U.S. patent application number 15/155315 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-08 for architectural heat and moisture exchange.
This patent application is currently assigned to Architectural Applications P.C.. The applicant listed for this patent is Architectural Applications P.C.. Invention is credited to John Edward BRESHEARS.
Application Number | 20160258637 15/155315 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47554961 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160258637 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BRESHEARS; John Edward |
September 8, 2016 |
ARCHITECTURAL HEAT AND MOISTURE EXCHANGE
Abstract
An architectural heat and moisture exchanger. The exchanger
defines an interior channel which is divided into a plurality of
sub-channels by a membrane configured to allow passage of water
vapor and to prevent substantial passage of air. In some
embodiments, the exchanger includes an opaque housing configured to
form a portion of a building enclosure, such as an exterior wall,
an interior wall, a roof, a floor, or a foundation.
Inventors: |
BRESHEARS; John Edward;
(Portland, OR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Architectural Applications P.C. |
Portland |
OR |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Architectural Applications
P.C.
Portland
OR
|
Family ID: |
47554961 |
Appl. No.: |
15/155315 |
Filed: |
May 16, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14518451 |
Oct 20, 2014 |
9347675 |
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15155315 |
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13185435 |
Jul 18, 2011 |
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14518451 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 12/006 20130101;
F24F 2003/1435 20130101; F28D 21/0015 20130101; F24F 3/147
20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24F 3/147 20060101
F24F003/147; F24F 12/00 20060101 F24F012/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for enabling heat and moisture exchange,
comprising: an exchanger housing including an opaque front face, an
opaque rear face parallel to the front face and a pair of opaque
parallel side faces collectively defining an interior channel in
the form of a shallow rectangular volume wherein the opaque front
face and the opaque rear face each have a surface area greater than
a surface area of either of the opaque side faces; and a barrier,
permeable to water vapor and substantially impermeable to principal
constituent gases of air, disposed within the interior channel,
oriented generally parallel to the opaque front face and the opaque
rear face, and partitioning the interior channel into first and
second sub-channels adapted to receive a source air stream and an
exhaust air stream, respectively; wherein the opaque front face
forms an opaque first portion of a building enclosure system that
is disposed outside of the interior channel, the opaque first
portion being adjacent to, in a plane parallel to, and facing in a
common direction as a second portion of the building enclosure
system that is not formed by the housing; and wherein the
sub-channels are configured to direct the source air stream and the
exhaust air stream parallel to the opaque front face and the opaque
rear face within the sub-channels.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opaque front face forms a
portion of a wall of the building enclosure system.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opaque front face forms a
portion of a roof of the building enclosure system.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opaque front face forms a
portion of a floor of the building enclosure system.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opaque front face forms a
portion of a foundation of the building enclosure system.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a layer of
insulation disposed adjacent to the opaque front face.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the
opaque front face is exposed to outdoor environmental conditions
and wherein the exposed portion is constructed from a
weather-resistant material.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the opaque front face is
exposed to outdoor environmental conditions and the opaque rear
face is exposed to a building interior.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the opaque front face forms a
portion of an outermost layer of a rain screen enclosure
system.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, further including a weather-resistant
layer separate from the exchanger housing, wherein the opaque front
face and the weather resistant layer form a continuous layer
configured to prevent ingress of water into a building.
11. An apparatus for enabling heat and moisture exchange,
comprising: an opaque exchanger housing having an opaque front
face, an opaque rear face and a pair of opaque side faces
collectively defining an interior channel in the form of a shallow
rectangular volume with the front and rear faces each having a
respective surface area that is larger than a surface area of each
of the side faces, and wherein the front face forms an opaque first
part of a building enclosure system that is exterior of the
interior channel and is adjacent to, in a plane parallel to, and
faces in a common direction as a second part of the building
enclosure system that is not formed by the housing; a corrugated
membrane disposed within the housing generally parallel to the
front face, and dividing the interior channel into a first
sub-channel through which a source gas stream may pass and a second
sub-channel through which an exhaust gas stream may simultaneously
pass; wherein the membrane is permeable to water vapor and
substantially impermeable to principal constituent gases of air;
wherein the membrane is corrugated by an amount allowing a desired
membrane surface area to fit within the interior channel; and
wherein the sub-channels are configured to direct the source air
stream and the and the exhaust air stream parallel to the opaque
front face and the opaque rear face within the sub-channels.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the front face forms an
interior wall portion of the building enclosure system.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the front face forms an
exterior wall portion of the building enclosure system.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the front face is exposed to
outdoor environmental conditions and is constructed from a
weather-resistant material.
