
Also published as: NL1041288A

Abstract

The invention provides an effective heating or cooling system which makes efficient use of the available surface of a room to heat or cool the air of the room by adding active shields to the available surface inside and/or outside of the building. The invention makes use of the ceiling of the room for heating or cooling the air. A heating system is integrated, using the walls and the ceiling for heat transfer.

Description

SYSTEM FOR HEATING OR COOLING OF A ROOM USING ACTIVE SHIELDS AND HEAT EXCHANGERS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to renewable energy systems. More particular the invention relates to energy efficient radiant heating and cooling systems for buildings, and especially residences.

BACKGROUND

In order to reduce energy consumption of buildings a large number of solutions have been proposed. The aim is to finally reach a situation wherein for example a residence is fully independent of fossil fuel, such as gas and power of the grid. Known solutions relate to installing solar panels for the generation of electricity, solar collectors for the generation of warm water. Geothermic installations have also become a good alternative for heating up air as well as cooling down of air.

In the field of heating of air or water for domestic use, whether it be air, tap water or process water, it is clearly advantageous to have a heating system which is efficient at relative low temperatures. These so-called low-temperature radiant heating systems (LTRHS) enable the use of solar collectors and geothermal installations. A LTRHS delivers heat using surface temperatures typically between 21 and 25 degrees C. and using large radiant areas: usually floor, wall or ceiling surfaces.

The energy-saving benefits of a LTRHS are:

Efficient use of a heat pump is possible. A heat pump moves heat from a lower temperature renewable heat source (such as the ground, the air or a pond: all indirect sources of solar heat) to a higher temperature destination. The amount of electricity required to deliver a given quantity of heat by electrical resistive heating divided by the amount of electricity required to drive the heat pump to deliver the same quantity of heat is called the Coefficient of Performance (COP). The COP of a pump falls as the difference in temperature between heat source and heat destination rises. For example, if the heat source is ground at 40 degrees C. arid the destination is a LTRHS with water at 40 degrees C., then a typical modern heat pump COP is around 6. The COP for a heat destination at say 70 degrees C.—a temperature typical of conventional wall radiator panels—is around 2 i.e. the efficiency gain from using a LTRHS is 100%. Every degree reduction in temperature of operation of a LTRHS improves heat pump efficiency by around 3%.

Efficient use of solar thermal heating is possible. Modern evaporative solar thermal systems can deliver and store water at 30-40 degrees C. even in winter with outside temperatures as low as minus 8 degrees C. Water at these temperatures can be used in a LTRHS without supplementary heating.

Efficient use of waste heat and geothermal heat is possible. Low temperature waste heat and geothermal heat can be used in a LTRHS.

Efficient provision of comfort is possible. The floor to ceiling temperature profile achieved by an under-floor LTRHS is almost ideal for comfort. By contrast, the same profile for a conventional wall radiator system is inferior, with much heat carried by convection to upper levels of the living space. As a result, a LTRHS can deliver greater comfort at a lower temperature. A disadvantage of the current art solutions which use LTRHS is that they do not make optimal use of available surface of a room for heat transfer, whether it is for heating or cooling of the room.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an effective heating or cooling system which makes efficient use of the available surface of a room to heat or cool the air of the room by adding active shields to the available surface inside and/or outside of the building. It is a further object of the present invention to make use of the ceiling of the room for heating or cooling the air. It is a further object of the invention to make use of the walls of the room for the same purpose and to integrate the heating system which uses the walls and the ceiling for heat transfer.

