U.S. patent application number 12/354920 was filed with the patent office on 2010-01-21 for solar powered heating and air conditioning.
Invention is credited to Daniel D. De Lima.
Application Number | 20100011794 12/354920 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41529064 |
Filed Date | 2010-01-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100011794 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
De Lima; Daniel D. |
January 21, 2010 |
Solar Powered Heating and Air Conditioning
Abstract
A solar powered system for providing heat, power and air
condition. According to at least one aspect of the invention, there
is described a system for using solar power and solar heat to heat
a liquid that can be used to control heat, power, cooling, and
humidity in a structure to provide an autonomous building that is
independent of power grids. The solar system can utilize a
desiccant cycle to cool liquid which can be used for air
conditioning. An advanced recycling system can use water in stages
(i.e., "gray water") to efficiently use and recycle scarce water
with a limited amount of power requirements.
Inventors: |
De Lima; Daniel D.;
(Norfolk, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MEREK, BLACKMON & VOORHEES, LLC
673 S. WASHINGTON ST.
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
41529064 |
Appl. No.: |
12/354920 |
Filed: |
January 16, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11948029 |
Nov 30, 2007 |
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12354920 |
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61021356 |
Jan 16, 2008 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
62/235.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24S 23/74 20180501;
Y02B 10/20 20130101; F01K 15/00 20130101; Y02A 30/272 20180101;
Y02B 10/24 20130101; F24F 2005/0064 20130101; F01K 13/00 20130101;
F24F 3/1417 20130101; Y02E 20/14 20130101; F24F 5/0046 20130101;
F24S 80/20 20180501; F24F 5/0014 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/235.1 |
International
Class: |
F25B 27/00 20060101
F25B027/00 |
Claims
1. A solar powered air conditioner having a vapor liquid separator
and using a desiccant and a gray water cycle.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/948,029, filed Nov. 30, 2007, which is
incorporated herein by reference. This application claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/021,356, filed Jan. 16,
2008, which is also incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for
using solar power to heat, power and cool a structure.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Interest in solar power continues to accelerate in the face
of global warming, concern over the long term availability of
petroleum and the pressures of rising energy prices. Tapping even a
portion of available solar power has the potential to reduce
reliance on petroleum and to hopefully reduce pressures on the
national energy grid by distributing power generating sources more
locally. Additionally, using solar power in remote locations
decreases the reliance on power grids and reduces the costs
associated with extending copper wire long distances to service
sparsely populated areas. Having a standalone, modular system that
can be added to or incorporated into a structure to provide a self
sufficient building that can be located independent of power
grids.
[0006] One drawback to solar power, however, is that it tends to
have low thermal efficiencies and the amount of area that a home
would need to break even for the year on energy requirements is
very high. What is needed is a way to make the most of the solar
energy available to power a home while maximizing its efficiency by
taking advantage of heated water or other fluids instead of
converting solar to electricity and then to heat.
[0007] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either
singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention
as claimed.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0008] According to at least one aspect of the invention, there is
described a system for using solar power and solar heat to heat a
liquid that can be used to control heat, power, cooling, and
humidity in a structure to provide an autonomous building that is
independent of power grids. The solar system can utilize a
desiccant cycle to cool liquid which can be used for air
conditioning. An advanced recycling system can use water in stages
(i.e., "gray water") to efficiently use and recycle scarce water
with a limited amount of power requirements.
[0009] It is therefore an object of one aspect of the invention to
provide a HVAC system that runs on solar power that provides heat,
air conditioning and electricity.
[0010] It is another object of an embodiment of the invention to
provide an air conditioning system that uses a desiccant system to
cool a structure.
[0011] It is another object of the invention to recycle water in an
energy efficient system by utilizing gray water for purposes other
than drinking in a structure.
[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide an energy
efficient structure having a system utilizing solar power and
efficient cooling and recycling to provide a structure capable of
being self sufficient.
[0013] These and other objects of the present invention will be
readily apparent upon review of the following detailed description
of the invention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of
the present invention are not exhaustive and are not to be
construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention. Further,
it must be understood that no one embodiment of the present
invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the
present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or
none of the aforementioned objects. Accordingly, these objects are
not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIGS. 1A and 1B are a diagram of a HVAC and recycling system
according to one aspect of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0015] The present invention is to a heating and cooling system
which can be used with a solar powered building. FIGS. 1A and B
show an exemplary system in accordance with at least one aspect of
the invention.
