Patent Application
20140202092
The invention relates to a solar collector and a building including a solar collector as the roof.
In recent years, the use of alternate energy sources, such as solar energy has attracted greater interest. Solar collectors absorb heat from the sun and transfer the heat to a working fluid, normally water or glycol. Solar water heating systems include components that collect the solar heat, store the heat, and deliver the heat to where it is needed. Developments of solar collectors have previously included a mounting design for the collector to be attached to the roof of a building where the thermal energy is intended to be used. Hence, solar collectors are commonly mounted to existing roofing structure. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,193 to Ronc; U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,912 to Felter; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,861 to Fayard et al. Solar collectors mounted on an existing roof structure commonly project from the roof or wall surface and are supported by the structural components of the roof or the wall. In existing solar collectors, the heat exchange inlet and the heat exchange outlet for the heat transfer structure or absorber plate as referred to in the industry, extends directly through the frame wall. There are several reasons solar water heating is not being widely adopted. The cost of installation is not justified and the current type of installation requires mounting holes in the roof for structural support as well as penetrations for the fluid pipes. The fluid pipes transfer the solar heated water or heat exchange fluid to the potable hot water, point of use within the building. These penetrations commonly create potential for leaks that can result in sheet rock or other interior, finished wall surface damage. There are also safety drawbacks because roofing contractors usually do not have the expertise to address plumbing issues relating to mounting the collector on the roof and plumbers usually do not have the expertise and as such do not feel safe to perform work on steep pitch sloping roof decks. Likewise, they are not practiced on how to address roofing issues relating to the water proofing of the impervious roof membrane at the penetration points.
Alternative solar collector mounting strategies are needed that can serve as a total roof structure to address safety concerns and eliminate the need for existing structure, the inconvenience of conventional mounting techniques and the potential for damage to the dwelling structure.
The present invention provides a solution to solar collector design and the attendant mounting techniques that commonly require the use of underlying structural components unrelated to the collection of solar energy. The invention is a solar collector roof for a building that provides solar heated water without the need to mount solar panels on the roof structure of the dwelling for which the solar heated water is being supplied. In one possible configuration, and by non-limiting example, the solar collector roof of a building is a free standing adjunct to an existing dwelling structure. It specifically provides the option for a solar collector, connected through an umbilical plumbing line to provide solar heated water to the adjacent dwelling structure. The solar collector roof of the adjunct structure is normally oriented in a southerly orientation in North America. Since a north facing collector would be of little or no use in terms of solar gain, the adjunct structure will feature a shed configuration of the solar panel which is the roof.
One aspect is a building that includes a plurality of walls forming an inside area and a roof over the inside area supported by the plurality of walls. The roof is a solar collector. The solar collector includes a back plate, an insulative layer, and a sunlight absorber provided for absorbing solar radiation and transferring heat. The solar collector further includes a glazing material that allows for transmission of sunlight and a heat transfer structure. The heat transfer structure is provided in direct contact with the sunlight absorber and the heat transfer structure is positioned between the insulative layer and the glazing material. The construction of the heat transfer structure includes a first header tube, a second header tube, and a plurality of riser tubes extending between the first header tube and the second header tube. The heat transfer structure is constructed for transporting a heat exchange medium there through. The solar collector also includes a frame structure for holding the solar collector together. The solar collector is installed at an angle so that one of the header tubes is provided above the other of the header tubes. The solar collector includes a heat exchange medium inlet and a heat exchange medium outlet. The heat exchange medium inlet and the heat exchange medium outlet extend through the back plate which ordinarily is facing the roof.
