U.S. patent number RE32,607 [Application Number 06/814,449] was granted by the patent office on 1988-02-23 for compact attic mounted solar heating pack assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Jack Herald, Kenneth Hughes, R. H. Maynard, J. A. Porter, Robert Weeks. Invention is credited to David C. Smith.
United States Patent |
RE32,607 |
Smith |
February 23, 1988 |
Compact attic mounted solar heating pack assembly
Abstract
A compact attic mounted solar heating pack assembly includes an
enclosed sheet metal plenum fixedly hung by straps from the attic
rafters at the apex of north and south facing roofing sections. An
electric powered blower fixed to the plenum has an air inlet open
to the attic interior below the south facing roof section. An air
outlet of the blower opens directly to the plenum interior. A
plurality of flexible ducts are coupled to respective air outlets
within the plenum at one end with their opposite ends terminating
in diffusers mountable within holes formed within the underlying
ceiling for delivering air from the plenum chamber directly to the
building interior below the attic floor. A first normally open
cooling thermostat is mounted within the attic at the apex, beneath
the south facing roof section. A plastic heat barrier is hung from
the ridge pole and extends well elbow the plenum chamber to trap
heated air within the section of the attic beneath the south facing
wall. A second heating thermostat is mounted within the building
interior below the ceiling and preferably on an interior partition
wall and is series connected with the blower motor and the first
attic mounted thermostat and connectable to a source of electrical
current. The normally open thermostat closes when room heat is
needed and the temperature in the attic is above 70 degrees to
provide an effective independent supplementary heating unit for the
building.
Inventors: |
Smith; David C. (Proctorville,
OH) |
Assignee: |
Weeks; Robert (all of, WV)
Porter; J. A. (all of, WV)
Hughes; Kenneth (all of, WV)
Maynard; R. H. (all of, WV)
Herald; Jack (all of, WV)
|
Family
ID: |
27089236 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/814,449 |
Filed: |
December 30, 1985 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
622594 |
Jun 20, 1984 |
04502467 |
Mar 5, 1985 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
126/586; 126/631;
236/91A |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24D
5/005 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F24D
5/00 (20060101); E04D 013/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;126/429,430,431,428,422,417 ;236/91A ;98/31,103 ;165/48.5,DIG.2
;62/235.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Yeung; James C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak, and
Seas
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A compact attic solar heating pack assembly for mounting within
a building attic having diagonally opposed south and north facing
roof sections overlying a horizontal building attic floor forming
the ceiling and defining an enclosed attic space above the occupied
room space below the ceiling, said building further including
vented eaves opening to the attic enclosure at the bottom thereof,
said pack assembly comprising:
a closed sheet metal plenum,
means for fixedly mounting said plenum within said attic just below
at said apex,
a blower fixedly mounted to the plenum, said blower having an air
inlet open to the attic enclosure,
said blower including a blower outlet opening to the interior of
the plenum,
an electric motor for driving said blower,
a plurality of air outlets within said plenum,
flexible ducts coupled at one end to said plenum chamber outlets,
respectively, and terminating at their other ends in diffusers,
said diffusers being mountable within said attic floor and opening
through the ceiling for delivering air from said plenum chamber to
the interior occupied rooms of the building,
a first, normally open, cooling thermostat adapted for mounting
within said attic enclosure adjacent said apex and responsive to a
substantial increase in temperature of the air within the attic
enclosure over the outside air based on direct solar radiation
through said south facing attic roof section,
a second, normally open, heating thermostat adapted for mounting
within the interior of said building below said attic and
responsive to the temperature of the interior room,
cable means for electrically connecting said blower motor and said
first and second thermostats in series and adapted to energize said
blower motor via a source of electrical power upon closure of said
normally open first and second thermostats, and
a blower outlet damper at said plenum chamber inlet for
automatically closing off the inlet to the blower from the building
interior via said flexible duct to prevent loss of heat from the
room interior back through the attic.