[0016] Solar power is becoming more important as fuel costs
continue to rise and as more groups become interested in "green"
technology. One such arrangement for a solar powered building is
shown in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/948,029
filed Nov. 30, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0017] The enclosed system may be used with such a building, but
one skilled in the art would recognize that such a system could
also be used with other energy systems presently existing or yet to
be invented. However, preferably a solar collector 40 acting as a
solar boiler is used in conjunction with the present system.
[0018] Referring to the drawings the HVAC system according to a
preferred aspect of the invention will now be described. The system
provides many of the HVAC systems required by a standard residence
or commercial building, including heating, air conditioning and hot
water.
Hot Water
[0019] Solar collectors can efficiently heat water without having
to convert solar energy to electricity and back to heat. Solar
boilers are thus preferred for providing heated water or other
fluids as an output, rather than converting the heat to
electricity, which must then be converted again later to the end
use. The fluid exiting the boiler may be substantially heated and
may reach 220-250 C, by using a fluid other than water. Without
limiting the invention, a Hexane Octane mix may advantageously be
used with its higher boiling point and efficient state transfers.
Other fluids or refrigerants may be used in this or other cycles
disclosed in this application. However, for simplicity and clarity
"fluid," "vapor," "refrigerant," or "water" may be used
interchangeably throughout the application to refer to any fluid
which can be used to transfer heat from one component to another,
unless a particular required fluid is explicitly stated.
[0020] Heated water from the boiler may be sent through a
vapor/liquid separator 42 with any liquid preferably returned to
the inlet of the solar boiler. The return line serves two purposes,
first to recycle any heated liquid back to the inlet to raise the
overall temperature of the inlet fluid to help promote the
generation of vapor. Secondly, the vapor is piped separately from
the vapor to prevent the lower temperature, lower energy liquid
from causing any premature condensation of the vapor back to
liquid, thereby avoiding the waste of valuable energy in the
vapor.
[0021] The vapor is then sent directly or indirectly to a heat
exchanger 37 having an inlet T5 and outlet T6 for the heated vapor.
The heat exchanger also has a separate inlet T51 for water ("cold
water") from a suitable source such as a well, storage tank or
municipal water source. An outlet T61 carries away water ("hot
water") from the heat exchanger. Close contact of the water by
appropriate piping, pressure caused by pumps, or by gravity feed
will act to transfer heat from the heated fluid to the cold water
to produce hot water. Appropriate valving and controls may be
provided, for instance, to limit the outlet temperature of the hot
water to prevent scalding, etc.
[0022] Using the hot water circuit described, solar power can be
used to heat an intermediate fluid and to transfer heat from the
intermediate fluid to cold water to produce hot water for use in a
shower, laundry, etc. One skilled in the art would recognize that
the cold water could also be heated by directly sending all or a
portion of the cold water source through a solar collector to
directly heat the cold water, but because of scaling (i.e., mineral
deposit fall out caused by impure water sources) and for other
reasons, indirect heating as described is preferred. Also, for the
reasons described below, the solar boiler fluid may follow a
circuitous path to the heat exchanger and the use of one boiler
fluid may simplify parts of the HVAC system.
Heating
[0023] The system used to heat a building or other structure using
the solar collector is analogous to heating hot water. However,
instead of heating a cold water source, a cold air source is
heated. The cool air source to be heated may be drawn from the
outside, but is preferably recirculated from inside the house to
save energy by reheating air at near room temperature rather than
heating air at potentially a much colder outside air temperature.
Humidification of the air may be used to condition air to the right
humidity using well known techniques as necessary. As described
later, one source of the humidification may be from the desiccant
drier 42.
[0024] Air in the heating system is drawn through one or more
suitable return vents 26,27 located about the structure. A heat
exchanger or radiator 38 is provided having a first inlet T4 for
heating vapor or fluid from the solar boiler and an outlet T5 for
the vapor or fluid. Air from the return vents 26,27 is brought into
contact with heat from the heating fluid in chamber 38 to heat the
air. The air can then be distributed to one or more vents 45 in the
structure to provide heating of the interior space. One skilled in
the art would recognize that valves, thermostats and other controls
may be implemented to control the amount of heating of the room and
to provide adjustability of the room temperature selection.
