U.S. patent application number 10/716323 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-19 for passive energy saving system for a building.
This patent application is currently assigned to ATOMIC ENERGY COUNCIL - INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH. Invention is credited to Lee, Chien-Hsiung, Lee, Dah-Jenn, Liu, Tay-Jian.
Application Number | 20050103327 10/716323 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34574400 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050103327 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee, Chien-Hsiung ; et
al. |
May 19, 2005 |
Passive energy saving system for a building
Abstract
The passive energy saving system for a building of the present
invention includes a first reservoir, a heat exchanger positioned
under the first reservoir, a first pipeline connecting the first
reservoir and the heat exchanger, a heat-absorbing board positioned
in the building, and a second pipeline connecting the heat
exchanger and the heat-absorbing board. The first reservoir
comprises cooling water, and the function of the first pipeline is
to transfer the cooling water between the first reservoir and the
heat exchanger. The heat-absorbing board uses fluid to absorb heat
of air inside the building, and the function of the second pipeline
is to transfer the fluid between the heat-absorbing board and the
heat exchanger.
Inventors: |
Lee, Chien-Hsiung; (Taoyuan,
TW) ; Liu, Tay-Jian; (Taoyuan, TW) ; Lee,
Dah-Jenn; (Taipei, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John S. Egbert
Harrison & Egbert
7th Floor
412 Main Street
Houston
TX
77002
US
|
Assignee: |
ATOMIC ENERGY COUNCIL - INSTITUTE
OF NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH
Taoyuan
TW
|
Family ID: |
34574400 |
Appl. No.: |
10/716323 |
Filed: |
November 18, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/643 ;
126/623; 126/629 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24D 2200/14 20130101;
Y02E 10/44 20130101; F28D 15/0266 20130101; Y02B 10/20 20130101;
F24F 8/22 20210101; F24F 2007/004 20130101; Y02B 10/70 20130101;
F24S 10/55 20180501; Y02A 30/272 20180101; F24D 2200/22 20130101;
F24F 5/0046 20130101; F24D 11/006 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/643 ;
126/629; 126/623 |
International
Class: |
F24J 002/30 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A passive energy saving system for a building comprising: a heat
exchanger; a first reservoir including cooling water; a first
pipeline connecting the heat exchanger and the first reservoir for
transferring the cooling water between the heat exchanger and the
first reservoir; a heat-absorbing board positioned in the building
for absorbing air heat in the building by using a fluid; and a
second pipeline connecting the heat exchanger and the
heat-absorbing board for transferring the fluid between the heat
exchanger and the heat-absorbing board.
2. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 1,
wherein the heat-absorbing board is positioned below the heat
exchanger, and the heat exchanger is positioned below the first
reservoir.
3. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 1,
further comprising a cooling module positioned on a window of the
building for cooling air entering the building.
4. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 3,
wherein the cooling module is positioned below the heat-absorbing
board.
5. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 3,
wherein the cooling module comprises: a cooler for absorbing air
heat entering the building; and a third pipeline connecting the
heat-absorbing board and the cooler.
6. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 5,
wherein the cooling module further comprises a photo catalyst
filter and an active carbon filter for purifying air entering the
building.
7. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 1,
further comprising: a second reservoir positioned under the ground
of the building; and a pump for transferring the cooling water from
the second reservoir to the first reservoir.
8. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 7,
further comprising a fourth pipeline connecting the second
reservoir and the heat exchanger, wherein the pump transfers the
cooling water from the second reservoir to the first reservoir
through the fourth pipeline and the first pipeline.
9. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 1,
further comprising an air circulation module, wherein the air
circulation module comprises: an air inlet positioned in the
building; an air outlet positioned in the building; and a first
heat-exchanging pipe positioned in the first reservoir and
connecting the air inlet and the air outlet, wherein air in the
building flows into the first heat-exchanging pipe through the air
inlet by buoyancy, and flows into the building through the air
outlet after being cooled by the cooling water in the first
reservoir.
10. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 9,
wherein the air circulation module further comprises an air
purifier positioned between the air inlet and the first
heat-exchanging pipe.
11. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 9,
wherein the air circulation module further comprises a solar energy
collector positioned between the air inlet and the first
heat-exchanging pipe.
12. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 11,
wherein the solar energy collector comprises: a heat-absorbing
plate; and a plurality of helical coils connected to the
heat-absorbing plate.
13. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 11,
wherein the air circulation module further comprises: a hot water
tank positioned between the solar energy collector and the first
heat-exchanging pipe; and a second heat-exchanging pipe positioned
in the hot water tank, wherein the second heat-exchanging pipe
absorbs air heat heated by the solar energy collector so as to warm
up water in the hot water tank.
14. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 11,
wherein the air circulation module further comprises: a first
control valve positioned between the first reservoir and the solar
energy collector; a bypass pipeline positioned between the solar
energy collector and the air outlet; and a second control valve
positioned on the bypass pipeline.
15. A passive energy saving system for a building comprising: a
first reservoir positioned on the roof of the building, wherein the
first reservoir includes a first heat-exchanging pipe and cooling
water; an air inlet positioned in the building for conducting air
in the building into the first heat-exchanging pipe; and an air
outlet positioned in the building and connected to the first
heat-exchanging pipe for conducting air cooled by the cooling water
into the building.
16. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 15,
further comprising an air purifier positioned between the air inlet
and the first heat-exchanging pipe.
17. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 15,
further comprising a solar energy collector positioned between the
air inlet and the first heat-exchanging pipe.
18. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 17,
wherein the solar energy collector comprises: a heat-absorbing
plate; and a plurality helical coils connected to the
heat-absorbing plate.
19. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 17,
further comprising: a hot water tank positioned between the solar
energy collector and the first heat-exchanging pipe; and a second
heat-exchanging pipe positioned in the hot water tank, wherein the
second heat-exchanging pipe absorbs air heat heated by the solar
energy collector so as to warm up water in the hot water tank.
20. The passive energy saving system for a building of claim 17,
further comprising: a first control valve positioned between the
first reservoir and the solar energy collector; a bypass pipeline
positioned between the solar energy collector and the air outlet;
and a second control valve positioned on the bypass pipeline.
Description
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention relates to a passive energy saving
system for a building, and more particularly, to a passive energy
saving system using the natural circulation of the two-phase flow
to regulate the indoor temperature of the building, using the solar
energy and the wind power to drive the indoor air circulation,
using the solar energy to provide the warm water, and using the
photo catalyst to purify air.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The energy crisis occurred in the '70s raised people
thoughts on replacing traditional fuels used for a building with
solar energy, thus it accelerated the development of active solar
energy heating system. But it was not until 1978 that the research
of passive cooling system without power supply has been carried
out. In recent years, the primary reason that the passive cooling
technology has been paid great attention is that the peak
electricity power consumption in summer is higher and higher, and
that the electricity power load of cooling air-conditioner is
aggravating. Restraining peak electricity power consumption not
only enables consumers to reduce electricity expense but also
reduces the investment on power generation capacity. Furthermore,
it is based on the consideration of long-term energy policy. It is
hoped that through the promotion of passive cooling system or
low-energy cooling system, the requirements on cooling
air-conditioner can be reduced, thus the goal of saving energy and
decreasing the greenhouse gas discharge can be achieved.
[0006] The goal of a building energy saving design is to realize
natural ventilation, provide high-quality and comfortable indoor
atmosphere environment, and reduce the requirements on energy cost
of a building cooling system and heating system to be as low as
possible. The conventional building energy saving technologies
include: (1) reducing the solar radiation entering the building;
(2) making use of solar energy for ventilation, air-conditioning,
and providing warm water; and (3) making use of underground cooling
energy saving system.
[0007] Some of the above-described energy-saving technologies have
been described in patent documents. For example, WO 9,625,632
discloses the roof type air circulation system, U.S. Pat. No.
4,934,338 discloses the wall-mounting air heater, U.S. Pat. No.