15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the front face forms an
interior wall portion of the building enclosure system, and the
rear face forms an exterior wall portion of the building enclosure
system.
16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the front face forms a roof
portion of the building enclosure system.
17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the front face forms a floor
portion of the building enclosure system.
18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the front face forms a
foundation portion of the building enclosure system.
19. A heat and moisture exchanger system, comprising: an exchanger
housing having an opaque front face, an opaque rear face and a pair
of opaque side faces, each side face having a surface area smaller
than a surface area of the front face and the rear face so that the
front, rear and side faces collectively define a shallow
rectangular volume having a length, a width and a depth less than
both the length and the width, wherein the front face forms an
opaque first portion of a rain screen layer disposed on an exterior
side of a building, the opaque first portion of the rain screen
layer formed by the front face being adjacent to, in a plane
parallel to, and facing in a common direction as a second portion
of the rain screen layer that is not formed by the exchanger
housing; and a membrane dividing the rectangular volume defined by
the exchanger housing into a pair of sub-channels each oriented
substantially parallel to the front face and the rear face, the
membrane configured to allow passage of water vapor and to prevent
substantial passage of principal constituent gases of air between
the sub-channels; wherein the exchanger is configured (a) to allow
passage of a source air stream from outside the building through
one of the sub-channels to inside the building, (b) to allow
passage of an exhaust air stream from inside the building through
another of the sub-channels to outside the building, and (c) to
transfer heat and moisture through the membrane between the exhaust
air stream and the source air stream; wherein the opaque rear face
is disposed on the exterior side of the building, leaving an air
gap between the opaque rear face and an exterior wall of the
building, and wherein the sub-channels are configured to direct the
source air stream and the exhaust air stream parallel to the opaque
front face and the opaque rear face within the sub-channels.
20. The exchanger system of claim 19, wherein the front major face
is formed from a weather resistant material.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/518,451, filed Oct. 20, 2014, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/185,435, filed
Jul. 18, 2011, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in
its entirety. This application also incorporates by reference in
its entirety for all purposes the following: U.S. Pat. No.
6,178,966, issued Jan. 30, 2001 and U.S. Patent Publication No.
2007/0151447 to Merkel, published Jul. 5, 2007.
INTRODUCTION
[0002] In centrally heated or cooled buildings, fresh air or
"makeup air" is typically added continuously to the total volume of
circulated air, resulting in some previously heated or cooled air
being exhausted from the building space. This can result in an
undesirable loss of energy and humidity from the building. Heat
exchangers are commonly used in the exhaust air and makeup airflow
paths of these systems to recover some of the energy from the
exhaust air and to induce warmer makeup air during heating
processes and cooler makeup air during cooling processes.
[0003] Materials used for heat exchangers commonly include metal
foils and sheets, plastic films, paper sheets, and the like. Good
heat exchange is generally possible with these materials, but
significant moisture exchange cannot easily be performed.
Desiccants, or moisture adsorbing materials, are occasionally
employed to transfer moisture. With this method, the desiccant
merely holds the moisture. To effectively transfer moisture between
gas streams, the desiccant must be relocated from the gas stream of
higher moisture content to the gas stream of lower moisture
content, requiring an additional input of mechanical energy. With
many desiccant materials, satisfactory performance can be achieved
only with the input of additional thermal energy to induce the
desiccant to desorb the accumulated moisture.
[0004] Heat and moisture exchange are both possible with an
exchange film made of paper. However, water absorbed by the paper
from condensation, rain, or moisture present in the air can lead to
corrosion, deformation, and mildew growth, and, hence,
deterioration of the paper exchange film.