[0025] The heating chamber 38 is shown upstream of the hot water
heating system, but the systems may be in parallel, in series,
independent or in other orders or combinations. Each system can be
provided independently of the others or in conjunction with the
other systems. However, the amount of energy removed from each
system or the importance of each system may be taken into account
when determining the order of the systems such that energy is used
in the most efficient and effective manner to run all of the
systems based on the expected energy from the solar collector
and/or other energy input systems. For example, a back up generator
may be provided to provide energy to the system when the solar
system is overloaded or in disrepair, or municipal power may be
provided when the solar system energy is deficient to run all of
the systems.
Electrical Generation
[0026] Electrical energy may be required to run parts of the
system, such as pumps, lights, or control systems. Solar panels may
supplement the solar collector to convert solar energy directly
into light. However, in addition to or in place of solar panels,
the heated vapor may be converted into electrical energy as needed
or to store energy for later use. One such system for converting
heat and/or pressure to electrical energy is a STARROTOR.TM.
expander generator that can be driven by the heated motive fluid to
create electricity.
[0027] Referring t FIG. 1A, line T2 carries high energy, high heat
vapor into expander generator 41. The expansion of gases causes
rotation of a generator to create energy out for storage or other
use. One skilled in the art would recognize that other pressure and
or temperature converters could also be used. As another
alternative, heated fluid can be stored for shorter period in an
insulated tank or bladder for use later as necessary.
Air Conditioning
[0028] A heating fluid such as that generated at the exit T1 of the
solar collector/boiler can also be used in an air conditioning
circuit. One example of an air conditioning circuit is shown in the
figures using a desiccant. In the example provided, CaCl.sub.2 is
provided as the desiccant.
[0029] A water stripper 42 is provided to release vapor from the
desiccant to provide concentrated desiccant for use in the air
conditioning system. Dilute desiccant is pumped to the top of the
water stripper 42 by pump 43. Heated fluid, such as vapor from
solar boiler 40 is piped through a heat exchanger to heat the
desiccant. The desiccant is sprayed or otherwise conveyed past the
heat exchanger in the water stripper to heat the desiccant. The
heated desiccant releases vapor and produces a highly concentrated
desiccant. The water vapor can be recaptured to produce distilled
water as is explained further hereunder.
[0030] Tank 43b below water stripper 42 is a tank that receives and
mixed CaCl.sub.2 dilute desiccant from line C and from the
concentrated desiccant from water stripper 42 into tank 43b. An
inlet to tank 43b is controlled by a float valve 43C. The valve
allows desiccant to flow into the tank when the level of the tank
falls below a certain level. The outlet from the tank is controlled
by a reversed float valve, that is, it operates in a manner
reversed from the inlet valve. The float valve releases desiccant
when the specific gravity is raised from higher concentrations of
CaCl.sub.2. If necessary, the inlets for the concentrated desiccant
and diluted desiccant may be controlled separately to adjust the
concentration and level of the tank 43b.
[0031] The CaCl.sub.2 exiting tank 43b exiting at or above the
desired concentration as determined by the specific gravity (i.e.,
the specific gravity of the desiccant is higher than that of
water), is carried along line A for further processing into one of
three tanks 21B ("cooling off/storage tanks) The desiccant is
preferably stored in one or more of the tanks 21B until the
desiccant has cooled to an ambient temperature.
[0032] The cooled, concentrated CaCl.sub.2 then exits the tank
through line 21 to pump 22 into the condenser. The condenser has an
automatic siphon that will irrigate a certain amount of CaCl.sub.2
into a media 13b via distribution panel 13. For instance plastic
chips and sponge may be used to increase the effective surface area
through which air can pass. Air flowing upwardly from the bottom of
the condenser inner chamber will become drier as it surrenders
moisture to the concentrated desiccant in the media 13b. As the
desiccant absorbs moisture, it will also becomes warm. The warm
desiccant begins to "drip" from the media and flow downwardly.
Replacement desiccant is replace on top by the auto siphoning
mechanism. The air coming out of tank 11 is roughly the temperature
of the fluid, eg. 80 F. Cooling water could be circulated by heat
exchanger 12 to further cool the media to add "surge cooling." This
cooling water could be from geothermal cooling such as by a
subterranean water storage source naturally maintained at 55 F.
[0033] Dry air leaves tank 11 through line 11B into the bottom of
evaporative cooling tank 15 where it passes through chips irrigated
with water to cause evaporative cooling of the water evaporating
due to the dry ("low humidity") air. At the same time air becomes
cool and moist. This provides both cool and relatively moist air in
the house to the building through outlet 15C to appropriate vents
or other access to the house.