4,418,618 discloses the solar energy warm-water supply system, US
2003/0037907 A1 discloses solar energy heat-pipe type heat
exchanger, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,573 discloses the energy saving
system that saves solar energy in underground pipeline. However,
the above-mentioned conventional technologies possess many
disadvantages, which can be improved to promote the application of
building energy saving and air-conditioner.
[0008] 1. The ground cooling energy saving system must be in
coordination with the construction of a building, and a large
quantity of cooling or warm-up pipelines must be buried under the
deep ground beforehand. The outdoor air must pass through the
underground pipelines to make the temperature of air approach the
underground temperature. The building ventilation system is then
imported to adjust the indoor temperature, and thus the energy
required by the cooling system (in summer) or heating system (in
winter) can be reduced. Because the construction project of such
energy-saving system is very large, the structure is complex and
difficult for maintenance, and thus the investment needs a long
return period.
[0009] 2. The conventional energy saving system requires to be
brought into the integrated planning during the design of building,
and in coordination with the construction sequence of building to
complete the energy saving system. For the existing building, if
the energy saving system is to be added, problems such as
installation difficulty and cost increase will arise.
[0010] 3. The components of the conventional energy saving system
lack modularized design, and they are quite difficult to be applied
to the buildings with multifarious design to reduce the energy
consuming of cooling system in summer and heating system in
winter.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The objective of the present invention is to provide a
passive energy saving system using the natural circulation of the
two-phase flow to regulate the indoor temperature of a building,
using the solar energy and the wind power to drive the indoor air
circulation, using the solar energy to provide the warm water, and
using the photo catalyst to purify air.
[0012] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective and avoid
the problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a
passive energy saving system for a building. The passive energy
saving system includes a first reservoir, a heat exchanger
positioned under the first reservoir, a first pipeline connecting
the first reservoir and the heat exchanger, a heat-absorbing board
positioned in the building, and a second pipeline connecting the
heat exchanger and the heat-absorbing board. The first reservoir
comprises cooling water, the heat exchanger comprises a
condensation pipe submerged by the cooling water, and the first
pipeline transfers the cooling water between the first reservoir
and the heat exchanger. The heat-absorbing board uses a fluid to
absorb heat of air inside the building, and the second pipeline
transfers the fluid between the heat-absorbing board and the heat
exchanger.
[0013] The fluid in the heat-absorbing board vaporizes after
absorbing air heat inside the building and the vapor flows to the
condensation pipe in the heat exchanger passively through the
second pipeline by buoyancy. The vapor is condensed into liquid by
the cooling water in the heat exchanger, and the liquid then flows
passively to the heat-absorbing board through the second pipeline
by gravity. The temperature of the cooling water in the heat
exchanger increases after absorbing air heat, while the density is
decreased to flow upward to the first reservoir by buoyancy. The
first reservoir can provide the cooling water continuously to the
heat exchanger through the first pipeline.
[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention possesses
the following advantages:
[0015] 1. The passive energy saving system of the present invention
can make use of the existing water storage facilities of the
building, thus the construction engineering of the passive energy
saving system can be simplified and the cost is reduced
effectively.
[0016] 2. The present invention makes use of the solar energy
collector to heat air, the sunshine to illuminate photo catalyst to
purify air, the hot water tank to absorb the solar energy, and the
first reservoir to cool air. As a result, the solar energy
collector of the present invention can be used to collect the solar
energy effectively to make the indoor air clean and comfortable,
and provide indoor with warm water without consuming energy.
[0017] 3. According to the present invention, all the constructive
modules, such as the cooling module, the solar energy collector,
the heat-absorbing board and the heat exchanger of the passive
energy saving system, can be designed to be modularized, and can be
flexibly assembled and positioned in the existing multifarious
buildings. Furthermore, the entire system layout can be designed
for large-scale buildings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] Other objectives and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent upon reading the following descriptions and
upon reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a passive energy saving
system according to the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a side view of a cooling module according to the
present invention;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 2 along the A-A
section line;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram of a heat exchanger
according to the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram of the condensation pipe
according to the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a solar energy collector
according to the present invention; and
[0025] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an air purifier according
to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a passive energy saving
system 10 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1,
the passive energy saving system 10 is built in a building 20, and
includes a first reservoir 600, a heat exchanger 300 positioned
under the first reservoir 600, a first pipeline 610 connecting the
first reservoir 600 and the heat exchanger 300, a heat-absorbing
board 200 positioned in the building 20 and a second pipeline 250
connecting the heat exchanger 300 and the heat-absorbing board
200.