2. The pack assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
flexible heat barrier sheet extending throughout the attic from one
end to the other and hanging downwardly from the apex of the attic
space towards the floor of the attic and to a position at least
below the plenum chamber to separate the attic interior into a heat
concentration space between the flexible heat barrier sheet and the
south facing roof section.Iadd., and said blower air inlet opening
to said heat concentration space.Iaddend..
3. The pack assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
straps extending upwardly from the plenum chamber for mounting to
the attic structure above the plenum chamber such that the plenum
chamber is suspended from the ceiling roof at the apex of the
attic.
4. In combination, a building structure and compact attic solar
heating pack assembly, said building structure comprising:
vertical support walls,
horizontal attic joists mounted to the upper ends of said building
walls and extending therebetween,
roof rafters extending upwardly from opposite sidewalls of the
building structure towards each other and being inclined from the
horizontal,
a ridge pole connecting the upper ends of said roof rafters,
roofing covering said roof rafters,
and a ceiling underlying the ceiling joists to define with said
vertical walls and said roofing, an essentially closed attic
space,
said roof rafters projecting beyond the ends of said sidewalls and
open eaves formed within the roof structure to permit air to enter
the attic interior space,
interior vertical partition walls within said building,
said solar heating pack assembly comprising:
a closed sheet metal plenum defining a plenum chamber,
means for mounting said plenum within said attic space just below
said ridge pole,
a blower fixedly mounted to said plenum,
said plenum having an air inlet and a plurality of air outlets,
said blower including an air inlet opening to the attic interior
and an air outlet opening directly to said plenum chamber,
an electric motor for driving said blower,
a blower outlet damper within said plenum chamber inlet for
automatically closing off the passage from said plenum chamber to
said blower upon termination of energization of the blower
motor,
flexible ducts coupled at one end to said plenum chamber outlets,
respectively, and terminating, at their other ends, in air
diffusers,
holes within the building ceiling sealably receiving said
diffusers, whereby air is delivered from said plenum chamber
through said flexible ducts to the building interior, via said
diffusers,
a first, normally open, cooling thermostat mounted within said
attic space adjacent said ridge pole,
a second, normally open, heating thermostat mounted within the room
interior on said partition wall, below said ceiling,
a source of electrical power within said building interior,
wires electrically connecting said blower motor and said
thermostats in series and across said electrical source for
energizing said blower motor through said thermostats such that
said second, normally open, heating thermostat closes upon droppage
in room temperature, and said first, normally open, cooling
thermostat closes as a result of thermal radiation on said south
facing roof section of sufficient magnitude raising the temperature
of the air within said attic space to a level above that of the
temperature of the room to be conditioned;
whereby, hot air from the attic space is pumped into the room
interior for supplemental heating under such conditions.
5. The building structure and pack assembly as claimed in claim 4,
further comprising a flexible heat barrier sheet extending across
the length of the attic from one end to the other, having an upper
end fixed to the bottom of said ridge pole, and a lower end
extending beneath said plenum chamber to thereby function to
concentrate solar induced heat between said flexible heat barrier
sheet and said south facing roof section, thermally isolated from
the space to the opposite side of said flexible heat barrier sheet
underlying said north facing roof section.Iadd., and said blower
air inlet opening to said space between said heat barrier sheet and
said south facing roof section.Iaddend..
6. The building structure and pack assembly as claimed in claim 4,
wherein said means for mounting said plenum within said attic at
said apex comprises a plurality of straps fixed at their lower ends
to said plenum and at their upper ends to the rafters to opposite
sides of said ridge pole. .Iadd.