[0005] The various types of heat and moisture exchangers in common
usage are generally contained within an opaque metal housing and
located at or near the building air-handling units in the
mechanical room, basement, or rooftop of the building. The nature
of moisture exchange requires a very large surface area in contact
with the gas stream, and, consequently, so-called total heat
exchangers are often very large in size when compared to heat-only
exchangers. A larger exchanger in the conventional locations
requires additional mechanical room space and/or additional
load-bearing capacity of the roof in the case of a roof-top
unit.
[0006] Porous polymeric or ceramic films are capable of
transferring both heat and moisture when interposed between air
streams of differing energy and moisture states. A system for heat
and moisture exchange employing a porous membrane is described in
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 54-145048. A study of
heat and moisture transfer through a porous membrane is given in
Asaeda, M., L. D. Du, and K. Ikeda. "Experimental Studies of
Dehumidification of Air by an Improved Ceramic Membrane," Journal
of Chemical Engineering of Japan, 1986, Vol. 19, No. 3. A
disadvantage of such porous composite film is that it also permits
the exchange of substantial amounts of air between the gas streams,
as well as particles, cigarette smoke, cooking odors, harmful
fumes, and the like. With respect to building indoor air quality,
this is undesirable. In order to prevent this contamination of
make-up air, the pore volume of a porous film is preferably no more
than about 15%, which is difficult and expensive to achieve
uniformly. Furthermore, a porous film made to a thickness of 5 to
40 micrometers in order to improve heat exchange efficiency tears
easily and is difficult to handle.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,966 to Breshears addressed the
shortcomings described above by describing an improved apparatus
for enabling heat and moisture exchange between makeup and exhaust
air streams in the heating and air conditioning system of a
structure. The apparatus included a rigid frame for holding a pair
of light transmitting panes, the frame and panes collectively
defining an interior cavity within the apparatus. The apparatus
could be integrated into the exterior walls of a building. The
light transmitting properties of the panes allow incident solar
radiation to permeate the panels, creating a more natural ambient
environment in the interior of the structure adjacent with the
panel, as well as raising the temperature of the air stream and the
water vapor permeable barrier to further enhance the exchange of
moisture through the barrier.
[0008] In the prior art Breshears apparatus, a
water-vapor-permeable barrier was provided within the apparatus, to
divide the interior of the apparatus into sub-channels for
receiving makeup and exhaust air streams, respectively. The barrier
was described as a composite film made of porous polymeric membrane
having applied thereto a water-vapor-permeable polymeric material
so as to form a non-porous barrier to block the flow of air and
other gas.
[0009] Despite overcoming some of the shortcomings of preexisting
systems, the prior art Breshears apparatus was limited in some
ways. For example, the disclosed apparatus was limited to
transparent structures configured to be integrated into the
exterior of a building. Furthermore, the polymeric membranes
described by Breshears were limited to certain particular membrane
materials.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting an embodiment of a
heat and moisture exchanger ("exchanger") according to aspects of
the present teachings.
[0011] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger according to aspects of the present teachings.
[0012] FIG. 2B is a sectional side view of a portion of the
apparatus of FIG. 2A.
[0013] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger according to aspects of the present teachings.
[0014] FIG. 3B is a sectional side view of a portion of the
apparatus of FIG. 3A.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative exterior building
wall.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative building roof.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative building floor.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative building foundation.
[0019] FIG. 8 is an isometric view of another embodiment of an
exchanger showing an illustrative layer of insulation.
[0020] FIG. 9 is an isometric view of another embodiment of an
exchanger showing another illustrative layer of insulation.
[0021] FIG. 10A is a sectional top view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative weather-resistant wall
layer.
[0022] FIG. 10B is a sectional side view of the apparatus of FIG.
10A.
[0023] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative building interior
wall.
[0024] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative building intermediate
floor system.
[0025] FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the exchanger of FIG. 12,
showing the exchanger integrated into an illustrative building
underfloor plenum.
[0026] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger integrated into an illustrative building intermediate
ceiling system.
[0027] FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the exchanger of FIG. 14,
showing the exchanger integrated into an illustrative building
above-ceiling plenum.
[0028] FIG. 16 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an
exchanger, in which a portion of the exchanger is constructed from
radiant energy transmitting enclosure material.
[0029] FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a portion of the exchanger of
FIG. 16.