[0034] The partially spent ("partially diluted") desiccant from
tank 11 is pumped by pump 11C into a surge tank 10. Surge tank 10
irrigates in layers the desiccant by media 5 via distribution panel
9. The fluid has slightly warmed in tank 11 and by pump 11C. The
fluid is cooled in tank 11D, a second condenser tank. As the fluid
flows down condenser 11D, it interacts with moist air. The air may
be external air from the environment that interacts with air from
the building that has been heated by the building. The desiccant
seeps out the moisture from the air as it flows up through tank 11D
and the desiccant flows downwardly. The fluid desiccant is cooled
with the ambient air. The desiccant is thus cooled. Barrier 2B may
be used to provide a barrier permeable to the air and desiccant
while providing further surface for the interaction of the media
and the air.
[0035] The spent CaCl.sub.2 loaded from water is sent to the
stripper to be concentrated through line C.
[0036] Air from condenser 11D is somewhat cooled and dried by
desiccant in tank 11D, passes through heat exchanger 3 and becomes
somewhat cooler. The air then passes through tank 11 and becomes
even drier. The air then is passed through tank 15 where through
evaporative cooling becomes cooler and drier. From this tank it
goes through the building and becomes somewhat warmer before
entering the cycle again.
[0037] In a alternatively form, the air from the building 1, which
is slightly cooled by coming from the air conditioned building
could be precooled by heat exchanger 3 with air leaving the
condenser.
[0038] Heating Fluid Return
[0039] Heating fluid from the boiler may be recycled for further
use through the boiler. Once the heating fluid has completed one or
more circuits, the fluid is preferably returned to a storage tank
36 for further use. Especially when water is not used as the
heating fluid, the fluid must be pumped back for use at the inlet
in order to effectively provide a closed circuit. Otherwise, fluid
will have to be constantly added to the system. A tank such as that
shown at 36 can be used to collect fluid after the energy has been
extracted from the fluid. The fluid returning to the tank may help
preheat the stored fluid prior to entrance to the solar collector
as the system continues to operate adding more efficiencies to the
system. A pump run by electrical energy provide by solar photaic
cells or other power source can be used to provide fluid at the
inlet to the solar collector. This is especially useful if the
entrance to the solar collector is at the top of a building and the
bottom of the solar collector or the systems described above are
lower than the entrance to the solar collector 40. A heat exchanger
39 may be used to further preheat the fluid entering the solar
collector, especially at start up or on cold days, etc. Preheating
the fluid allows the system to heat more of the heating fluid into
vapor to increase the efficiency of the system. A bypass valve 28
may be provided to bypass this preheating system when
necessary.
Water Recycling
[0040] Because the solar collector and associated HVAC system may
be used in a remote location, it may be important to conserve water
as much as possible. One such "gray water" system is incorporated
into the Figures, but the present HVAC system may be used with or
without such as gray water system.
[0041] Water that is stripped from the desiccant either as vapor or
water may be cleaned for potable water use or for other uses. The
desiccant may be used in a known fashion to pull vapor out of the
air, especially during night time when the system is not being used
at its maximum rate and the cooler air has more humidity. This can
be used to collect water otherwise unavailable to the occupants of
the building. Once the water has been removed from the desiccant as
condensate or vapor, the water is essentially purified as the
desiccant is dried by heating the desiccant to produce water vapor.
A collector at the bottom of the evaporator 42 collects the
purified steam and moves the water to a storage location, such as a
500 gallon container 62. The water as this point is pure and can be
used for food preparation, drinking or other ingestion. Water from
the storage tank 62 may be used cold or heated for ingestion.
[0042] Collection of the water from sinks or other drainage may be
collected for further use, know as grey wastewater. The water may
then be filtered using Algae BOD ("Biological Oxygen Demand")
removal filters and solar energy to remove impurities from the
water.
[0043] The BOD filter is a trough with vertical vanes so that water
flowing along the trough flows down to the bottom and then up to
the top repeatedly as it goes along the trough. The top of the
trough has a transparent covering so that the water inside is
heated and exposed to sunlight. The nutrients and light will
support an Algae culture that will oxygenate the water, while other
microbes convert the ammonia into nitrates. The Algae and microbes
convert the carbon into aggregates that will sink. When the water
flows downward out of light, other anaerobic microbes will dominate
and consume the nitrates as an oxygen source resulting in nitrogen
gas being formed and released. Thus the carbon and nitrogen
nutrients are stripped out of the waste water. Upon filtration and
sterilization, the water may be reused.