Another aspect is a solar collector that includes a frame construction having a back plate, a glazing material, and a frame structure where the frame construction forms an interior region. The solar collector further includes an insulative layer provided within the interior region, a sunlight absorber provided for absorbing solar radiation and transferring heat. The sunlight absorber provided within the interior region. The solar collector includes a heat transfer structure provided in a thermally conductive contact with the sunlight absorber and the heat transfer structure is positioned between the insulative layer and the glazing material. The heat transfer structure includes a first header tube, a second header tube, and a plurality of riser tubes extending between the first header tube and the second header tube. The heat transfer structure is constructed for transporting a heat exchange medium there through and the heat transfer structure is provided within the interior region. The solar collector includes a heat exchange medium inlet and a heat exchange medium outlet, and the heat exchange medium inlet and the heat exchange medium outlet extend through the back plate.
Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like structure.
Terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” etc. are sometimes used in this disclosure and may also be used in the appended claims. These terms are meant to serve as a frame of reference for the accompanying drawings, and to denote an orientation of a portion or element of the solar collector or shed when the portion or element is in the assembled configuration shown in the drawings, and when the portion or element is properly configured for use. The terms are not intended to describe the orientation of the portion or element when in a pre-assembled or storage configuration, such as when in the original packaging.
Referring now to
The shed 200 includes a plurality of sides 202. The plurality of sides 202 are arranged and configured to attach together using a fastener, such as, but not limited to, a bolt 206 to form an interior space 208. A It is understood that other fasteners may be used, for example, a set screw, a threaded fastener, a thumbscrew, a pin, a dowel, a latch, a collet, and the like. In other embodiments, the plurality of sides 202 can be attached by pressure fitting nails, rods or pegs into the construction.
The glazing material 102 can be a high temperature polymeric material or tempered glass. The glazing material 102 allows for transmission of sunlight. One example of a polymeric material is a polycarbonate. It is understood that other polymer based materials may be used. The glazing material 102 has a transmissivity factor relative to solar radiation of 90%+. Structurally, it is thick enough to add rigidity to the frame structure. It also will reduce reflectivity to enhance transmittance of solar radiation. The glazing material 102 can be about ⅛ inch or 5/32 inch thick. Traditionally low iron content, tempered glass is always used on intermediate temperature range flat plat collectors. In order to reduce weight and potential breakage associated with glass, one example of an alternative glazing material is ¼ inch thick polycarbonate sheet material or another would be polycarbonate twinwall, such as, Thermoclear from Dow-Corning Corp®.
The heat transfer structure 104 as shown in
As shown, the solar collector 100 is depicted as a box-like rectangular enclosure having two long sides 101 and two short sides 103. The solar collector 100 includes a heat transfer structure 104 having two long sides and two short sides. The header tubes 114 run parallel to the two long sides 101 and the riser tubes 116 run parallel to the two short sides 103. The solar panel 100 is arranged in such a manner that the heat transfer medium enters the header tubes 114 from a lower elevation and rises to a higher elevation while filling the riser tubes 116 across the solar panel 100. The riser tubes 116 are in direct connection with the sunlight absorber 106 having a surface treatment intended to reduce emissivity of the thermal energy being absorbed. This arrangement and configuration provides for a pitched roof that is made exclusively from the solar collector 100.
The header tubes 114 and the riser tubes 116 of the solar collector 100 can be any length. In other embodiments, the size of the solar collector 100 is governed by the standard sizes of the tempered glass sheet stock. The lengths of the header tubes 114 and the riser tubes 116 may have various configurations. In this example, the header tubes 114 are about 8 ft. to 12 ft. long and the riser tubes 116 are about 3 ft. to about 6 ft. long.