[0030] FIGS. 18-23 are magnified views of a portion of alternative
embodiments of the exchanger of FIG. 16, depicting various types of
radiant energy absorptive elements that may be disposed within the
exchanger of FIG. 16.
[0031] FIG. 24 is a schematic elevational view of an exchanger
system, showing how an exchanger may be coupled with a mechanical
cooling and ventilation apparatus through a dedicated fluid
communication channel.
[0032] FIG. 25 is a schematic elevational view of another exchanger
system, showing how an exchanger may be coupled with a mechanical
cooling and ventilation apparatus through a building plenum
space.
[0033] FIG. 26 is a schematic elevational view of still another
exchanger system, showing another manner in which an exchanger may
be coupled with a mechanical cooling and ventilation apparatus
through a building plenum space.
[0034] FIG. 27 is a schematic elevational view of yet another
exchanger system, showing how an exchanger may be coupled directly
with a mechanical cooling and ventilation apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] The present teachings relate to improved methods and
apparatus for recovering energy and/or moisture as air is added to
and exhausted from an enclosed space. These teachings may be
combined, optionally, with apparatus, methods, or components
thereof described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,966 to Breshears. However,
the present teachings expand upon the prior art teachings by
disclosing novel improvements such as an exchanger incorporated
into an opaque exterior building element. These and other aspects
of the present teachings are described in detail in the sections
below.
[0036] This description discusses some of the basic features of
heat and moisture exchangers according to aspects of the present
teachings, and focuses particularly on incorporating exchangers
into various external building elements, such as walls,
foundations, roofs, and slab floors configured to divide an
enclosed space from the ambient exterior and collectively referred
to as a building enclosure system. See FIGS. 1-10B.
[0037] FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting an illustrative heat
and moisture exchanger (which may be referred to herein as simply
an "exchanger"), generally indicated at 10, according to aspects of
the present teachings. Exchanger 10 is an apparatus for enabling
heat and moisture exchange between air streams. An exchanger
housing, generally indicated at 12, includes an exterior wall 14
defining an interior channel 16 through which a gas may pass. A
barrier 18 is disposed within interior channel 16 and partitions
interior channel 16 into sub-channels 20 and 22, each of which is
adapted to receive a gas stream, such as a source air stream A and
an exhaust air stream B, respectively. Channel 16, and thus
sub-channels 20 and 22, may be in fluid communication with gas
stream sources via suitably located openings in housing exterior
wall 14 such as openings 24 and 26 shown in FIG. 1, which may in
turn include louvers, screens, or other elements configured to
direct flow and/or exclude foreign material.
[0038] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, exchanger housing 12, and in
particular housing exterior wall 14, is configured to form a
substantially opaque portion of a building enclosure system.
Accordingly, exchanger housing 12 may be constructed from any
suitable, substantially opaque material, such as steel, aluminum or
other metal, acrylic, polycarbonate or other plastic, wood,
composites, back-painted or non-transparent glass, or combinations
thereof. Furthermore, the exchanger housing may be sized and
proportioned such that it can be integrated into--and form a part
of--a building enclosure. For example, the housing may include a
structural frame and enclosing sheet material, and may be
configured as a panel forming one or more elements of an overall
panelized building enclosure system. As described in more detail
below, the exchanger housing may be implemented as a portion of the
building wall system, roof system, floor or foundation system, or
other part of the building's exterior.
[0039] Barrier 18, which divides interior channel 16 into
sub-channels 20 and 22, is generally permeable to water vapor and
substantially impermeable to the constituent gases of air, which
principally include nitrogen and oxygen. Various types of barriers
may be suitable for use with the present teachings, including
microporous polymeric membranes with appropriate characteristics.
One particularly suitable type of polymeric membrane is described
in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0151447 to Merkel, which is
hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure for
all purposes.
[0040] In a manner described in more detail below, source and
exhaust gas streams, respectively denoted throughout the drawings
as gas stream A and gas stream B, are directed through adjacent
sub-channels 20 and 22 within exchanger 10. Due to the proximity of
the air streams, heat may be conducted from the hotter gas stream
through barrier 18 and into the cooler gas stream, and moisture may
be transported from the gas stream of higher moisture content
through barrier 18 and into the gas stream of lower moisture
content. Various barrier configurations and resulting geometries of
sub-channels may be chosen depending on the desired heat transfer,
moisture transfer, and pressure drop characteristics. The following
paragraphs include descriptions of various such arrangements, with
barriers and sub-channels that function in a manner similar to
those described above.