[0027] The first reservoir 600 comprises cooling water, and the
first pipeline 610 transfers the cooling water between the first
reservoir 600 and the heat exchanger 300. The heat exchanger 300
includes a condensation pipe 320 that is covered by the cooling
water in the heat exchanger 300. The heat-absorbing board 200 is
positioned below the heat exchanger 300 and includes a fluid, such
as coolant, to absorb air heat in the building 20. The boiling
point of the coolant under a certain pressure is the temperature,
such as 27, that makes people feel comfortable. In addition, to be
in conformity with the environmental protection regulation and
reduce damage to the ozone layer, the coolant can be selected from
R-25, R-32, R-125, R-134a and mixed with appropriate ratio. The
coolant vaporizes after absorbing heat and the vapor flows upward
to the condensation pipe 320 passively through the second pipeline
250 by buoyancy. The vapor is condensed into liquid through the
cooling water in heat exchanger 300, and the liquid then flows
downward passively to the heat-absorbing board 200 through the
second pipeline 250 by gravity.
[0028] The passive energy saving system 10 can further include a
cooling module 100 positioned on a window 121 under the
heat-absorbing board 200 for cooling air entering the building 20.
The cooling module 100 includes a cooler 140, a third pipeline 150
connecting the heat-absorbing board 200 and the cooler 140. The
third pipeline 150 is used to transfer the coolant between the
heat-absorbing board 200 and the cooler 140. The coolant in the
cooler 140 vaporizes by absorbing air heat entering the building 20
and the vapor flows upward passively to the heat-absorbing board
200 through the third pipeline 150 by buoyancy. The liquid coolant
in heat-absorbing board 200 reflows to the cooler 140 through the
third pipeline 150 downward passively by gravity to absorb air heat
entering building 20 continuously. In addition, the cooling module
100 can further include a photo catalyst filter 122 and an active
carbon filter 123 for purifying air entering the building 20. In
combination of the cooler 140, the third pipeline 150, the
heat-absorbing board 200, the second pipeline 250 and the coolant
in the condensation pipe 320 of the heat exchanger 300 together
construct a two-phase natural circulation system to cool air
entering the building 20.
[0029] The passive energy saving system 10 of the present invention
can further include a second reservoir 11 positioned under the
ground of the building 20, a fourth pipeline 13 connecting the
second reservoir 11 and the heat exchanger 300, and a pump 12 for
pumping the cooling water to the first reservoir 600 from the
second reservoir 11 through the fourth pipeline 13 and the first
pipeline 610. Because of the heat sink effect of underground, the
temperature of the cooling water in the second reservoir 11 is
lower than that in the first reservoir 600, and the cooling water
required by the first reservoir 600 can thus be continuously
provided by the second reservoir 11 according to the present
invention.
[0030] Generally speaking, the building 20 includes a water tower
or a fire fighting water tank on the roof, and an underground water
storage tank is positioned under the ground of the building. The
present invention can make use of the water tower or fire fighting
water tank at the roof as the first reservoir 600, and make use of
the underground water storage pool as the second reservoir 11, and
therefore the existing water storage facilities can be used in the
passive energy saving system 10 of the present invention to supply
water for the building 20. The first reservoir 600 supplies
domestic water for the building 20 continuously, while the outdoor
water supply system can refill water to the first reservoir 600 to
maintain a predetermined liquid level, and therefore the cooling
water in the first reservoir 600 is updated continuously such that
it will not be overheated due to absorbing air heat in the building
20. The present invention adjusts the indoor temperature through
the cooling water in the first reservoir 600 and achieves the
reduction of energy required by the cooling system (in summer) and
the heating system (in winter).