The object is realized by providing the following clauses: 1. A system for heating or cooling of a building, the building comprising one or more rooms having one or more walls and a ceiling, wherein the system comprises one or more plate heat exchangers, wherein the one or more plate heat exchangers are arranged for transferring heat from the heated air to the one or more rooms or transferring heat from the one or more rooms to the air, characterized in that, a plate heat exchanger of the one or more plate heat exchanger is arranged for being mounted mainly parallel to a wall of the one or more walls, at a distance from the wall, one or more air channels are arranged for guiding an airflow through the building; a first air channel of the one or more air channels is configured between the plate heat exchanger and the wall, and arranged for guiding an airflow past the plate heat exchanger; the system further comprises a control unit arranged for controlling the airflow. 2. The system according to clause 1, characterized in that the plate heat exchanger is arranged for being mounted mainly parallel to the inside of a wall of the one or more rooms. 3. The system according to clause 2, characterized in that the system further comprises a cover, arranged for being mounted mainly parallel to the ceiling at a distance from the ceiling, whereby a second air channel of the one or more air channels is configured between the cover and the ceiling, wherein the second air channel is arranged for guiding the airflow from the first channel towards the second channel. 4. The system according to clause 3, characterized in that the cover comprises a domestic textile such as a stretch ceiling. 5. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the cover is further arranged for covering at least a part of the first plate heat exchanger, whereby a continuous duct is created from the first plate heat exchanger towards the second channel. 6. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that a second plate heat exchanger of the one or more plate heat exchangers is arranged for being mounted mainly parallel to the outside of a wall of the one or more rooms. 7. The system according to clause 6, characterized in that the second plate heat exchanger comprises at least a part of wall cladding of the outside wall of the building. 8. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the system further comprises a central system arranged for heating respectively cooling of the one or more plate heat exchangers. 9. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the central system comprises a sustainable energy system such as a geothermal heat exchanger or a solar collector. 10. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the one or more plate heat exchangers comprise means for heating or cooling the one or more plate heat exchangers. 11. The system according to clause 10, characterized in that the configuration of the one or more plate heat exchangers comprises a front plate and a back plate, whereby the means for heating or cooling comprise: a structure of fluid channels between the front plate and the back plate, said construction connecting the front plate with the back plate; an inlet arranged for leading a heat transfer fluid from the central system to the fluid channels; an outlet arranged for leading the heat transfer fluid from the fluid channels to the central system. 12. The system according to clause 11, characterized in that the outlet of any heat exchanger of the one or more heat exchangers is arranged for being fitted to any other heat exchanger of the one or more heat exchangers in such a manner that, when the inlet of one heat exchanger is coupled to the outlet of another heat exchanger, a connection between the inlet and the outlet allows continuous flow of heat transfer fluid from one heat exchanger to the other heat exchanger. 13. The system according to clause 11 or 12, characterized in that the inlet and/or outlet comprise one or more exit holes of the fluid channels. 14. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the plate heat exchanger is provided with one or more air channels which allow heat transfer from the plate heat exchanger to the one or more air channels and/or from the one or more air channels to the plate heat exchanger. 15. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that a first air channel of the one or more air channels at a first side of the building is connected to a second air channel of the one or more air channels at a second side of the building. 16. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized the system further comprises one or more ventilation units arranged for forcing the air flow through the one or more air channels. 17. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the control unit is arranged for controlling the operation of the one or more ventilation units. 18. The system according to any of the preceding clauses, characterized in that the control unit is arranged for heating or cooling the heat transfer fluid in dependence of the parameters comprising: the demand by a resident of the building for adjusting climate conditions of a room; the capacity of the central system; current temperature of the room; current humidity in the room; current outside temperature; current weather conditions, such as humidity, wind, position of the sun, air pressure and temperature; expected weather conditions; availability of heat in a heat buffer; expected demand of heat or cold by the resident.

In this way much larger areas of the building may be used as heat exchanger without the need for additional regular radiators. An active shield is created which enables control over the temperature and other conditions of the air in the whole building. Furthermore, draft is prevented, and control of airflow is very much improved. By increasing the effective surface of the heat exchangers in this way, the temperature difference of the heat transfer fluid and/or the heated air may be lowered considerably. This in turn allows for using heat provided by a large variety of sustainable energy systems and heat generating sources which require a much lower operating temperature. Furthermore, in this way the invented system provides a much more even distribution of heat (or cold), which increases the comfort of the building considerably. By regulating the temperature of the walls, the convection of heat towards cold walls for example is largely reduced. This convection would elsewise often be felt as draft by the residents of the building. By regulating the temperature of the walls, it is also possible to reduce the need for airflow in the cavities of the walls. Without the invented system the airflow in these cavities is usually required to prevent built-up of moist at the inside of the wall cavities. With the invention, built-up of moist is prevented without the need for airflow in the wall cavities.

It is a generally underestimated fact that in many living spaces, the ceiling is the largest uncluttered surface and can, in principle, provide even radiant heating for the entire space. Radiant heating in the ceiling acts on the human body in the same way that the body is acted upon by radiant heat from the sky outdoors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures show views of embodiments in accordance with the present invention. FIGURE 1 shows a schematic overview of the present invention. FIGURE 2 shows a schematic overview of an alternative embodiment of the invention. FIGURE 3 shows a schematic overview of an embodiment of the invention when applied on the outside walls of a building.