[0041] FIG. 2A depicts another illustrative embodiment of a heat
and moisture exchanger, generally indicated at 40, according to
aspects of the present teachings. Pleated-barrier exchanger 40 is
similar to exchanger 10, including an exchanger housing 42 having a
housing exterior wall 44 defining an interior channel 46 through
which a gas may pass. A barrier 48 is disposed within interior
channel 46. Unlike the barrier in exchanger 10, barrier 48 is
formed in a corrugated or pleated fashion to allow a greater
barrier surface area to fit into a given interior channel 46, with
a corresponding increase in potential moisture and heat exchange.
FIG. 2B, which is a sectional side view of the exchanger in FIG.
2A, shows that the folds of barrier 48 may not reach to the inner
surface of housing exterior wall 44. Accordingly, a gap may remain
on either side to allow fluid communication within each of two
sub-channels 50 and 52 formed by the barrier. In other examples,
the folds of barrier 48 may be configured to contact the inner wall
surface of housing exterior wall 44, thus further subdividing
sub-channels 50 and 52 into a plurality of smaller sub-channels
having substantially triangular cross sections.
[0042] FIG. 3A depicts a perspective view of yet another
illustrative embodiment of a heat and moisture exchanger, generally
indicated at 80, according to aspects of the present teachings.
Multi-barrier exchanger 80 is similar to exchanger 10, including an
exchanger housing 82 having a housing exterior wall 84 defining an
interior channel 86 through which a gas may pass. In this example,
however, three barriers 88, 90, and 92 are disposed in channel 86,
forming four sub-channels 94a, 96a, 94b, and 96b. In this example,
gas stream A may flow through sub-channels 94a and 96a, while gas
stream B may flow through sub-channels 94b and 96b. This flow
pattern is more easily seen in the sectional side view shown in
FIG. 3B.
[0043] Similar arrangements having odd numbers of barriers with
corresponding even numbers of sub-channels are possible, such as
disposing five barriers within channel 86 to form six sub-channels
evenly divided between gas stream A and gas stream B.
Alternatively, some examples may have any number of barriers
forming any corresponding number of sub-channels, divided unevenly
between gas streams A and B. For example, four barriers may be used
to form five sub-channels, with three devoted to gas stream A and
two to gas stream B. In yet other examples, the barrier
arrangements of exchangers 40 and 80 may be combined to produce
parallel pleated or corrugated barriers, or even alternating
corrugated and flat barriers, in any case forming sub-channels with
corresponding shapes.
[0044] FIGS. 4-7 depict illustrative exchangers, which may include
features similar to those described above, integrated with various
aspects of a building enclosure system. For simplicity, FIGS. 4-7
are depicted and described below as incorporating exchanger 10 of
FIG. 1, but more generally, according to the present teachings any
of the previously described exchangers or permutations thereof may
be incorporated into aspects of a building enclosure system.
[0045] For example, FIG. 4 is a perspective view depicting an
illustrative exchanger 10 integrated into a building exterior wall
100. As depicted in FIG. 4, a portion of housing exterior wall 14
may be configured to act as an exterior portion of the building
enclosure system, and may be exposed to outdoor environmental
conditions. Accordingly, at least a portion of housing exterior
wall 14 may be constructed of weather-resistant material. Suitable
materials for the housing exterior wall may include stainless
steel; painted, coated, or anodized metal, plastic or wood with
coatings or sealants applied to reject moisture and air penetration
and retard degradation due to exposure to weather, or other
weather-resistant and durable materials. In some examples, a
portion of housing exterior wall 14 is exposed to outdoor
environmental conditions while another portion of housing exterior
wall 14 is exposed to a building interior. Exchanger 10 may thus
form an exterior wall portion and/or an interior wall portion of
the building enclosure system.