In traditional heat transfer structures, the riser tubes 116 are in alignment with the longest dimension of the frame structure 112 in
In this example, a first header tube 118, a second header tube 120, and the riser tubes 116 are shown. The riser tubes 116 are arranged so that when the solar collector 100 is mounted at an angle as a shed roof, the second header tube 120 is in a horizontal orientation to the ground and in an elevated orientation above the first header tube 118. In other embodiments, the arrangement and configuration of the header tubes 114 and the riser tubes 116 may vary. The header and riser tubes 114, 116 can be constructed from any metal, such as but not limited to, copper, steel, iron, aluminum, titanium, etc. In this example, the header tubes 114 are constructed from copper. The riser tubes 116 can be brazed into the header tubes 114. The heat transfer structure 104 can be treated with a sunlight absorbing electroplate or paint type coating. The sunlight absorber 106 absorbs sunlight and transfers heat to the riser tubes 116 of the heat transfer structure 104 to the aqueous fluid from a thermal storage tank (not shown) circulating through the riser tubes 116 and header tubes 114. The surface of the sunlight absorber 106 is coated or designed to reduce the reflection or emissivity of the radiant energy striking the sunlight absorber 106.
In this example, a heat exchange medium enters the heat transfer structure 104 through an inlet of the first header tube 118 at a lower elevation. The heat exchange medium can enter at either the right side 124 or the left side 126 of the first header tube 118. The heat exchange medium fills the riser tubes 116 uniformly across the solar collector 100 to obtain a full wetted heat transfer structure. The heat exchange medium exits the heat transfer structure 104 through an outlet of the second header tube 120 at an upper elevation diagonally opposite either the right side 124 or the left side 126 inlet of the first header tube 118 from which the heat exchange medium entered. The heat exchange medium exits the outlet of the second header tube 120 at either the right side 128 or the left side 130. In this example, the heat exchange medium is an aqueous fluid. The aqueous fluid can be water or propylene glycol. It is understood that the heat exchange medium may vary in other embodiments.
The insulative layer 108 can be a vacuum panel or foam material configured to keep heat from escaping out of the solar collector 100. The foam material can be a polymer based material such as, but limited to, a polyurethane or poly-isocyanurate material. The insulative layer 108 is between the heat transfer structure 104 and the back plate 110 lining the walls of the frame structure 112. The insulative layer 108 can be about ¾ inch to 1¼ inch thick.
The back plate 110 and the frame walls 174 support the insulative layer 108. In this example, the back plate 110 is a polymeric material such as, but not limited to, polypropylene. Other types of thermoplastic material can be used, including, but not limited to, polycarbonates, acrylics, polystyrenes, polypropylenes, and mixtures thereof. The polymeric material can be formed to provide a shallow tray shape having a lip to support the glazing material 102. The shallow tray can provide the frame wall 174 and the back plate 110 by thermoforming. The shallow tray thermoformed back plate 110 can be made using conventional techniques, such as, but not limited to, injection molding, injection blow molding, compression molding, injection stretch molding, composite injection molding, roto-molding, and the like. In other embodiments, the back plate 110 may be a metal sheet such as embossed aluminum sheeting.
Referring to
The frame structure 112 supports all of the components of the solar collector 100. In other words, the frame structure 112 connects the back plate 110 and the glazing material 102 together. The frame structure 112 is preferably made out of a strong rigid material such as extruded aluminum or a polymer material (e.g., polypropylene, etc) which extends around the perimeter of the solar collector 100. The frame structure 112 can be made using conventional techniques, including thermoforming, injection molding, injection blow molding, compression molding, injection stretch molding, composite injection molding, roto-molding, and the like. In other embodiments, the material can be wood, carbon fiber, fiberglass, metal, composite material, or combinations of these or other materials. The frame structure 112 includes a first lip 134 to support the glazing material 102 therein and an opposing second lip 136 to support the back plate 110 therein as shown in
The frame structure 112 can be in the shape of a “c-channel” before it is assembled into a boxed perimeter around the solar collector 100. The “c-channel” is fastened together at the corner with screws or clips once the components of the solar collector 100 are placed inside the frame structure 112. With conventional solar panels, a heat transfer structure is placed into the frame structure and header tubes extend through the frame structure about 1 inch at four locations. Pursuant to the current disclosure, the header tubes 114, including a heat exchange medium inlet and a heat exchange medium outlet, extend through the back plate 110 as opposed to the frame structure 112. The glazing material 102 is placed in the frame structure 112 at the top of the c-channel and lies in the lip 134 of the frame structure 112. The glazing material 102 is placed into the frame structure 112 and a cap strip (not shown) is used to hold the glazing material 102. The frame structure 112 is screwed at the cap strip to put the box together with the glazing material therein. The frame structure 112 can be flipped 180 degrees to place the insulative layer 108 inside and the back plate 110 into the second lip 136 of the frame structure 112. The back plate 110 is screwed down to the same c-channel at the bottom and through the frame structure 112.
