Heating system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11473785-B2
Application number	US-201916596634-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 8, 2019
Priority date	Oct 8, 2019
Publication date	Oct 18, 2022
Grant date	Oct 18, 2022

Abstract

A system for heating a first fluid flow from a first temperature to a second temperature, the system including a hot water supply line for receiving the first fluid flow at a first end and exhausting the first fluid flow at a second end; and a heating system including a heat engine, a thermal battery and a heat exchanger, wherein the thermal battery is configured to be replenished at a point of heat transfer by the heat engine and the hot water supply line is configured to receive heat from the thermal battery via the heat exchanger to elevate the temperature of the first fluid flow from the first temperature to the second temperature.

First claim

What is claimed herein is:

1. A system for heating a first fluid flow from a first temperature to a second temperature, said system comprising:
(a) a supply line for receiving the first fluid flow at a first end and exhausting the first fluid flow at a second end; and
(b) a heating system comprising:
(i) a heat engine;
(ii) a thermal battery configured to receive a second fluid flow, wherein said second fluid flow is fluidly decoupled from the first fluid flow;
(iii) a first heat exchanger; and
(iv) a second heat exchanger,
wherein said thermal battery is configured to be replenished at a point of heat transfer by said heat engine, said heat engine is directly thermally coupled to said supply line via said second heat exchanger and said supply line is configured to receive heat from said thermal battery via said first heat exchanger and from said heat engine via said second heat exchanger to elevate the temperature of the first fluid flow from the first temperature to the second temperature.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said heat engine comprises a heat pump.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a solar thermal collector configured to increase the total heat transfer rate to said thermal battery.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an electrically-powered heater configured to increase the total heat transfer rate to said thermal battery.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said first heat exchanger comprises a plate type heat exchanger.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said thermal battery comprises a tank configured to receive the second fluid flow.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second fluid flow is a flow selected from the group consisting of a water flow and a glycol flow.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein said thermal battery further comprises a closed loop fluid conductor for circulating said second fluid flow that is configured to cause transfer of heat from said thermal battery to the first fluid flow at a heat transfer rate via said first heat exchanger and a variable speed pump interposed within said closed loop conductor wherein said variable speed pump is configured to effect heat transfer at said heat transfer rate based on a demand of the first fluid flow by varying the flowrate of said second fluid flow.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein said point of heat transfer comprises a coil thermally adapted to said tank, said heat engine comprises a heat pump and said coil is configured to receive a third fluid flow from said heat pump for heating said second fluid flow.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first fluid flow comprises an unheated fluid flow and a recirculation of at least a portion of the first fluid flow.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein said second heat exchanger comprises a plate type heat exchanger.

12. A system for heating a first fluid flow from a first temperature to a second temperature, said system comprising:
(a) a supply line for receiving the first fluid flow at a first end and exhausting the first fluid flow at a second end; and
(b) a heating system comprising:
(i) a heat engine; and
(ii) a thermal battery configured to receive a second fluid flow, wherein said second fluid flow is fluidly decoupled from the first fluid flow; and
(c) a heat exchanger,
wherein said supply line, said heat engine and said thermal battery are configured to be directly thermally coupled in said heat exchanger, said supply line is configured to be receive heat from at least one of said heat engine and said thermal battery to elevate the temperature of the first fluid flow from the first temperature to the second temperature and said thermal battery is configured to be replenished by said heat engine.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein said heat engine comprises a heat pump.

14. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a heater selected from the group consisting of a solar thermal collector and an electrically-powered heater configured to increase the total heat transfer rate to said thermal battery.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein said thermal battery comprises a tank configured to receive the second fluid flow.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein said thermal battery further comprises a closed loop fluid conductor for circulating said second fluid flow that is configured to cause transfer of heat from said thermal battery to the first fluid flow at a heat transfer rate via said heat exchanger and a variable speed pump interposed within said closed loop conductor wherein said variable speed pump is configured to effect heat transfer at said heat transfer rate based on a demand of the first fluid flow by varying the flowrate of said second fluid flow.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the second fluid flow is a flow selected from the group consisting of a water flow and a glycol flow.

Assignees

• Intellihot Inc

Inventors

• Deivasigamani Sridhar
• Akasam Sivaprasad

Classifications

• F24D2200/14

  Solar energy · CPC title

• F24D2220/046

  Pressure sensors · CPC title

• F24H4/04

  Storage heaters · CPC title

• F24D17/0068 Primary

  with accumulation of the heated water · CPC title

• Y02B10/20

  Solar thermal · CPC title