WO2006067762A1

WO2006067762A1 - Heat insulating and air conditioning method and system

Info

Publication number: WO2006067762A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/054392
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alberto Toscano
Original assignee: Alberto Toscano
Priority date: 2004-12-23
Filing date: 2005-12-23
Publication date: 2006-06-29
Also published as: ITCT20040042A1

Abstract

An insulating and conditioning method and system for an inside environment delimited by walls envisages that there be provided, at said walls, hollow and basically plane panels, apt to be crossed by a heat exchange fluid, on the entire surface delimiting the environment or at least on a significant portion thereof on which the heat exchange with the outside is subtended, with the controlling of the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of said heat exchange fluid from said hollow panels, thereby minimizing the heat exchange between inside and outside of the environment.

Description

HEAT INSULATING AND AIR CONDITIONING METHOD AND SYSTEM

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a thermofluidynamic insulating and conditioning method and system, suitable for being applied to closed environments of various kinds , like buildings , means of transport , cold-storage rooms or the like . Various insulating and conditioning systems are known : they generally operate on the environment-contained air that is treated to give a certain temperature and humidity thereto . Or, a more simplified system envisages the insertion, in the environment to be conditioned, of heat exchange elements influencing, by convection or radiance, the temperature of the air and of the items contained in the environment .

More complex systems envisage the processing of large volumes of air that have to be extracted and inletted again by suitable fans and compressors , with remarkable energy expenditure . Moreover, it is quite difficult to attain a homogeneous temperature distribution or the absence of cumbersome cold- or hot-air streams . On the other hand, simpler systems are intrinsically a source of heat (transfer) heterogeneity . However, such systems are unrelated to an adequate environment insulating system that could contribute To the holding of a certain internal temperature, minimizing heat exchanges with the outside environment . On the contrary, all known systems generate hot or cold spots in the conditioned environment , fostering heat exchanges with the outside that then have to be compensated for by the conditioning .

The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide an insulating and conditioning method and system overcoming the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the known art . Such a problem is solved by an insulating and conditioning method for an inside environment delimited by walls , comprising the following steps :

* providing, at said walls , hollow and basically plane panels , apt to be crossed by a heat exchange fluid, on the entire surface delimiting the environment or at least on a significant portion thereof on which the heat exchange with the outside is subtended;

* flowing, inside of said hollow panels , a heat exchange fluid; and * controlling the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of said heat exchange fluid from said hollow panels , thereby minimizing the heat exchange between inside and outside of the environment . According to the same inventive concept , an insulating and conditioning system for environments delimited by walls comprises :

* a plurality of hollow and basically plane panels , applied at said walls so as to enclose basically the entire room, said panels being apt to be crossed by a heat exchange fluid;

* means for the detecting of the internal temperature and of the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature from said hollow panels of the heat exchange fluid;

* means for heat conditioning the heat exchange fluid; and

* control means connected to the temperature detecting means and to the conditioning means .

The main advantage of the method and of the system according to the present invention lies in allowing a substantial elimination of the heat exchange between inside and outside of the environment, improving the homogeneity of the internal temperature and reducing the volumes of air, or of other heat exchange fluid, with respect to the traditional systems . Even the average temperature at which the heat exchange fluid is kept is sensibly lower, reducing the overall environmental impact of the system. The present invention will hereinafter be described according to some preferred embodiments thereof , given by way of example and without limitative purposes with reference to the following examples and to the annexed drawings , wherein :

* figure 1 shows a schematic and partially sectional perspective view of a cold-storage room incorporating the insulating and conditioning system according to the present invention; * figure 2 shows a schematic and partially sectional perspective view of a building incorporating the insulating and conditioning system according to the present invention;

* figure 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the system of the preceding figures ; and

* figure 4 shows a cross section of a detail of the abovementioned system.

Referring to the figures , a thermofluidynamic insulating and conditioning system is constructed so as to nearly totally eliminate the heat exchange between the inside and the outside of any environment to be thermally insulated .