7. A compact attic solar heating pack assembly for mounting within
a building attic having south and north facing roof sections
overlying a horizontal building attic floor forming the ceiling and
defining an enclosed attic space above the occupied room space
below the ceiling, said pack assembly comprising:
a closed sheet metal plenum,
means for fixedly mounting said plenum within said attic just below
at said roof,
a blower fixedly mounted to the plenum, said blower having an air
inlet open to the attic enclosure,
said blower including a blower outlet opening to the interior of
the plenum,
an electric motor for driving said blower,
at least one air outlet within said plenum,
a duct coupled at one end to said plenum chamber outlet and
terminating at its other end in a diffuser, said diffuser being
mountable within said attic floor and opening through the ceiling
for delivering air from said plenum chamber to said occupied room
space of the building,
a first, normally open, cooling thermostat adapted for mounting
within said attic enclosure adjacent said roof and responsive to a
substantial increase in temperature of the air within the attic
enclosure over the outside air based on direct solar radiation
through said roof,
a second, normally open, heating thermostat adapted for mounting
within the interior of said building below said attic and
responsive to the temperature of the interior room,
cable means for electrically connecting said blower motor and said
first and second thermostats in series and adapted to energize said
blower motor via a source of electrical power upon closure of said
normally open first and second thermostats, and
a blower outlet damper at said plenum chamber inlet for
automatically closing off the inlet to the blower from the building
interior via said duct to prevent loss of heat from the room
interior back through the attic. .Iaddend. .Iadd.8. The pack
assembly as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a flexible heat
barrier sheet extending within the attic spanning at least across
the metal plenum from one end to the other and hanging vertically
downwardly from the roof of the attic towards the floor of the
attic and to a position at least below the plenum chamber to
separate the attic interior into a heat concentration space between
the flexible heat barrier sheet and the south facing roof section,
and said blower air inlet opening to said heat concentration space.
.Iaddend. .Iadd.9. In combination, a building structure and compact
attic solar heating pack assembly, said building structure
comprising:
vertical support walls,
horizontal attic joists mounted to the upper ends of said building
walls and extending therebetween,
roof rafters extending from opposite sidewalls of the building
structure,
roofing covering said roof rafters,
and a ceiling underlying the ceiling joists to define with said
vertical walls and said roofing, an essentially closed attic
space,
said solar heating pack assembly comprising:
a closed sheet metal plenum defining a plenum chamber,
means for mounting said plenum within said attic space just below
said roof,
a blower fixedly mounted to said plenum,
said plenum having an air inlet and at least one air outlet,
said blower including an air inlet opening to the attic interior
and an air outlet opening directly to said plenum chamber,
an electric motor for driving said blower,
a blower outlet damper within said plenum chamber inlet for
automatically closing off the passage from said plenum chamber to
said blower upon termination of energization of the blower
motor,
at least one duct coupled at one end to said plenum chamber outlet
and terminating at its other end in an air diffuser,
a hole within the building ceiling sealably receiving said
diffuser, whereby air is delivered from said plenum chamber through
said flexible ducts to the building interior via said diffuser,
a first, normally open, cooling thermostat mounted within said
attic space adjacent said roof,
a second, normally open, heating thermostat mounted within the room
interior below said ceiling,
a source of electrical power within said building interior,
wires electrically connecting said blower motor and said
thermostats in series and across said electrical source for
energizing said blower motor through said thermostats such that
said second, normally open, heating thermostat closes upon droppage
in room temperature, and said first, normally open, cooling
thermostat closes as a result of thermal radiation on said roof of
sufficient magnitude raising the temperature of the air within said
attic space to a level above that of the temperature of the room to
be conditioned;
whereby, hot air from the attic space is pumped into the room
interior for
supplemental heating under such conditions. .Iaddend. .Iadd.10. The
building structure and pack assembly as claimed in claim 9, further
comprising a flexible heat barrier sheet extending across the attic
from one end to the other, having an upper end fixed to the bottom
of said roof, and a lower end extending beneath said plenum chamber
to thereby function to concentrate solar induced heat between said
flexible heat barrier sheet and a solar radiation roof section,
thermally isolated from the space to the opposite side of said
flexible heat barrier sheet, and said blower air inlet opening to
said space between said heat barrier sheet and said south facing
roof section.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to passive solar heating systems, and more