[0031] The passive energy saving system 10 of the present invention
can further include an air circulation module, which comprises a
first heat-exchanging pipe 620 positioned in the first reservoir
600, an air inlet 360 positioned in the building 20 and connected
to an inlet of the first heat-exchanging pipe 620, and an air
outlet 380 positioned in the building 20 and connected to an outlet
of the first heat-exchanging pipe 620. The warm air inside the
building 20 flows to the first heat-exchanging pipe 620 through the
air inlet 360 by buoyancy. The cooling water of the first reservoir
600 cools the air, and it flows back into the building 20 through
the air outlet 380 by gravity so as to provide a cooling air with a
lower temperature. To improve the quality of air in the building
20, the air circulation module can include an air purifier 480
positioned between the air inlet 360 and the first heat-exchanging
pipe 620.
[0032] In addition, the air circulation module can further include
a solar energy collector 400 positioned between the air inlet 360
and the first heat-exchanging pipe 620. The solar energy collector
400 can heat up air passing therethrough to decrease the density of
air to increase buoyancy, thus the air circulation for the building
20 is accelerated. Furthermore, the air circulation module can
further include a hot water tank 500 positioned between the solar
energy collector 400 and the first heat-exchanging pipe 620, and a
second heat-exchanging pipe 520 positioned in the hot water tank
500. Through the second heat-exchanging pipe 520, water in the hot
water tank 500 can absorb air heat heated up by the solar energy
collector 400, so that the hot water tank 500 can provide warm
domestic water for the building 20 through an outlet 550.
[0033] The airflow in the air circulation module climbs upward with
an elevation angle, and changes to downward inclination with a
depression angle after leaving the air purifier 480. The warm air
enters the hot water tank 500 at first and passes through the
second heat-exchanging pipe 520 where a portion of heat is absorbed
by water in the hot water tank 500. Air then enters the first
reservoir 600 at the downstream and passes through the first
heat-exchanging pipe 620 where a portion of heat is absorbed by the
cooling water in the first reservoir 600, and finally enters the
building 20 through the air outlet 380. Because the flowing air in
the air circulation module absorbs the solar energy, its
temperature increases and its density decreases so that it flows
upward. Hereafter, through the two cooling process performed in the
hot water tank 500 and the first reservoir 600, respectively, air
flows downward passively due to the decreased temperature and the
increased density, which construct an air circulation system driven
naturally by the solar energy.
[0034] The design criteria for the first heat-exchanging pipe 620
and the second heat-exchanging pipe 520 are to possess a larger
heat dissipation area, higher heat conduction efficiency, and the
smallest possible airflow resistance. The shape of the airflow path
for the heat-exchanging component complying with these criteria can
be circular, elliptic, rectangular, strip, etc. In addition, it is
contributive to achieve the optimal heat conduction effects between
air and water by adding cooling fins with all kinds of shapes and
with different arrangements in the airflow pipe wall, and inserting
all kinds of heat pipe or micro heat pipe in the airflow pipe wall.
The cooling water entering the first reservoir 600 will sink to the
bottom by gravity, while the cooling water at the bottom of the
first reservoir 600 can absorb the air heat passing through the
first heat-exchanging pipe 620 or absorb the indoor heat from the
heat-absorbing board 200 through the heat exchanger 300. Once
absorbing heat, the temperature of the cooling water at the bottom
of the first reservoir 600 will increase and the density will
decrease and force the cooling water to flow upward to the liquid
surface. The first reservoir 600 can provide the warm water to the
hot water tank 500 through a pipeline 510, while the first
reservoir 600 includes a water outlet 650 at the bottom for
providing the indoor cooling water.
[0035] When the solar intensity is not sufficient to drive the air
circulation, the fan 643 can be activated to increase the airflow
entering indoor. The function of the fan 643 is to increase the
solar energy absorption efficiency of the solar energy collector
400, increase the solar energy absorption efficiency of the hot
water tank 500, and increase the air-cooling efficiency of the
first reservoir 600. If the solar intensity is sufficient or the
natural circulation ventilation is adequate, the fan 643 can be
turned off and let air enter indoor with natural circulation.
