Hydronic building cooling/heating system
First Claim
1. A temperature control apparatus for air in an air space, comprising:
- a thermally conductive structure comprising a building floor;
a source of liquid coolant at a temperature lower than a temperature of the air space;
controllable means for applying a temperature variable liquid coolant to the thermally conductive structure;
means for sensing at least the temperature of the air, a relative humidity of the air space, and a temperature of the thermally conductive structure;
a controller coupled to said means for sensing and to said controllable means, the controller being operable to determine a dew point of the air space and to adjust the variable flow of liquid coolant for maintaining the temperature of the thermally conductive structure at least slightly above the dew point.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A temperature control device cools the air in a space bounded by a thermally conductive structure such as a floor structure having embedded coolant pipes. Liquid coolant is provided at a temperature lower than a temperature of the air space, for example using a heat pump to lower the temperature of a coolant in a circulating path or by circulating the coolant through a ground based heat exchanger. Proportionately controllable valves or variably coupled heat exchangers allow regulation of the temperature of the liquid coolant passed through the embedded coolant pipes. A controller such as a microprocessor has outputs coupled to the valves or variable heat exchangers for regulating temperature, and inputs coupled to sensors providing sufficient data to establish the dew point of the air in the room. The controller repetitively establishes the dew point by sensing, for example, air temperature, pressure and relative humidity. The controller adjusts the temperature of the liquid coolant for maintaining the temperature of the thermally conductive structure below the temperature in the room, but at least slightly above the dew point, thereby cooling the room or at least supplementing the output of a forced air cooling system. In this manner the interior air is cooled via heat extraction from the floor without condensation.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A temperature control apparatus for air in an air space, comprising:
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a thermally conductive structure comprising a building floor; a source of liquid coolant at a temperature lower than a temperature of the air space; controllable means for applying a temperature variable liquid coolant to the thermally conductive structure; means for sensing at least the temperature of the air, a relative humidity of the air space, and a temperature of the thermally conductive structure; a controller coupled to said means for sensing and to said controllable means, the controller being operable to determine a dew point of the air space and to adjust the variable flow of liquid coolant for maintaining the temperature of the thermally conductive structure at least slightly above the dew point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A temperature control apparatus for air in an air space bounded at least partly by a thermally conductive structure, comprising:
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a source of liquid coolant at a temperature lower than a temperature of the air space; controllable means for applying a temperature variable liquid coolant to the thermally conductive structure, operative to adjust a temperature of the liquid coolant supplied to the thermally conductive structure; means for sensing at least the temperature of the air, a relative humidity of the air space, and a temperature of the thermally conductive structure; a controller coupled to said means for sensing and to said controllable means, the controller being operable to determine a dew point of the air space and to adjust the variable flow of liquid coolant for maintaining the temperature of the thermally conductive structure at least slightly above the dew point; and
,a forced air cooling apparatus operative to supply cool air to the air space, whereby cooling of the thermally conductive structure supplements cooling via the forced air cooling apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification