Patent Application
20240077217
The present disclosure relates, in general, to heat exchanger system and, more specifically relates, to insulation provided at an inner surface of a cabinet of the heat exchanger system.
Conventional air handlers include a single insulation material, such as fiberglass, throughout an inner periphery of a cabinet thereof. Typically, air handlers include A-type or N-type evaporator coils, where a larger surface of the cabinet located downstream of the evaporator coil is exposed to conditioned cold air. A foil provided on fiberglass insulation is known to tear over a period of usage of the air handler. Due to such tearing of the foil, air can leak through the fiberglass insulation. In humid conditions, when such fiberglass insulation is provided on a downstream portion of the evaporator coil that is in contact with the conditioned cold air, any leakage of the conditioned cold air through the fiberglass insulation may result in condensation (sweating) of the air handler on an outer surface thereof. Collection of such condensate around the air handler may cause damage to a region at which the air handler is located. In order to address such problems, the inner periphery of the cabinet of the air handlers are known to include foam insulation throughout, which renders the air handlers costly due to high cost of the foam insulation.
According to one aspect, a heat exchanger system is disclosed that includes a cabinet, a V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger disposed within the cabinet, and an axial fan housing disposed within the cabinet and located downstream of the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger. The heat exchanger system also includes a first insulation disposed along a first portion of an inner periphery of the cabinet, a second insulation disposed along a second portion of the inner periphery of the cabinet, and a connecting member disposed along an abutment of the first insulation and the second insulation. The first portion located upstream of the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger and the second portion located downstream of the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger. In operation, a temperature of the air flowing through the second portion is less than a temperature of the air flowing through the first portion.
In an embodiment, the connecting member is a mesh tape. In an embodiment, the connecting member is configured to conceal the abutment.
In an embodiment, the first insulation comprises fiberglass and the second insulation comprises foam.
In some embodiments, a thickness of each of the first insulation and the second insulation is in a range of 0.5 inch to 1.5 inch. In some embodiments, the thickness of each of the first insulation and the second insulation is in a range of 0.55 inch to 1.25 inch. In some embodiments, the thickness of each of the first insulation and the second insulation is in a range of 0.6 inch to 1 inch.
In an embodiment, the first insulation overlaps with the second insulation at the abutment.
In an embodiment, the heat exchanger system further includes a foil configured to conceal the first insulation.
According to another aspect, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is disclosed that includes a heat exchanger system including a cabinet, a V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger disposed within the cabinet, an axial fan housing disposed within the cabinet and located downstream of the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger, and a plurality of refrigerant tubes located in the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger. The HVAC system further includes a first insulation disposed along a first portion of an inner periphery of the cabinet, a second insulation disposed along a second portion of the inner periphery of the cabinet, and a connecting member disposed along an abutment of the first insulation and the second insulation. The first portion located upstream of the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger, the second portion located downstream of the V-shaped round tube plate fin heat exchanger, and, in operation, a temperature of air flowing through the second portion is less than a temperature of the air flowing through the first portion. The connecting member is configured to conceal the abutment.
In an embodiment, the heat exchanger system is one of an air handler or a gas furnace.
In an embodiment, the first insulation comprises fiberglass and the second insulation comprises foam.
These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific non-limiting embodiments of the disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A better understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure (including alternatives and/or variations thereof) may be obtained with reference to the detailed description of the embodiments along with the following drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, corresponding, or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or corresponding parts. Moreover, references to various elements described herein, are made collectively or individually when there may be more than one element of the same type. However, such references are merely exemplary in nature. It may be noted that any reference to elements in the singular may also be construed to relate to the plural and vice-versa without limiting the scope of the disclosure to the exact number or type of such elements unless set forth explicitly in the appended claims.
As used herein, the terms “a”, “an” and the like generally carry a meaning of “one or more,” unless stated otherwise. Further, the terms “approximately”, “approximate”, “about”, and similar terms generally refer to ranges that include the identified value within a margin of 20%, 10%, or preferably 5%, and any values therebetween.
Referring to
In certain embodiments, the system 100 further includes a connecting member 218 disposed along an abutment of the first insulation 214 and the second insulation 216. In an embodiment, the first insulation 214 overlaps with the second insulation 216 at the abutment. The connecting member 218 may be embodied as a mesh or other suitable tape or flashing material and is configured to conceal the abutment. Additionally, in some embodiments, an inner surface (not shown) of the cabinet cover 104 may include the two insulation materials corresponding to the first portion 208 and the second portion 212 of the cabinet 102. When the cabinet cover 104 is fastened to the cabinet 102 to conceal the coil 106, a tight sealing may be established between the inner surface of the cabinet cover 104 and each of the first arm 202 and the second arm 204 of the coil 106. As such, portions of the inner surface of the cabinet cover 104 corresponding to first portion 208 and the second portion 212 of the cabinet 102 may include the first insulation 214 and the second insulation 216, respectively.
To this end, the present disclosure provides two material type insulation, such as the fiberglass or other insulation for the warm or hot side of the cabinet 102 and the foam or other insulation only for the cold side of the cabinet 102. As such, the foam insulates portions of the inner periphery 210 of the cabinet 102 that is exposed to the conditioned cold air and prevents condensation on an outer surface of the cabinet 102. With a marginal increase in cost of insulating the inner periphery 210 of the cabinet 102 due to the foam, a sweat-free heat exchanger system 100, such as the air handler, may be achieved. Therefore, the combination of fiberglass insulation in the warm or hot side of the cabinet 102 and the foam insulation only for the cold side of the cabinet 102 results in a non-sweat, low cost cabinet for the heat exchanger system 100.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/404,411, filed Sep. 7, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63404411 | Sep 2022 | US |