[0044] Any sedimentation may be removed and the water may be moved
to a reverse osmosis filter to further purify the water. This water
may then be used for laundry, showers, or other "secondary" uses.
Part of the water may also be used to dilute incoming grey water to
keep the Algae/BOD filter clean.
[0045] Water collected from the laundry, shower, may then be
filtered and used in commodes, gardens, etc. through diverse
filters or filters analogous to that described above. In this way a
gallon of water is capable of meeting many uses before being
discarded to the environment, conserving precious water in remote,
arid environments or reducing municipal water filtration demands.
This may also become more important in growing areas such as
southern California where water demands are rising faster than
supplies.
Retrieving the Moisture from the Air
[0046] During the summer, after the desiccant leaves the expander
41, there is a lot of heat still in the working fluid. That heat
may be stored in the bladder 38 during the day. And at night, that
heat may be used to activate the air siphon 38B. If you heat air in
the siphon, a stack effect will be created. That is, if you have a
column in a U shape tube, the heated air on one side will rise and
will be drawn in the other side causing air circulation. In this
way air is drawn in at entrance 26C and exits past valve 25
(bypassing the water stripper) to exit 46. Air enters 1B and
through the media and is irrigated with desiccant, out through 18
to 45 and 46 exit. There may be appropriate valving to change the
flow through the condenser. One skilled in the art would appreciate
that a separate condenser for this cycle could also be use. In this
way moisture is stripped from the outside air. The night air is
already cool and has a higher relative humidity and it is therefore
is easier to extract the water. As is evident in night air creating
dew.
Specialized Air Treatment
[0047] In certain environments, it may also be desirable to treat
the air prior to reentry into the building or structure. One such
treatment may be the addition of chemicals, perfumes, medicaments
or the like to the air to make the air more pleasing or more
beneficial to the occupants, for instance adding medicaments to a
nursery environment to aid the breathing of the occupants. A
secondary tank 70 may introduce the chemicals, perfumes or
medicaments to the evaporator 15 to treat the air prior to
reintroduction of the air to the structure. One skilled in the art
would appreciate that the materials could be added in an analogous
manner to heated air, or could be added at a different
location.
[0048] Chemicals or treatments could also be added to neutralize or
remove deleterious materials from the air. For instance, chicken
coops or houses often have adverse buildups of ammonia that can be
a fire hazard or health hazard in higher concentrations. Tank 70
may be used to introduce an acid such as nitric acid, phosphoric
acid or the like to the evaporator to neutralize the ammonia
carried by the recirculated air from the chicken housing.
Introduction of acid from tank 70 into evaporator 15 will cause the
ammonia to form ammonium salts, such ammonium nitrate. The pH level
of the water collected at the bottom of the evaporator will be
lowered slightly. The collected water can then be recycled, cleaned
or reused. In this way, the slight addition of acids to the
evaporator can be used to take ammonia out of the air, avoiding the
potentially hazardous build up of ammonia from the refuse.
Order of Components
[0049] The solar boiler heats the liquid in solar collector at
200-300C. The highest temperature fluid is then sent to the
expander. The fluid exiting the expander will be fairly high, which
can be used to preheat fluid to the solar collector or to strip the
moisture from the desiccant. Or the heat can be stored in the
bladder 38. In the heat storage bladder 38, there is a salt such as
aluminum sulfate that is very soluble and has a very high water of
hydration. You can adjust the ratio so that it will crystallize at
a high temperature 80 C. If you heat it to 90 C, the salt will
change phase. When you go from solid matrix to a fluid matrix,
there is a large amount of energy released. It is the energy of
change of phase. Therefore, although the tank is large, if it is
stored as a solid, you can store a lot of energy. Potentially, in
winter, the tank could be used for periods (eg., 5-6 days) without
sunlight. The hot water heater ifs provided further downstream
because of the lower temperatures required by the hot water heater.
The stages allow you to practically use all of the energy before
you finally cool it in 34 to be pumped through the cycle again.
Construction
[0050] The construction of the system may be made of materials that
are environmentally friendly, or may be selected to be the most
compact, the lightest weight, easiest to transport, etc. Most of
the equipment required can be made of plastic, except for heat
exchangers, etc. This allows for very cheap materials of
construction and enhance portability of the system.
[0051] While this invention has been described as having a
preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further
modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following
in general the principle of the invention and including such
departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or
customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and
as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth,
and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of any
appended claims.
* * * * *