The index of the numbers of the figure is as follows: 100 An embodiment of the present invention. 101a Heat exchanger (situated at the inside). 101 b Heat exchanger (situated at the outside). 102a Ventilation unit. 201 Cover covering ceiling 905 (e.g. stretch ceiling). 202a ,b Cover (covering walls 906a,b). 301 a,b Space between walls 906a,b and covers 202a,b. 301c Space between wall 906a,b and heat exchanger 101b,c. 302 Space between ceiling 905 and cover 201. 400 The three wavy arrows indicate outside heat radiation radiating at the outside heat exchangers 101b,c. 501 a,b The two dotted arrows indicate airflow from the room 903 towards ventilation unit 102a. 501c The dotted arrow indicates airflow from outside of the house towards ventilation unit 102b. 502a,b The two dotted arrows indicate airflow from spaces 301a, 302 and 301b towards room 903. 502c The dotted arrow indicates airflow from space 301c to the outside of the house. 901 Roof. 902 Gutter. 903 Room at ground floor. 904 Room at first floor. 905 Ceiling of room at ground floor 903. 906 Wall comprising 906a,b,c 906a Inner part of wall 906 906b Cavity between inner part of wall 906 and outer part of wall 906 906c Outer part of wall 906 907 Wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is now described by the following aspects and embodiments, with reference to the figure. FIGURE 1 shows a schematic overview of the present invention 100. As an example of a building where the invention may be applied a house is depicted. The house comprises standard elements such as a roof 901, a gutter 902, a room at ground floor 903, a room at the first floor 904, and a ceiling 905 of ground floor 903.

The invention comprises that a heat exchanger 101a is situated in the vicinity of an inner wall 906a of the house. In the figure only one heat exchanger 101a at the inside of the room 903 is shown, but there may be multiple heat exchanger configured near every possible wall of room 903. The configuration of the present invention may be installed at the first floor or in the attic below the roof 901 as well for example. Preferably the heat exchanger 101a is mounted to wall 906a in order to provide a stable construction. Preferably the heat exchanger 101a is a plate heat exchanger which covers a large area of inner wall 906a. A preferred heat exchanger 101a comprises a plate heat exchanger having two plates with a system of channels between the two plates. The channels are connected to a central system which provides a heat transfer fluid which may be heated or cooled, depending on the needs of the residents and/or other aspects. The plates of the heat exchanger 101a may be of a standard size and connected to each other as a modular system. The channels may be designed in such way that a first plate heat exchangers when connected to a second plate heat exchange may transfer the heat transfer fluid without leakage because the outlets of the channels of the first plate heat exchanger fit exactly to the inlets of the second plate heat exchanger. The channels of the plate heat exchangers preferably form a kind of labyrinth, extending the length of the channels considerably, in order to allow the heat transfer fluid to exchange as much heat or cold as possible and increase the efficiency of the plate heat exchanger 101a.

The working of the heating or cooling of room 903 is as follows. For the given example heating of the room is described. Turning the heat transfer direction around in order to cool room 903 works in a similar manner.

If there is a need for heating room 903 heat exchanger 101a is heated by heating up heat transfer fluid running through the heat exchanger 101a. The heating of the heat transfer fluid is preferably done by a central system which may comprise a regular central heating system or, which is more advantageous for the environment and for cost saving, a sustainable energy source. Examples of a sustainable energy source comprise a geothermic energy system, solar energy system with solar collectors, a solar boiler, and an air source heat pump.

Although the heat exchanger 101a dissipates most of the heat (typically in the range of 65-75%) as (Infrared) radiation to the room directly, the efficiency and the effectiveness is further improved with a ventilation unit 102a forcing an airflow behind the heat exchanger through a space 301a between the heat exchanger 101a and wall 906a. A part of the heat exchanger may comprise air channels at the back of the heat exchanger 101a, which direct the airflow along the channels of the heat exchanger 101a which contain the heated heat transfer fluid.

The airflow as indicated by the dotted line is directed towards the ceiling 905, where it is further guided through the space 302 between the ceiling and ceiling cover 201. This space 302 is preferably provided with air channels which direct the airflow along the area of the space 302. In this way the whole or a large part of the ceiling is functioning as a heat exchanger. The big advantage being that the heat exchanger may operate at a relative low temperature (30-35 degrees Celsius) in comparison with a regular radiator which needs to operate at temperatures of 60-70 degrees Celsius in order to heat up a room properly. Furthermore, in this way, there is no draft in room 903.

Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention whereby the air, which is heated at the back of the heat exchanger 102a, is taken in from room 903 itself. This is indicated with de dotted lines 501a and 501b. The air is in this case directed by the forced airflow of ventilation unit 102a towards the ceiling 905 and led through space 302 to for example the opposite wall 907. From space 302 the airflow is directed downwards through a space between wall 907 and a wall cover 202b and led in to room 903 as indicated by the dotted lines 502a and 502b. The forced airflow, which is directed directly into the room, increases the speed of heating up room 903 considerably.

Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of the present invention wherein an improvement of the heat management of room 903 is proposed by adding a heat exchanger to the outside of the house, positioned at the outside of and in the vicinity of walls 906. A typical modern has an outside wall 906c which is separated from an inside wall 906a by a cavity 906b and thereby forming a cavity wall 906, the cavity wall system is merely a passive isolation system. This means that, even when the cavity 906b is filled with insulation material there is still heat distribution from room 903 towards the outside of the cavity wall 906 when the outside temperature is lower than the temperature of room 903 and vice versa. The present invention provides an extra shield 101b of material at a distance of the wall 906. The design of the extra shield 101b may be in line with standard available cladding. The working however is that of a heat exchanger. The working of this outside heat exchanger 101b is described as follows, whereby the example is given of cooling down room 903 and by describing the working of one heat exchanger 101b. Likewise, the working may be turned around in such way that room 903 is heated up.

During a hot day heat radiation from the sun (indicated by the three wavy arrows 400) heats up heat exchanger 101. Sensors may be installed to detect that the temperature of the heat exchanger 101 rises or will rise and a control unit (not shown) may be instructed of a need for cooling down room 903 or for maintaining a certain temperature in room 903.

In order to prevent heating up of air between heat exchanger 101b and wall 906 (which would lead to heating up wall 906 and eventually to heating up room 903), air and preferably relative colder air is ventilated through space 301c as a result of the physical effect that warm air at the bottom rises to a colder region at the top. Additionally ventilation unit 102b may be activated to support or force this air flow. Ventilation unit 102b may for this purpose suck in air 501c from the outside and subsequently force an airflow through space 301c, which is the space between heat exchanger 101b and wall 906. The airflow starts preferably from the bottom and ends at the top of space 301c (indicated by dotted line form 501c towards 502c, where the air exits space 301c). The ventilation unit 102b may comprise a heat exchanger or a heat pump which may be arranged for cooling down air before forcing the air through space 301 c. In this way two positive effects are accomplished. The first one being that the temperature of the air in space 301c is kept at a lower level than without the ventilation system. The second one being that the system lowers humidity of space 301c and therefore prevents building up of humidity in wall 906 and/or heat exchanger 101b. By maintaining a lowered temperature of the air in space 301c, heating up of wall 906a is considerably reduced. Therefor room 903 will be much less heated up whenever the outside temperature is rising.

In the case wherein reducing the loss of heat of room 903 is needed, for example when the outside temperature is very low, the ventilation unit 102b may heat up the air in space 301c. This prevents cooling down of wall 906a considerably and subsequently prevents heat loss of room 903 through wall 906a. More importantly the airflow provided by the present invention in space 301c results in a much dryer wall 906c. This in turn prevents that a building structure wherein the cavity 906b is already filled with insulation material encounters complications which otherwise would be caused by humidity buildup in cavity 906b. Moreover there is no need any more to add insulation in cavity 906 at all, because the insulation value (or U-value) of wall 906 is much improved, just by allowing the air in cavity 906b to stand still without running the risk of building up humidity. A further embodiment comprises that the heated air of space 301c is not directed out of the building, but directed towards a colder wall, for example wall 907, where a similar system as at the side of wall 906 may be configured. This is particularly useful in a situation wherein the heat exchanger 101b is heated up under the influence of the sun shining at that particular side of the house. The other side of the house at wall 907, lying in the shadow, may still be cold. This has as a consequence that room 903 may be warmer at the side where the sun shines and colder on the shadow side. By directing the airflow from space 301c towards wall 907, wall 907 may be heated up as well. A conduit may be provided to connect the airflow of space 301c to a similar space (not shown) in wall 907.