particularly, to a low cost, compact solar heating pack assembly
which may be mounted within existing dwellings and which functions
to provide supplementary heating on bright sunny days, during the
winter months.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Passive solar heating systems have come into vogue for utilizing
heat concentrated within a given area as a result of solar
radiation for providing either primary or supplemental heating to a
building interior during bright sunny days. The heat energy is
absorbed by the building interior and transferred to moving air
either by way of a thermal siphonic loop or by way of a duct system
employing an electrical motor powered blower for circulating the
air between the space in which the solar energy is absorbed and the
various rooms of the building to be heated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,573 discloses one type of prior solar heater in
which a pyramidal solar heater is formed of translucent heat
absorbing plastic material or the like. A spaced, smaller pyramidal
structure interiorly of the first forms with the outer pyramidal
structure dual air flow paths, whereby heated air may be moved out
of the pyramidal solar heater downwardly into a room or enclosure
underlying the same. Such structures are expensive, require
modification of existing buildings or the incorporation of
expensive additions within new building structures in order to
achieve such circulation loop and to create a space wherein the
sunlight may be absorbed and concentrated prior to transmission
into the occupied rooms of the building.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,825 is representative of a solar heated
building in which a solar window is provided within the south
facing roof section and wherein attic interior air heated by the
solar radiation is ducted to an occupied room by ducts passing
through the dwelling ceiling. A horizontal wall divides the attic
interior into an upper plenum chamber and a lower plenum chamber.
Air is heated in the upper plenum chamber by solar radiation,
conveyed to the rooms of the dwelling, while cooler air is returned
to the upper plenum chamber from the rooms for reheating purposes.
During hot weather, heated air is allowed to escape from the top of
the upper plenum which, in turn, draws warm air out of the lower
plenum into the upper plenum, thereby allowing cooler outside air
to be drawn into the lower plenum. As such, the south facing roof
requires modification by the presence of the translucent or
transparent solar window, the interior of the attic is separated
into two plenum chambers, the blower or forced air means is within
the duct remote from the attic, and multiple separate ducts feeding
the separated upper and lower plenum chambers which complicates the
system.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to
provide a compact, unitary passive solar heating pack assembly for
mounting within an existing building attic for ready suspension at
the apex thereof, wherein the building needs no modification, and
wherein all of the components including the control elements, the
hot air ducts and diffusers for mounting within the occupied room
ceilings and opening to the room interiors are integrated to the
pack assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a compact atic solar heating
pack assembly for suspension mounting within an existing
conventional building at the apex of the building attic, which
building has diagonally opposed south and north facing roof
sections overlying a horizontal attic floor and forming the ceiling
of the occupied rooms of the building. The attic is provided with
vented eaves which open to the attic interior for supplying fresh
air thereto. The pack assembly comprises a closed sheet metal
plenum. Straps fixed to the plenum mount the plenum to the attic
ridge pole just below the apex. A blower fixedly mounted to the
plenum has an air inlet open to the attic enclosure and an outlet
open directly to the interior chamber of the plenum. The blower
includes an electric motor for operating the same. A plurality of
air outlets within the plenum open to flexible ducts coupled at one
end to the plenum chamber outlets, respectively, with the ducts
terminating at their other ends in air diffusers, which diffusers
are mountable within the attic floor opening through the building
ceiling for delivering air from the plenum chamber to the occupied
rooms below the attic. A first normally open cooling thermostat is
adapted for mounting within the attic enclosure adjacent to the
apex and below the south facing roof section. It is responsive to a
relatively large increase in temperature of the air within the
attic near the apex as a result of solar radiation impingement on
the south facing roof section. A second normally open heating
thermostat is adapted for mounting within an occupied room of the
building, below the ceiling, and is responsive to room temperature.
Cable means electrically connect the blower motor and the
thermostats in series and are adapted for connection to an
electrical power source so as to energize the blower motor through
the thermostats. A blower outlet damper is provided at the plenum
chamber inlet responsive to blower operation for permitting heated
air adjacent to the apex of the attic to pass through the plenum,
and into the building room interior below the ceiling through the
attic floor, but prevent escape of air from the occupied rooms to
the attic.
Preferably, a flexible heat barrier sheet is suspended from the
ridge pole to extend across the attic, with the blower opening to
the side of the flexible sheet facing the south facing roof
section. The flexible sheet extends downwardly below the plenum to
form a solar air heated space between the heat barrier flexible
sheet and the south facing roof to concentrate the solar energy.
The plenum may be suspended by straps extending downwardly from the
ridge pole or the roof rafters. Preferably, the second heating
thermostat is mounted to an interior partition wall of the building
within an occupied room at some distance below the ceiling.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a dwelling type building
incorporating the compact attic solar heating pack assembly and
forming a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the plenum forming a
primary component of the pack assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an end view of the plenum of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view, partially in section, of one diffuser
for mounting within the attic floor and opening from the building
ceiling into an occupied room of the building structure housing the
attic solar heating pack assembly of which the diffuser forms one
component.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, the compact attic mounted solar heating
pack assembly indicated generally at 14 has application to and is
shown in combination with a building structure indicated generally
at 10 which may be a dwelling, and specifically the pack assembly
14 is mounted within the attic indicated generally at 12. The
essential components of pack assembly 14; are a sheet metal plenum
16, a scroll type electric motor driven blower indicated generally
at 18, a plurality of flexible ducts indicated generally at 22 and
mounted to plenum 16 via outlet thimbles 20, diffusers indicated
generally at 24 coupled to the opposite ends of the flexible ducts
22 and mounted within the ceiling 40 of the building structure 10,
a cooling thermostat 26, heating thermostat 28, junction box 30
connected to a source of power, and a flexible heat barrier sheet
32.
The invention resides in pack assembly 14 as well as the
combination of the pack assembly and building structure 10. In that
respect, building structure 10 includes vertical outer walls as at
34 across which span a number of attic or ceiling joists 36 which
span across the upper ends of walls 34. Ceiling 40 underlying
joists 36 separates the attic 12 from the occupied portion of the
building, that is, the interior room or space 42. A number of roof
rafters 44 incline upwardly from walls 34 and bear roofing at 46.
The roof rafters 44 joint at their upper ends by being fixedly
mounted to a horizontally extending ridge pole 48. The ridge pole
48 extends east and west so that south facing roof section,
indicated generally at 50, extends to the left, while north facing
roof section, indicated generally at 52, extends to the right of
ridge pole 48. Ceiling 40 and roof sections 50 and 52 form an attic
space indicated generally at 54 separated from the interior,
occupied room space 42. As may be appreciated, a number of vertical
partition walls as at 56 separate the building interior into
separate rooms.
As in conventional construction, the roof sections 50 and 52 extend
beyond the building sidewalls as at 34, such that a number of eave
openings or ventilators 58 permit air to enter the interior 54 of
the attic at the lower ends of the roof, to each side thereof. If
as in conventional buildings additional openings or ridge vents
(not shown) are provided at opposite ends of the building just
beneath the ridge pole 48 to permit the air to exit in the summer,
such ridge vent openings must be closed off during the winter
months to permit the pack assembly to perform its function in
providing auxiliary or supplemental heating to the building
interior. Under such circumstances, it is important that the
openings 58 at the eaves be maintained so as to provide the source
of air for circulation to the building interior after heating
within the attic space 54. Such ridge vents or ventilators may be
sealed off by placing thermal insulation over such openings. All
eave ventilators 58 need to be left open at all times.
The solar heating pack assembly 14 comprises principally the solar
attic heater blower 18 and plenum 16, and this unit should be
located as close to the ridge pole 48 as possible and centered
under the ridge pole 48. The pack assembly 14 is shown as being
supported by perforated iron hangers or straps 60 which may be
nailed as at 62 at their upper ends to the roof rafters 42 or
alternatively directly to the ridge pole 48. The lower ends may be
attached by rivets, bolts or the like 63 to plenum 16.
Plenum 16 comprises, in the form illustrated, a sheet metal box
including upper wall 66, lower wall 68, laterally opposed left and
right sidewalls 70 and 72 and end walls 74 and 76, respectively.