Said system is made by installing, inside of or optionally on the external faces of the walls 1 of the environment itself , a plurality of basically plane hollow panels 2 , manufacturable with any material also see- through, inside which, following a forced path made with spacer strips 3 , there circulates a conditioned heat exchange fluid . Preferably, the path of the fluid is coil-shaped . The fluid may be suitably conditioned air that , by forced convection, compensates the heat exchange with the outside making a perfect heat insulation. For "walls" are and will be meant all those partitions separating the environment to be isolated from the outside environment , therefore comprising also the top and bottom covering as well as the load-bearing structures .

Means for the detecting of the internal temperature and of the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature from said hollow panels of the heat exchange fluid are provided . Moreover, Means for heat conditioning the heat exchange fluid and control means connected to the temperature detecting means and to the conditioning means are provided. Said heat conditioning means allows air circulation inside the panels via an inlet hole 4 and an outlet hole 5 connecting the panels 2 themselves, by means of a connection pipe 6 , of an inlet pipe 7 and an outlet pipe 8 , or between themselves to make connections in series , in parallel and/or mixed, allowing to deactivate at will the single panel or a set of panels merely by acting onto the inlet hole with a suitable valve (figure 3) . Such conditioning means may comprise a heat pump 9 that , through the inlet 7 and outlet 8 pipes , inlets and intakes the conditioned air allowing its circulation inside of the circuit and controlling its temperature , which shall have to be held at the same value of that desired each time inside of the environment to be heat- insulated. For ^λheat pump' it is meant means for extracting heat from a cold source , to inlet it into a warm environment . Therefore, the heat pump may be used to cool an environment from which heat is extracted or to heat an environment with the heat extracted from the outside environment . Advantageously, the heat pump 9 is of a reversible type , it being employable to extract heat from the inside or from the outside .

The panels can conveniently be obtained from interspaces already present or expressly obtained inside of the walls , doors , windows and of any other building element of the wall to be heat-insulated . Said interspaces will internally be structured like the panels . The air to be inletted inside the walls may be produced, apart from by apparatuses made therefor, also by utilizing air from systems discharging into the environment fluids brought to temperature as in the case of boilers , fireplaces , water heaters , etc . , with a further energy saving that makes the system free of charge in wintertime (remote heating) .

The material to be used to make the panels does not necessarily need special heat-insulating properties ; hence , there may be selected the materials best suited to the building needs , favouring the non-toxic ones in aid of the environment .

The reduced thickness of the panel , or the use of its own interspaces , allows to install the system in any wall , even in that of cars , industrial sheds , railway carriages , prefabs , and in general of any environment to be heat-insulated even if not typically intended for human activities such as cold-storage rooms , rooms for the constant-temperature storage of foods , ovens (furnaces) , etc .

Specifically, figure 1 illustrates a cold-storage room and figure 2 illustrates a building intended for dwelling .

For proper food storage, heat insulation is a fundamental element for safeguarding the freshness and the genuineness of the foods , which, when correctly stored, have their edibility greatly prolonged. Otherwise, food deterioration occurs . The system and the method described herein markedly improve storage conditions , as they eliminate various problems related to the creation of a climate suitable for the inside of cold-storage rooms , with a remarkable energy saving . In a cold-storage room 10 placed on a means of transport to be delivered several hours after the departure , upon bringing the internal temperature to the desired value, if the container is insulated as described above the sole energy required to keep constant the temperature of the environment or room in which the foods are stored is that needed to keep constant the temperature of the external casing . The volume of air to be treated could be about the 1÷2% of the internal one , therefore during the whole trip it will be needed an energy consumption far lower than that commonly required . Moreover, inside of cold-storage rooms , at closed doors an uniform distribution of the temperature will be attained at all times , as also the walls farthest from the coils (e . g . , the internal wall of the refrigerator door) will always be at the same temperature ; therefore , at the closing of the door, the internal temperature will shortly return to the set value .