[0036] The air circulation module of the present invention can
provide indoor either warm air or cooling air depending on the
alternation of seasons by controlling the flow direction of air
leaving the hot water tank 500. The air circulation module can
further include a first control valve 540 positioned between the
first reservoir 600 and the solar energy collector 400, a bypass
pipeline 530 positioned between the solar energy collector 400 and
the air outlet 380, and a second control valve 541 positioned on
the bypass pipeline 530. When a cooling air is required to enter
the building 20 during hot summer, the first control valve 540 is
opened and the second control valve 541 is closed so that the warm
air become a cooling air after passing through the hot water tank
500 and the first reservoir 600, and finally the cooling air enters
building 20. When the weather is cold with the need of warm air,
the first control valve 540 is closed and the second control valve
541 is opened so that the warm air leaves the hot water tank 500
and bypasses the first reservoir 600, and finally enters building
20 directly through the bypass pipeline 530.
[0037] FIG. 2 is a side view of the cooling module 100 according to
the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling module 100
is positioned on the window 121 of the building 20, and includes a
photo catalyst filter 122, an active carbon filter 123 and a cooler
140. The photo catalyst filter 122 is made of a photo catalyst
fiber, which can generate hydroxyl free radical with powerful
oxidation power to catalyze, decompose and remove any toxic
substance such as bacterium, virus, dirt acrid, oil stain and
carbon monoxide that may cause damage to human body. The photo
catalyst fiber is preferably made of ZnO with a diameter in several
nanometers, TiO.sub.2 with a diameter in several nanometers, gold
with a diameter in several nanometers, and silver with a diameter
in several nanometers, etc. Most preferably, the diameter of photo
catalyst material is smaller than 10 nanometers to have a better
performance. The active carbon filter 123 is made of an active
carbon fiber, whose function is to adsorb the odor and toxic
substance in air, and which possesses advantages such as good air
permeability, thin absorption layer, high absorption efficiency,
and low cost.
[0038] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 2 along the A-A
section line. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooler 140 includes a
plurality of rhombus cooling pipelines 141 and coolant 145 in the
cooling pipeline 141 for absorbing heat. The top of cooling
pipeline 141 is connected to a header 142 (as shown in FIG. 2),
which is connected to the bottom of the heat-absorbing board 200
through the third pipeline 150. The coolant 145 in the cooler 140
absorbs the air heat with high temperature and vaporizes, and the
vapor flows upward into the heat-absorbing board 200 (as shown in
FIG. 1) by buoyancy. The liquid coolant in the heat-absorbing board
200 flows back to the cooler 140 by gravity to form two-phase
natural circulation flow, which transports the heat of outdoor air
to the heat-absorbing board 200 and the heat is then dissipated to
the first reservoir 600 through the heat exchanger 300.
[0039] FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram of the heat exchanger 300
according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the heat
exchanger 300 is full of cooling water 330, and the condensation
pipe 320 is positioned inside the heat exchanger 300 and is
submerged by the cooling water 330. The function of the heat
exchanger 300 is to condense the coolant in vapor phase within the
condensation pipe 320 into liquid phase. The cooling water 330 in
the heat exchanger 300 absorbs heat from the pipe wall of the
condensation pipe 320, and the absorbed heat is further transferred
to the first reservoir 600 through the natural circulation of the
cooling water 330.
[0040] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram of the condensation pipe
320 according to the present invention. The design criteria for the
condensation pipe 320 are to possess a larger heat transfer area
and lower manufacture cost, and the condensation liquid can flow
back to the heat-absorbing board 200 by gravity (as shown in FIG.
1). As shown in FIG. 5, the vapor 328 in the condensation pipes 320
contacts with the pipe wall 322 and condensates into a liquid film
327, which can flow downward by gravity. The cooling water 330
outside the condensation pipe 320 flows upward to the first
reservoir 600 through the first pipeline 610 by the buoyancy
because its temperature increases and its density decreases after
absorbing heat from vapor 328, while the cooling water 330 in the
first reservoir 600 flows into the heat exchanger 300 by gravity
because of its larger density. As a result, the present invention
can remove the indoor heat of the building 20 to the first
reservoir 600 through natural circulation of the cooling water.