In this example, the shed 200 is constructed from several separate pieces of lumber. It is understood that various types of lumber can be used herein. In other embodiments, the shed 200 can be constructed from extruded plastic, metal or other conventional materials. The shed 200 can be constructed having multiple sides and various dimensions. The height, length, width of the shed 200 can be constructed using any dimensions desired.
In this example, the shed 200 can have a height of about 8 ft. to about 12 ft., a length of about 8 ft. to about 12 ft. and a width of about 4 ft. to about 12 ft. In this example, each piece of lumber forms a wall section of the shed 200. The longest piece being about 12 ft. long and about 4 ft. to 5 ft. wide. This allows the component wall piece to be broken down and consolidated into a crate more efficiently for shipment from a point of manufacturing to a point of installation. It is understood that the shed 200 can vary in the dimensions shown and in the number of pieces depicted. In this example, the plurality of sides 202 of the shed 200 are pre-engineered or drilled with holes that are configured to align together with bolts 206 already installed. The plurality of sides 202 are aligned or squared up to connect together using nuts and washers on the ends of the bolts 206.
Referring to
The left radius wall 144 and the right radius wall 146 are connected together similarly as described above in relation to the back side wall 140 and form the front side wall 160 of the shed 200. The left and right radius walls 144, 146 are each arranged and configured to attach to a bottom portion 162a, 162b. The bottom portions 162a, 162b are respectively connected to the left side wall 138 or the right side wall 140. In this example, the left and right radius walls 144, 146 are about 40° radius pieces of moldable PVC material. The PVC left and right radius walls 144, 146 allows for the shed 200 to function as a greenhouse. The solar collector 100 becomes a device to harvest solar energy in a multiplicity of ways to both heat aqueous fluid and air associated with the shed 200 structure itself. Therefore, the solar collector 100 is not only using the sun to heat the aqueous fluid, but also has the dual capability of using the sun to provide space heating for a greenhouse. In other embodiments, the shed 200 can be arranged and configured without the functionality of a greenhouse. One example to achieve this is to have the front side wall 160 not function as a greenhouse attachment. It is understood that materials other than PVC may be used as the front side wall 160 of the shed 200. In other embodiments, the degree radius of the left and right radius walls 144, 146 can vary.
The shed 200 further includes a beam 164 located at the lower ends 156a, 156b of the left and right side walls 138, 140 and extending there between. The beam 164 helps to support the structure of the shed 200 and provides the final side of a frame 166 for supporting the solar collector 100.
In this example, the solar collector 100 is mounted on the shed 200 without the need for any underlying structure. The solar collector 100 forms a pitched roof that is about 10 ft. long and about 4 ft. wide. The solar collector 100 is secured on the shed 200 using a mounting device such as, but not limited to, clips 168. It is understood that other mounting devices including a clamp, dowel, ferrule, hook, latch, lug, nail, pin, rivet, and screw or other fasteners, can be used. The clips 168 attach on each corner of the frame 166 of the shed 200. The clips 168 can extend 0.5 inch to about 1½ inches outside of the frame 166. A bolt 206 goes through the clip 168 into the frame 166 of the shed 200 to hold the solar collector 100 thereon to exclusively form the roof of the shed 200. The clips are preferably made out of a strong rigid material such as metal (e.g., aluminum, steel, iron, titanium, etc.), wood, carbon fiber, fiberglass, plastic, a composite material, or a combination of these or other materials. In other embodiments, the solar collector 100 can be mounted with existing roofing structure, i.e. rafters.