Concerning a building, to attain a comfortable condition of well-being inside of the environments in which humans dwell and work, the air conditioning of the environment itself is of fundamental importance; in the state of the art it is carried out by insulating the external walls , inletting conditioned air inside of the rooms to be conditioned or heating the internal air with convectors , and controlling the temperature with thermostats . The power of present-day air conditioners and heat pumps allows to attain the desired temperature in any environment , in wintertime as well as in summertime , with an energy expenditure that is inversely proportional to the effectiveness of the heat insulation . The impossibility of attaining the perfect heat insulation generates critical situations that , ultimately, hinder the keeping of a real condition of well -being and foster the insurgence of diseases , above all respiratory and ostheoarticular ones . In addition, a less than perfect insulation entails the insurgence of serious technical problems such as presence of condensation, heat bridges , thermal stresses , heat lows , etc . , and entailing serious damage to structures , high energy consumption and entailed environmental damages . Moreover, the comfort of an environment is mainly due to a good working temperature , i . e . to the mean temperature between those of the air and of the walls : a difference of sole three centigrade between the temperature of the walls and the internal one of the air induces a sensation of discomfort . To limit this discomfort , usually the temperature of the environment is raised or lowered (depending on whether it is wintertime or summertime) with an increase of the energy loss and the ever- increased condensation forming . Moreover, though on the one hand a powerful flow of conditioned air allows to reach the desired temperature , on the other hand it causes cumbersome indispositions . Hence , it is better to control the temperature of the walls with a good insulating cover, rather than opposing from the inside the difference in temperature of the walls with that of the internal environment . To thermofluidynamically insulate and condition a building 11 the above-described panels 2 should be installed in the perimeter walls , in the roofs and in the floors of the bottommost floor . The ideal solution is that of completely shrouding the entire external structure of a building 11 , comprising that in reinforced concrete that exchanges heat with the internal structure modifying the temperature of the floors as well . At the glass-fitted openings , the panels will be of see- through material or air circulation will be made possible inside of an interspace made with a double glazing . The external doors will comprise thereinside an interspace , in which the conditioned air will circulate . Preferably, the panels will be arranged on the inside , the thickness separating the panel from the outside being intended to exhibit a high heat resistance . The panels may be individually disabled to exploit the positive heat energy supply in the favourably exposed faςades (such as exposure to sun in wintertime or to shade in summertime) .

With a very low energy expenditure it is possible to keep all of the walls of the building and, in general , the entire structure , at the desired temperature, and it is possible to control the internal temperature with small inflows of conditioned air to compensate for unavoidable residual heat exchanges when not favourable . Thus , the efficiency of the conditioning systems is enormously increased and it is attained an energy saving such as to allow avoiding the well-known restrictive measures due to the atmospheric pollution of cities and the dangers of blackout .

To thermofluidynamically insulate and condition a means of transport , when the walls are even (buses , railway carriages , campers , etc . ) , the applying of the panels is extremely simple , in view of the minimal thickness required . At the windows , it will suffice to use a see- through panel or the slightly spaced double glazing allowing the passage of the conditioned air . In vehicles such as cars , where the walls assume nonlinear shapes , the panel may consist of the same bodywork, creating a double layer that be shaped inside as the inside of the panels . In these cases as well a high comfort is attained, with low consumptions and the reduction of the polluting emissions in the periods when it is necessary to keep the conditioning on .

In particular, in view of the limited space available to passengers , the reduction in the flow of conditioned air, which in cramped spaces is certainly more irksome and damaging, is all the more advantageous to their health. In general , the heat exchange in the above described scheme can be described as follows : Qe = Ke (Te-Tf) Qi = Ki (Tf-Ti) where Qe is the heat exchanged between the outside environment and the heat exchange fluid, Te is the external temperature , Ke is the coefficient of overall heat exchange between the heat exchange fluid and the outside, allowing for all of the partial exchange coefficients set in series , Tf is the temperature of the fluid, or, to a first approximation, the mean temperature between the inlet temperature Tin and the outlet temperature Tout of the heat exchange fluid from the hollow panels . Lastly, Qi is the heat exchanged between the inside environment and the heat exchange fluid, Ti is the (set) internal temperature , Ki is the coefficient of overall heat exchange between the heat exchange fluid and the inside , allowing for all of the partial exchange coefficients set in series . The overall heat exchange from inside and outside will be given by the expression : Qc = Qe+Qi where Qc is the heat exchanged between inside and outside and Qe and Qi have different signs . The minimizing of Qc entails that the absolute values of Qe and Qi are similar : l Qe | - Qi

In the system advanced herein the condition Ke<Ki is achieved. Thus , the minimizing of said heat exchange entails that the difference between Ti and Tf may be sensibly reduced and far lower than the difference between Te and Tf .