The edges may be welded or soldered together to form an essentially
closed hollow cubic structure with the interior forming a plenum
chamber 78. A rectangular opening 80 is formed within left end wall
74, while four circular holes 82 are formed within the right end
wall 76, two at the top and two at the bottom. Welded or otherwise
fixed to end wall 76 are four flanged cylindrical thimbles 84 which
function to mount the air inlet ends of the flexible ducts 22. To
the opposite side, there is directly mounted the scroll housing 86
of blower 18, one side of which is provided with a central, axial
air inlet hole as at 88, forming the air intake to the blower 18.
An electrical motor 90, for rotating the blower impeller (not
shown), is mounted directly to the scroll housing 86. The scroll
housing 86 terminates in a tangential projecting portion 86a whose
flanged end 86a' is directly mounted to the left end wall 74 of the
plenum chamber 16 at opening 80 by way of a series of mounting
screws 92 and nuts 94.
Within the tangential outlet duct 86a of the blower, there is
suspended a pivotable draft damper 96 which is hingedly mounted by
a transverse pin 98 such that the draft damper 96, absent blower
operation, extends vertically downwardly from the hinge pin 98
blocking off the flow of air from the plenum chamber 78 in the
direction of the scroll air inlet hole 88. During blower operation,
the air entering the plenum chamber 78 discharges through the four
thimbles 84 and flows through the flexible ducts 22. In that
respect, each of the four flexible ducts 22 are connected to the
thimbles 84 via a cable type tie bands 104. Tie bands as at 104 are
also employed at the opposite end of the ducts 22 for coupling
those ends of the ducts to other thimbles as at 102 which thimbles
102 extend upwardly from the ceiling, passing through circular
holes 106 provided within the ceiling 40. The cable tie bands 104,
or equivalent hose clamps, function to provide an air tight seal
between the ends of the flexible ducts 22 and thimbles 100, 102,
respectively.
Thimbles 102 include flanged ends 102a which extend radially
outwardly of the ceiling hole 106 at the bottom of the thimbles. By
way of nails or other fasteners 108 the thimbles 102 are physically
mounted to the ceiling 40. The interior of the thimbles 102 receive
the upwardly projecting cylindrical portions 110a of diffusers 24.
Additionally, removable disc-like filter cartridges 112 mount
within the cylindrical portions 110a of the diffusers 24 so as to
filter any of the air entering the interior 42 of the building
structure rooms to be heated. The diffuser 24 is conventional, and
comprises a plurality of radially spaced, annular outwardly flared,
nested air deflectors 114 which tend to spread the air flow into
the room interior; as indicated by the arrows, FIG. 1, as the air
escapes from between the diffuser deflectors at the ends of each of
the four flexible ducts 22. A plurality of nails or screws 116
permit the diffuser 24 to be detachably mounted to ceiling 40 with
the cylindrical portion 110a projecting internally of the thimble
102.
An important element of the attic solar heating pack assembly 14 of
the present invention is the thin flexible, plastic heat barrier
sheet 32. This sheet 32, which may be of polyethylene or the like,
is preferably of a vertical height such that it extends from the
ridge pole 48, to which it may be mounted by being tacked thereto
along its upper edge by tacks 120 or staples or the like. Its lower
edge 32a may lie several inches above the attic rafters 36 or attic
floor (not shown), if such floor is mounted directly to the upper
edge of rafters 36. As such, the thin flexible plastic sheet heat
barrier 32 separates the attic space 54 into a heat concentration
area 54a to the left of the sheet 32 and beneath the south facing
roof section 50 from the attic space 54b to the right of that
flexible sheet 32, which is normally considerably cooler, since the
angle of inclination of the north facing roof section 52 is such as
to prevent the absorption of significant amount of the thernal
energy from the sun during the winter months.
As shown, the sheet passes through the center of the plenum 16, and
the sheet 32 may be purposely cut out so as to receive the plenum
16 without significant air passage about the periphery of the hole
within sheet 32 through which the cubic form plenum passes.