[0046] FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative exchanger 10 integrated into
a building roof 110. As with the exchanger integrated into wall
100, at least a portion of an exterior surface of housing exterior
wall 14 may be configured to be weather resistant, and may act as a
portion of roof 110. In the example of FIG. 5, gas streams A and B
pass through suitable building exterior openings at the side edge
of roof 110, and through suitable building interior openings
disposed in a ceiling 112 beneath roof 110. Similar to wall
integration, exchanger 10 may form an exterior portion and/or an
interior ceiling portion of roof 110.
[0047] FIG. 6 depicts a perspective view of another example of an
exchanger 10, in this case integrated into an illustrative building
floor 120. As depicted in FIG. 6, exchanger 10 may act as a portion
of floor 120, with suitable openings for gas streams A and B at a
building-interior surface of floor 120 and through an exterior wall
100. A portion of housing exterior wall 14 may be configured to act
as a portion of floor 120.
[0048] FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of yet another example of
an exchanger 10, here integrated into a building foundation 130. As
depicted in FIG. 7, suitable openings in exchanger 10 configured to
accommodate gas flows A and B may be disposed at an outer surface
of building foundation 130 and at a building-interior floor. In
this example, exchanger 10 may form a portion of the outer surface
of foundation 130, and may be exposed to exterior environmental
conditions. Accordingly, at least a portion of exchanger 10 may
again be constructed of a weather-resistant material.
[0049] FIGS. 8 and 9 depict examples of exchanger systems including
an insulation layer 140 that may be disposed adjacent to at least a
portion of housing exterior wall 14. In FIG. 8, a single insulation
layer 140 is shown adjacent to one side of exchanger 10. In FIG. 9,
an alternative configuration is depicted, in which insulation layer
140 surrounds exchanger 10, with openings in layer 140 to allow
unhindered passage of gas streams A and B. These insulation layer
depictions are illustrative only. Many suitable thicknesses and
dispositions of insulation adjacent to exchanger 10 are
possible.
[0050] FIGS. 10A and 10B depict still another illustrative
exchanger system, including an exchanger 10 integrated into a
building exterior wall 100. In this example, exchanger 10 may be
further integrated into a rain screen enclosure system.
Specifically, rain screen layer 150 may be disposed on the exterior
side of building exterior wall 100, and may furthermore leave an
air gap 152 between layer 150 and wall 100. FIG. 10A is a top
sectional view depicting an example of this sort of arrangement,
showing that exchanger 10 may be configured to act as a portion of
a rain screen layer 150. As best seen in the sectional side view of
FIG. 10B, a portion of exchanger 10 may also pass through wall 100
to allow fluid communication between the external environment and
the building interior for gas streams A and B. To act as a part of
the rain screen enclosure system, an exposed portion of housing
exterior wall 14 of exchanger 10 may be constructed of
weather-resistant material. With layer 150, exchanger 10 may form a
continuous layer configured to prevent ingress of water into a
building.
[0051] FIGS. 11-27 depict various other embodiments and aspects of
exchanger systems according to the present teachings. More
specifically, FIG. 11 depicts how an exchanger may be integrated
into a building interior wall; FIGS. 12-13 depict how an exchanger
may be integrated into a building floor system; FIGS. 14-15 depict
how an exchanger may be integrated into a building ceiling system;
FIGS. 16-17 depict how an exchanger may be partially constructed
from radiant energy transmitting enclosure material; FIGS. 18-23
depict how various types of radiant energy absorptive elements may
be disposed within an exchanger to facilitate energy transfer
and/or absorption; and FIGS. 24-27 depict various ways in which an
exchanger may be coupled to a building's mechanical cooling and
ventilation apparatus.
[0052] The disclosure set forth herein encompasses multiple
distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these
inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific
embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to
be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are
possible. Each example defines an embodiment disclosed in the
foregoing disclosure, but any one example does not necessarily
encompass all features or combinations that may be eventually
claimed. Where the description recites "a" or "a first" element or
the equivalent thereof, such description includes one or more such
elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such
elements. Further, ordinal indicators, such as first, second or
third, for identified elements are used to distinguish between the
elements, and do not indicate a required or limited number of such
elements, and do not indicate a particular position or order of
such elements unless otherwise specifically stated.
* * * * *