[0041] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the solar energy collector
400 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the
solar energy collector 400 includes a top cover 402, a
heat-absorbing plate 405 and a plurality of helical coils 415
connected to the heat-absorbing plate 405. The top cover 402 of the
solar energy collector 400 is composed of glass plate or
transparent plate, and the heat-absorbing plate 405 is composed of
black metal board to collect solar energy effectively. There is a
heat collection space 403 between the top cover 402 and the
heat-absorbing plate 405, and there is an airflow channel 411 below
the heat-absorbing plate 405. Air from the air inlet 360 enters the
entrance 401 of the solar energy collector 400, passes through the
entrance space 410, and flows to the airflow channel 411 inside the
helical coils 415 where air is heated to be warmer. The warm air is
collected by the outlet space 412, and then flows out of the solar
energy collector 400 through the outlet 413.
[0042] The helical coils 415 of the solar energy collector 400 are
thermally connected to the top and bottom of the airflow channel
411. The primary function of the helical coils 415 is to
efficiently conduct the high temperature of the heat-absorbing
plate 405 to the bottom of the airflow channel 411 by the high
thermal conductivity characteristics, and thus makes the
temperature of air in the airflow channel 411 distribute uniformly
and increases the absorbed solar heat energy. Another function of
the helical coils 415 is to improve the heat-absorption capability
of air. When air passes through the airflow channel 411 inside the
helical coils 415, the geometry of the helical coils 415 will
result in the air whirlpool and accelerate the turbulence of air to
improve the heat-absorption capability. The design criteria for the
helical coils 415 are that the material possesses characteristics
such as high conductivity and corrosion resistance such as copper,
aluminum, stainless steel, while the coil can be used different
shapes such as circular column, square column, strip, etc. The
outer diameter of the helical coils 415 must have contact with the
top and bottom of the airflow channel 411 directly, and its channel
axis must be in parallel with the direction of airflow channel
411.
[0043] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the air purifier 480
according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the
exterior of the air purifier 480 is a transparent box 483, the
interior is a transparent pipe 482, and air is between the exterior
and interior. The transparent pipe 482 includes a fiber-knitting
wall 481 positioned in parallel with the flow direction of air, and
there are air channels 485 between fiber-knitting walls 481. The
sum of the cross-sectional area of the air channel 485 in the
transparent pipe 482 should be larger than the flow cross-sectional
area of the pipelines entering the air purifier 480, so that the
flow resistance of air purifier 480 can be reduced to allow air to
pass therethrough. The composing material of the fiber-knitting
wall 481 includes active carbon fiber and photo catalyst. Sunlight
can penetrate the transparent box 483 and pipe 482 and illuminate
the fiber-knitting wall 481 directly to generate hydroxyl free
radical with powerful oxidation ability, thus it catalyzes to
decompose and remove the toxic substance to human body.
[0044] Compared with the prior art, the present invention possesses
the following advantages:
[0045] 1 . The passive energy saving system of the present
invention can make use of the existing water storage facilities of
the building, thus the construction engineering of the passive
energy saving system can be simplified and the cost is reduced
effectively.
[0046] 2. The present invention make use of the solar energy
collector to heat air, sunlight to illuminate photo catalyst to
purify air, the hot water tank to absorb the solar energy, and the
first reservoir to cool air. As a result, the solar energy
collector of the present invention can be used to collect the solar
energy effectively to make the indoor air of the building clean and
comfortable, and provide indoor warm water without consuming
energy.
[0047] 3. According to the present invention, all the constructive
modules, such as the cooling module, the solar energy collector,
the heat-absorbing board and the heat exchanger of the passive
energy saving system, can be designed to be modularized, which can
be flexibly assembled and positioned in the existing multifarious
buildings. Furthermore, the entire system layout can be designed
for large scale building.
[0048] The above-described embodiments of the present invention are
intended to be illustrative only. Numerous alternative embodiments
may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from
the scope of the following claims.
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