Further, as may be appreciated, two of the diffusers and flexible
ducts 22 pass to the left of the flexible sheet and open up to the
building room interior 42 to the left of the vertical partition
wall 58, while the other two open up to the right of that partition
wall. The flexible ducts leading to diffusers 24 to the right are
shown as penetrating the plastic heat barrier sheet 32. However,
lower end 32a of the heat barrier sheet 32 may terminate just above
those duct members. Further, the flexible ducts 22 may lie on top
of the attic joists 36 to pass beneath the lower end 32a of the
thin flexible sheet 32.
Further important components of the atic solar heating pack
assembly 14 comprise the two thermostats 26 and 28 for controlling
the operation of the scroll type blower 18 and the junction box 30
as well as the electrical wiring indicated generally at 122, all
components of the electrical control system for automatic operation
of the supplementary heating system. In that respect, cooling
thermostat 26 is shown as being mounted to one of the roof rafters
44 to the left of the heat barrier flexible plastic sheet 32 and to
the same side thereof as the scroll type blower air inlet hole 88.
The second, heating thermostat 28 is shown as being mounted to
partition wall 56. The electrical wires 122 connect the heating
thermostat 28, the electric drive motor 90 for the scroll type
blower 18 and the cooling thermostat 26 in series through junction
box 30 from which cable 124 extends for connection to a source of
electrical power as indicated generally by arrow 126.
This completes the components of the attic solar heating pack
assembly 14. For the electrical control system, a separate fuse and
grounded circuit is recommended. Both thermostats 26 and 28 and
blower motor 90 may operate on 115 volts AC, with the components
wired in series as shown. With cable 124 connected to a power
source such as 115 volt AC electrical source as indicated by arrow
126, control knob 28a of the heating thermostat 28 is set, as is
control knob 26a of cooling thermostat 26, such that the electrical
power comes to the heating thermostat first whose contacts close
when the room temperature drops below a preset value as, for
instance, 65 degrees. The normally open contacts of the heating
thermostat 28 close completing a circuit through the motor 90 from
the source of electrical power via junction box 30 to cooling
thermostat 26. Its contacts remain open until the temperature
reaches a predetermined value in space 54a to the left of the
plastic heat barrier flexible sheet 32 at the apex of the attic 12.
When the temperature reaches, for instance, 70 degrees F. heat
concentration in the attic space 59a, the normally open contacts of
the cooling thermostat 26 close, causing the blower motor to start
operation. As it starts, air at 70 degrees enters the opening 88
within the side of the blower scroll 86 and flows into plenum
chamber 78 by deflecting the pivotable draft damper 96 to the
right, FIG. 2. Air then flows through all four flexible ducts 22 to
the various diffusers 24 for the rooms within the building
interior. Thus, the flow of air forces the draft damper 96 to open
and the warm air goes through the plenum chamber 78 and through the
ducts 22 downwardly into the interior of the building, i.e. to the
room space 42. When the temperature drops in the attic 12, the unit
shuts down automatically.
As may be appreciated, the attic solar heating pack assembly will
provide heat much more efficiently during the cool months of
September, October, November, March, April and May, supplementing
the primary heat supply to the building structure as otherwise
provided. Thus, since there exists a 24 degree F. to 30 degree F.
difference between the attic temperature and outside temperature of
a building structure during the months of late November through
February or about 1:00 P.M. on clear sunny days, because of the
increase of the length of days and the increase of the angle of the
sun rays, the unit will heat much more efficiently during the
months of September, October, November, March, April, and May, and
the ability of the unit to provide heating for the building
structure will increase substantially for buildings within the
southern states.
As may also be appreciated, the draft damper effectively closes off
the plenum inlet when the blower motor is de-energized. thereby
preventing heat loss from the room interior to the attic 12 via the
flexible ducts 22, plenum chamber 78, and blower inlet 88. Further,
dampers incorporated within the diffusers may be set to regulate
the volume of air reaching a given room, that is, discharging
through a given diffuser 24 into the building interior beneath the
ceiling 40.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with
reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood
by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and
details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention.
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