Vapor mitigation system, vapor mitigation controller and methods of controlling vapors

• US 8,939,825 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vapor Dynamics, LLC
• Original Assignee: Vapor Dynamics, LLC
• Inventors: Hatton, Thomas E., Salcone, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huson, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIGHE, DANA K
• Application Number:
  US13/529,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20120328378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 454/238, 454/340, 454/341, 454/344, 454/354, 454/370, 454/909, 406/12
• US Class Current: 454/237
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/74 for controlling air flow rate or air velocity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2007/001 with exhausting air ducts
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2007/004 Natural ventilation using convection
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/50 Air quality properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/66 Volatile organic compounds [VOC]
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/68 Radon
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/003 in combination with air cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/06 with forced air circulation, e.g. by fan positioning of a ventilator in or against a conduit
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 454/909 Radon prevention

Abstract

A vapor mitigation system includes at least one vacuum pipe constructed and arranged to collect vapors beneath the floor of a building and to vent the vapors and a blower coupled to the at least one vacuum pipe. The blower is constructed and arranged to create a vacuum under the floor of the building. The vapor mitigation system further includes a controller configured to dynamically control a level of power supplied to the blower. The controller adjusts the level of power supplied to the blower in response to one or more environmental measurements.

Claims

1. A vapor mitigation system comprising:

at least one vacuum pipe constructed and arranged to collect vapors from a sub slab soil environment beneath a building and to vent the vapors;

a contaminate sensor configured to determine a concentration of a contaminant within the vapors collected within the at least one vacuum pipe;

a blower coupled to the at least one vacuum pipe, the blower constructed and arranged to create a vacuum in the sub slab soil environment relative to ambient pressure within the building;

a sub slab soil gas sensor configured to determine a concentration of the contaminant within the sub slab soil environment;

a fresh air inlet pipe that provides outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment;

a valve that dynamically limits a flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment through the fresh air inlet pipe based on the determined concentration of the contaminant within the vacuum pipe; and

a controller in communication with the blower, the contaminant sensor, the sub slab soil gas sensor, and the valve, the controller being configured to;

i) dynamically control a level of power supplied to the blower, wherein the controller adjusts the level of power supplied to the blower in response to one or more environmental measurements; and

ii) dynamically control the valve to limit the flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment based on the concentration of the contaminant in the vacuum pipe, wherein the dynamic control of the valve comprises, responsive to the contaminant sensor determining that the concentration of the contaminant within the vacuum pipe exceeds a predetermined threshold level, providing a signal to temporarily open the valve to permit the flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment.

2. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1, wherein the one or more environmental measurements are selected from the group consisting of:

ambient temperature, building interior temperature, building exterior temperature, building sub-slab or floor temperature, building interior air pressure, building exterior air pressure, barometric pressure, a level of vacuum created in the sub slab soil environment, the determined concentration of the contaminant within the sub slab soil environment and/or the vacuum pipe, and blower mass air flow.

3. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1 further comprising a vacuum sensor, wherein the vacuum sensor is constructed and arranged to determine a level of vacuum created under the floor of the building.

4. The vapor mitigation system of claim 3, wherein the controller adjusts the level of power supplied to the blower in response to the level of vacuum.

5. The vapor mitigation system of claim 4, wherein the controller increases the level of power supplied to the blower when the level of vacuum is less than a predetermined level.

6. The vapor mitigation system of claim 4, wherein the controller decreases the level of power supplied to the blower when the level of vacuum is greater than a predetermined level.

7. The vapor mitigation system of claims 5 and 6, wherein the predetermined level corresponds to regulatory discharge standards for residential structures or commercial buildings.

8. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1, wherein the contaminant comprises at least one of:

a volatile organic compound, methane gas, and radon gas.

9. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the level of power supplied to the blower so that the vacuum created under the floor of the building is maintained at a predetermined level.

10. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to adjust one or more parameters of an HVAC system.

11. The vapor mitigation system of claim 10, wherein the one or more parameters are selected from the group consisting of:

HVAC supply air pressure, ratio of building return air to fresh air input.

12. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1 further comprising a monitoring system, wherein the monitoring system is configured to transmit a status of the vapor mitigation system to one or more host machines via the Internet.

13. The vapor mitigation system of claim 12, wherein the monitoring system is configured to receive system configuration parameters from a host machine via the Internet.

14. The vapor mitigation system of claim 1

wherein the controller is configured to increase a level of power supplied to the blower in response to an increase in the concentration of contaminant within the vacuum pipe as determined by the contaminant sensor.

15. The vapor mitigation system of claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to calculate a volume of dilution air drawn into the sub slab soil environment.

16. A method of mitigating vapors, the method comprising:

generating an air flow within a vacuum pipe so as to create a vacuum in a sub slab soil environment beneath a building relative to ambient pressure within the building;

determining, using a contaminate sensor within the vacuum pipe, a concentration of contaminant within the air flow within the vacuum pipe;

venting the air flow to an exterior of the building;

determining, using a sub slab soil gas sensor, a concentration of contaminant within the sub slab soil environment; and

using a controller in communication with the contaminate sensor and the sub slab soil gas sensor to;

i) dynamically adjusting a level of the air flow in response to one or more environmental measurements; and

ii) dynamically controlling a valve that dynamically limits a flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment through a fresh air inlet pipe based on the determined concentration of contaminant within the vacuum pipe, wherein the dynamic control of the valve comprises, responsive to the contaminate sensor determining that the concentration of contaminant within the vacuum pipe exceeds a predetermined threshold level, providing a signal to temporarily open the valve to permit the flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more environmental measurements are selected from the group consisting of:

ambient temperature, building interior temperature, building exterior temperature, building sub-slab or floor temperature, building interior air pressure, building exterior air pressure, a level of vacuum created under the floor of the building, the determined concentration of the contaminant within the sub slab soil environment and/or the vacuum pipe, and blower mass air flow.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the level of air flow is dynamically adjusted so that the vacuum created in the sub slab soil environment is maintained at a predetermined level.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising, responsive to the contaminant sensor determining that the concentration of contaminant within the vacuum pipe falls below the predetermined threshold level, providing a signal to close the valve to limit the flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the predetermined threshold level comprises a Lower Explosive Limit of the contaminant.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the predetermined threshold level corresponds to a regulatory discharge standard; and

the dynamically adjusting the level of the air flow within the vacuum pipe and/or the dynamically controlling the valve that dynamically limits the flow of outside dilution air to the sub slab soil environment reduces the concentration of contaminants in the vacuum pipe to below the regulatory discharge standard.