FLASHABLE ROOFTOP SOLAR COLLECTOR ENCLOSURE

Abstract

A flashable, rooftop enclosure with a solar radiation transmissive glazing suitable for holding solar energy collector of a solar power system includes an insulated base section with sidewalls which is secured to the roof sheathing and flashed all around, and a removably attachable glazed top section with full skirt, that is secured to and over the base unit after the interior components and connections are made, so as to seal the enclosure, overlap the flashing, and admit solar radiation. The internal components may include any or all of photovoltaic and thermal converters, with electrical and thermal fluid means of removing energy from the enclosure to respective energy distribution systems.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of the top and base or bottom sections of one embodiment of a solar collector enclosure.

FIG. 1A is a variant of FIG. 1, with side notches replaced by through-bottom holes.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are face and side elevations of a grommet used for sealing pipe connections passing through the side walls of the top and bottom sections of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 2C and 2D are face and side elevations of a grommet used for sealing pipe connection passing through the bottom side of the bottom section of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 is a simplified construction schematic end view of a false roof section for providing a higher angle of presentation of an array of solar collectors.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the surface of a false roof or support surface as in FIG. 3, prepared for installation of solar collectors.

FIG. 5 is a simplified plumbing schematic of the return and supply lines for the installation of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the installation of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 with the base sections installed.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross section view of one end of a solar collector enclosure of one embodiment of the invention, showing a double glazing and details of the sealing contact area, end wall fastener, and side wall pipe grommet.

FIG. 7A is a partial cross section view of one end of a solar collector enclosure of one embodiment of the invention, showing single glazing and details of the sealing contact area, end wall fastener using a flanged thin wall insert and backing nut, and bottom side pipe grommet.

FIG. 7B is a partial cross section view of one end of a solar collector enclosure of one embodiment of the invention, showing details of the sealing contact area and end wall fastener.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a frame for a bottom section assembled from extruded material having rib or channel-like features similar to the extrusions of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross section view of a sealing gasket intended to seal two suitably-spaced adjacent solar collector modules.

FIG. 10 is a cross section view of a sealing gasket as illustrated in FIG. 7A.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are perspective and side views of a flanged and threaded thin wall insert and retaining nut for use with the fasteners of FIGS. 7, 7A and 7B.

Claims

1. A flashable, rooftop enclosure for containing solar energy collector and converter components of a solar power system, comprising: a rectangular base section having an insulated bottom, an upward extending sidewall terminating in a sealing top edge, and means for attachment to an exterior supporting surface whereby a weatherproof flashing or sealing means may extend from a protective layer on said supporting surface onto said sidewall;a top section having a sealing rim structure with a full skirt extending downward therefrom, said rim structure sealingly enclosing a solar energy transmissive glazing, said top section sized to fit over said base section so as to make sealing contact between said sealing rim structure and said sealing top edge, with said skirt overlapping said sidewall and flashing or sealing means, thereby forming a sealed enclosure capped by said glazing and flashed or sealed to said protective layer;means for removably attaching said top section to said base section; andmeans for transferring collected energy out of said rooftop enclosure to an energy distribution system;

2. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, said means for transferring collected energy out of said rooftop enclosure comprising openings in said bottom of said base section.

3. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, said means for transferring collected energy out of said rooftop enclosure comprising openings in said sidewall of said base section and corresponding notches in said skirt of said top section.

4. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, further comprising a fluid conduit configured for converting solar radiation to heat and transferring the heat to a fluid flow therein.

5. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, further comprising an air duct configured for converting solar radiation to heat and transferring the heat to an airflow therein.

6. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, further comprising at least one photovoltaic cell.

7. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, further comprising a reflector associated with a said solar energy collector and converter component.

8. The rooftop enclosure of claim 7, said reflector being rotable on at least one axis.

9. The rooftop enclosure of claim 6, further comprising a cooling subsystem for said photovoltaic cell.

10. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, said supporting surface comprising roof sheathing, said protective layer comprising roof shingles.

11. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, said glazing comprising tempered glass.

12. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, said sealing top edge comprising a seal applied to a top edge of said sidewall.

13. The rooftop enclosure of claim 1, said means for removably attaching said top section to said base section comprising fasteners.

14. The rooftop enclosure of claim 13, said fasteners being applied through said skirt into said sidewall.

15. The rooftop enclosure of claim 14, arranged immediately adjacent another said rooftop enclosure on a said support surface, said fasteners being applied only to the upper and lower ends of said top section.

16. A flashable, rooftop enclosure for containing solar energy collector and converter components of a solar power system, comprising: a rectangular base section having an insulated bottom, an upward extending sidewall terminating in a top edge configured with a seal, means for attachment to the sheathing layer of a shingled roof whereby flashing may be extended from the roof shingles onto said sidewall, and openings in the insulated bottom for circulating a thermal fluid in and out of said base section to and from an energy distribution system;a top section having a sealing rim structure with a full skirt extending downward therefrom, said rim structure sealingly enclosing a panel of tempered glass, said top section sized to fit over said base section so as to make sealing contact between said sealing rim structure and said sealing top edge, with said skirt overlapping said sidewall and flashing, thereby forming a sealed enclosure capped by said tempered glass and flashed to said roof shingles; andmeans for removably attaching said top section to said base section.

17. A flashable, rooftop enclosure and solar energy collector, comprising: a rectangular base section having an insulated bottom, an upward extending sidewall terminating in a sealing top edge, means for attachment to an exterior supporting surface whereby a weatherproof flashing or sealing means may extend from a protective layer on said supporting surface onto said sidewall,a top section having a sealing rim structure with a full skirt extending downward therefrom, said rim structure sealingly enclosing a solar energy transmissive glazing, said top section sized to fit over said base section so as to make sealing contact between said sealing rim structure and said sealing top edge, with said skirt overlapping said sidewall and flashing or sealing means, thereby forming a sealed enclosure capped by said glazing and flashed or sealed to said protective layer;means for removably securing said top section to said base section;electrical wires extending from said rooftop enclosure for connection to an electrical energy distribution system;means for transferring heat energy out of said rooftop enclosure to a heat energy distribution system;at least one photovoltaic cell within said sealed enclosure connectible to said electrical wires; anda temperature control subsystem configured for maintaining said at least one photovoltaic cell within a normal operating temperature and connected to said means for transferring heat energy to at heat distribution system.

18. The rooftop enclosure of claim 17, said temperature control subsystem comprising a fluid conduit proximate said at least one photovoltaic cell and configured for transferring heat from said photovoltaic cell to a fluid flow within said fluid conduit, said means for transferring heat energy out of said rooftop enclosure to a heat energy distribution system comprising a fluid flow circuit.

19. The rooftop enclosure of claim 17, further comprising at least one reflector associated with said at least one photovoltaic cell.

20. The rooftop enclosure of claim 19, said at least one reflector being rotable on at least one axis, said enclosure comprising means for rotating said at least one reflector thereby affecting the amount of solar radiation received by said at least one photovoltaic cell.