In other embodiments, the frame 166 can be arranged and configured to extend approximately 1 to 2 inches below the back plate 110. This extension would cause the solar collector 100 to act as a weather proof cap for the top of the support structure walls beneath. It would also cause the solar collector 100 to act as a means to maintain properly squared orientation between the individual wall sections of the support structure.
In this example, the solar collector 100 can also include ventilation holes located in the air gap of the back plate 110. The back plate 110 can further include a thermally regulated vent 170 operated by a trapped fluid piston or bimetal actuator to provide ventilation of heat out of the solar collector 100 during stagnation conditions when the heat transfer medium is not available during periods of solar gain. Such a condition normally occurs during stagnation of the solar collector associated with controlled shut down of pumps which move the thermal transfer fluid after the thermal storage mass has reached designed high temperature limit as well as during power outage when solar gain is occurring. The thermally regulated vent 170 is constructed to provide a release means of solar heated air in the interior region of the solar collector 100 between the insulative layer 108 near the back plate 110 and the glazing material 102 when a temperature in the interior region is in excess of about 220° F. The thermally regulated vent 170 can be operated by a trapped fluid piston or bimetal actuator positioned anywhere within the solar collector 100 such as, but not limited to, the back plate 110, the frame structure 112, or the glazing material 102. In
In order to accommodate glazing materials with a lower threshold of thermal deformation than glass, such as polycarbonate plastic, the solar collector 100 may include a thermally actuated venting mechanism, normally incorporating a thermally activated vent, constructed to provide a release means of solar heated air in the interior region between the insulation layer near the back plate and the glazing when a temperature in the interior region is in excess of about 220° F.
Referring again to
The aqueous fluid supplied to the solar collector 100 runs through water lines underground from a dwelling house. One method of transferring the aqueous fluid is by circulating the aqueous fluid in a non-pressurized closed loop between a storage tank and the solar collector 100. The method of heat transfer is indirect and can be accomplished through a preheat function with a non-pressurized heat exchange coil located in the pressurized solar storage tank or through an external heat exchanger in a small heat transfer drain back module. In other embodiments, the method of transfer may vary.
An umbilical tubular conduit with insulated piping can be used to transfer the solar thermal energy to a pre-existing storage and/or hot water delivery system integral to an existing dwelling structure. The dwelling structure being any type of building.
Referring to
In this example, the mounting base 300 is a treated lumber. It is understood that the mounting base 300 can be made of other materials, such as, but limited to, coated steel. The mounting base 300 can have dimensions of equal length to that of the structure being supported. In this example, the mounting base 300 has a dimension of about 4×6. The dimensions of the mounting base 300 can vary to be smaller or larger depending on the structure supported. The mounting base 300 can be leveled for subsequently mounting a structure thereon. The mounting base 300 can be configured to attach to the ground by using anchoring means. It is understood that various types of anchors may be used, such as, those consisting of cables or rods connected to a bearing plate. The type of anchor may vary in material selection and shape depending on the ground surface.
The mounting base 300 can be assembled from pre-cut pieces of treated lumber. The pieces of treated lumber can be cut at 45 degree angles and fit together to form a 90 degree corner. The mounting base 300 may include a mounting bracket 302 to secure the mounting base 300 pre-cut pieces together. It is understood that the mounting bracket 302 can vary in size and shape. The mounting bracket 302 can help to maintain the mounting base 300 in a squared relationship. It is understood that the pre-cut pieces of the mounting base 300 may be secured together by alternative means, such as, but not limited to, adhesive.
As shown in
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments 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 scope of the invention encompassed by the appended clams. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention and other modifications within the scope. Any such modifications or variations that fall within the purview of this description are intended to be included therein as well. It is understood that the description herein is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to be limitative.