In the case wherein cooling of the room 903 is required, the cooled air of a wall which is positioned at the shadow side of the building may be directed towards a wall which is heated by sun radiation. This works in a similar manner as described above, but essentially the other way around. A further embodiment comprises that the air quality in room 903, and/or other rooms in the building, and/or in the spaces such as 301a,b,c and 302 may be measured with various sensors, such as humidity sensors, C02 sensors and temperature sensors. In order to reach desired values of humidity, temperature etc., the invented system may be activated for specifically lowering humidity of certain spaces or rooms for example. By incorporating these kinds of sensors in, or placing such sensors near one or more walls 906, 907, ceiling 905 and/or heat exchangers 101a,b, the invented system may acquire information on specific local conditions in the building and regulate airflow through the building with the purpose of, for example, maintaining a comfortable climate in the building. At least as important as this, is that the invented system allows for controlling (i.e. lowering) humidity of the walls 906, 907 in order to prevent built-up of moist and subsequent deterioration of the walls and/or a decrease in insulation capability of the walls and/or insulation material in e.g. the cavities of the walls.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. Use of the verb "to comprise" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. The term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The article "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The article "the" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

A system for heating or cooling a building, the building comprising one or more spaces having one or more walls and a ceiling, the system comprising one or more plate heat exchangers, the one or more plate heat exchangers being adapted for moving of heat from the heated air to the one or more spaces or moving heat from the one or more spaces to the air, characterized in that - a plate heat exchanger from the one or more plate heat exchangers is arranged to be mounted mainly parallel to a wall of the one or more walls, at a distance from the wall; - one or more air ducts are arranged for guiding an air flow through the building; - a first air channel of the one or more air channels is configured between the plate heat exchanger and the wall, and adapted to direct an air flow along the plate heat exchanger; - the system further comprises a control unit adapted to control the air flow.

The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the plate heat exchanger is arranged to be mounted mainly parallel to the inside of a wall of the one or more rooms.

The system according to claim 2, characterized in that the system further comprises a cover, arranged to be mounted mainly parallel to the ceiling at a distance from the ceiling, wherein a second air channel of the one or more air channels is configured between the cover and ceiling, wherein a second air channel is configured between the cover and the ceiling, wherein the second air channel is adapted to direct the air flow from the first channel to the second channel.

The system according to claim 3, characterized in that the cover comprises a functional textile such as a stretch ceiling.

The system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover is further adapted to cover at least a portion of the first plate heat exchanger, thereby creating a continuous conduction from the first plate heat exchanger to the second channel.

The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a second plate heat exchanger of the one or more plate heat exchangers is adapted to be mounted mainly parallel to the outside of the one or more spaces.

The system according to claim 6, characterized in that the second plate heat exchanger comprises at least a part of the facade cladding of the outer wall of the building.

The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system further comprises a central system adapted to heat up or cool down the one or more plate heat exchangers.

The system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central system comprises a renewable energy system, such as a geothermal heat exchanger or a solar collector.

The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the one or more plate heat exchangers comprise means for heating or cooling the one or more plate heat exchangers.

The system according to claim 10, characterized in that the configuration of the one or more plate heat exchangers comprises a front plate and a back plate, the means for heating or cooling comprising: - a structure of fluid channels between the front plate and the back plate, the said structure connects the front plate and the back plate; - an inlet adapted to guide a heat transfer fluid from the central system to the fluid channels; - an outlet adapted to direct the heat transfer fluid from the fluid channels to the central system.

The system according to claim 11, characterized in that the outlet of a heat exchanger of the one or more heat exchangers is adapted to be mounted on another heat exchanger of the one or more heat exchangers in such a way that, if the inlet of one heat exchanger is coupled to the outlet of another heat exchanger, a connection between the inlet and the outlet allowing continuous flow of the heat transfer fluid from one heat exchanger to the other heat exchanger.

The system according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the inlet and / or outlet comprises one or more outlet holes of the liquid channels.

The system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plate heat exchanger is provided with one or more channels that allow heat transport from the plate heat exchanger to the one or more air ducts and / or from the one or more air channels to the plate heat exchanger.

The system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a first air channel of the one or more air channels on a first side of the building is connected to a second air channel of the one or more air channels on a second side of the building.

The system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system further comprises one or more ventilation units adapted to force the air flow through one or more air ducts.

The system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit is adapted to control the operation of the one or more ventilation units.

The system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit is adapted to heat up or cool down the heat transfer fluid in dependence on the parameters comprising: - the demand of an occupant of the building for adapting the climate conditions of a room ; - the capacity of the central system; - current temperature of the room; - current humidity of the room; - current outside temperature; - current weather conditions, such as humidity, wind, position of the sun, air pressure and temperature; - weather forecasts; - availability of heat in a heat buffer; - the resident's demand for heat or cold.