The reduced difference between Tf and Ti increases the environmental comfort as sources of heat or of refrigeration inside of the environment are eliminated .

If the condition Ke<<Ki is achieved, then there will be achieved the optimal condition :

Tf « Ti and Tin « Tout

However, the condition Ke<Ki should not be deemed essential : there are some typologies of environments (hothouses , vehicles such as cars and the like) in which the condition is easily achieved, where the invention can be applied as described .

The power required to keep the system operating can be obtained from the formula : Wtot = Wq + Wc where Wtot is the overall power, Wq is the heat power for holding a certain mean temperature Tf between Tin and Tout , Wc is the power for circulating the heat exchange fluid inside of the system. It is obtained: Wq = (Tin-Tout) -V- f where V is the volume internal to the hollow panels and f is the frequency with which the content of the panels should be entirely heat-treated . In other words , V- f is the flow rate of the heat exchange fluid. Wc = Cd - V- f where Cd are the load losses per unitary flow rate , in turn depending on the panel geometry and on the velocities of the heat exchange fluid inside of the panel . Hence , there will be a V- f value optimizing the Wtot value .

In short , the above described system and method allow conditions of extreme comfort in human dwelling or working environments , for any external temperature, and the elimination of all of the technical drawbacks deriving from a less than perfect insulation and the physical disorders , even serious ones , related to the present-day conditioning system. Moreover, there can be kept environmental conditions ideal in industrial processes, with remarkable energy savings , environmental protection, an enormous improvement of the efficiency of the air-conditioning installations and an utmost safety of use . To the above described insulating and conditioning method and system a person skilled in the art , in order to satisfy further and contingent needs , could effect several further modifications and variants , all however falling within the protective scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims .

Claims

1. An insulating and conditioning method for an inside environment delimited by walls , comprising the following steps : * providing, at said walls , hollow and basically plane panels , apt to be crossed by a heat exchange fluid, on the entire surface delimiting the environment or at least on a significant portion thereof on which the heat exchange with the outside is subtended; * flowing, inside of said hollow panels , a heat exchange fluid; and

* controlling the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of said heat exchange fluid from said hollow panels , thereby minimizing the heat exchange between inside and outside of the environment .

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the average temperature of the heat exchange fluid is basically close to the temperature of the inside environment .

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the temperature controlling takes place by a heat pump .

4. An insulating and conditioning system for environments delimited by walls ( 1) comprises :

* a plurality of hollow and basically plane panels (2 ) , applied at said walls (1) so as to enclose basically the entire environment , said panels (2 ) being apt to be crossed by a heat exchange fluid;

* means for the detecting of the internal temperature and of the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature from said hollow panels (2 ) of the heat exchange fluid;

* means (9) for heat conditioning the heat exchange fluid; and

5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the coefficient of overall heat exchange between the heat exchange fluid and the outside is far greater than the coefficient of overall heat exchange between the heat exchange fluid and the inside, allowing for all of the partial exchange coefficients set in series .

6. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the means (9) for heat conditioning the heat exchange fluid comprises a heat pump .

7. The system according to claim 4 , wherein, inside of the hollow panels (2 ) , the heat exchange fluid follows a coil -shaped path .

8. The system according to claim 4 , wherein each individual panel of the system may be disabled.

9. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the hollow panels are obtained from interspaces in the walls (1) .

10. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the panels are arranged substantially inside of the environment to be conditioned .

11. The system according to claim 4 , wherein the heat exchange fluid is air .

12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the air comes from systems discharging into the environment fluids brought to temperature .