Eco-friendly system and method for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance

Abstract

There is described a system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance. The system generally has a geothermal unit having an input port, an output port, and an underground circuit in fluid communication between the input port and the output port, and a pump moving water from the input port, along the underground circuit, towards the output port, said moving cooling the water below a first temperature; a first conduit in fluid communication with the output port of the geothermal unit and receiving water therefrom; a computer processing unit having a plurality of computing devices generating heat when operating, the computer processing unit in thermal exchange communication with the water of the first conduit, said thermal exchange communication cooling the plurality of computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance receiving the water at the second temperature.

Description

ECO-FRIENDLY SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DELIVERING HOT WATER TO A SANITARY APPLIANCEFIELD

[0001] The improvements generally relate to sanitary appliances requiring hot water and more specifically to the heating of water used by such sanitary appliances.BACKGROUND

[0002] Many types of sanitary appliances, such as shower(s), bath(s), spa(s), water tap(s) and the like, require hot water to properly operate. Moreover, the hot water has to be clean enough to comply with most local safety and health regulations. However, with the desire to consume less energy and recycle more, along with the increasing cost of energy and interest rates, some home owners want to rethink some of their old habits to better fit today’s society. Accordingly, some actions as mundane as heating water have to be changed for home owners to become or stay environmentally and financially healthy. Although existing hot water tanks are satisfactory to a certain degree, there remains room for improvement.SUMMARY

[0003] In recent society, data centers are required to sustain today’s need in terms of data storing and sharing. For instance, most common online search engines, social media, or online shopping websites rely on these data centers that may be dedicated or shared via wired or cloud networking systems. These data centers include a significant quantity of computing devices that require electricity and output excess heat that, when mismanaged via cooling systems, can detrimentally affect the performance of the overall data center. With the increasing price of energy and real estate, data center owners have begun to look at alternate energy saving solutions. One of these solutions is to decentralize some of these data centers, especially those that are less stringent in terms of security and / or computational power, into a number of decentralized computer processing units (also referred to as “micro data centers”) that can be located at different locations, while still being communicatively coupled to one another. One of the advantages of such micro data centers is that renting different smaller spaces insometimes remote locations can be financially more advantageous than renting a large city building. Moreover, the building owners welcoming such computer processing units can earn an additional rent revenue. However, operating a computer processing unit, even if it is a lot smaller than a conventional data center, still require a considerable amount of electricity, and sometimes the additional rent revenue may not be sufficient to foot the bump in energy bills. There is thus a need for alternate strategies.

[0004] As such, sanitary appliances can be fed with hot water just as if it would with a conventional hot water tank, but, in the meantime, energy and water savings can be compounded by the combined involvement of the geothermal unit and the computer processing unit, the use of rain water and filtered water as water source, while all or most of the components are powered from sun energy.

[0005] It was found that by in situations where these micro data centers are powered with an auto-produced source of solar energy captured using solar energy converting apparatuses (e.g., building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), conventional solar panels), further energy and water saving mechanisms can help render the renting operation financially viable. For instance, in some embodiments, fully or partially leveraging the excess heat generated by such micro data centers, some building owners can reduce their energy consumption for mundane actions such as heating water, and thereby leading to reduce overall energy costs. Although it is known that although geothermal units are satisfactory to heat or cool ambient air in standard buildings, embodiments of this disclosure involve the use of a geothermal unit to cool water down to a first temperature (e.g., 4-10°C), and then the cool water is put in thermal exchange contact with the micro data center in order for the cool water to cool the computing devices of the micro data center, which in turns heats the water up to a second temperature greater than the first temperature. The hot water is then fed to the sanitary appliance(s) for standard use thereof. In some embodiments, the warm greywater outputted by the sanitary appliances can be filtered, then cooled by the geothermal unit prior to a subsequent round of computing device cooling, thereby forming a closed loop or semiclosed loop of circulating water. In the case of a semi-closed loop of circulating water,only a small volume of additional water may be required to compensate for evaporation, leaks and the like.

[0006] In some embodiments, the building can be provided with solar energy converting apparatuses provided in the form of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) panels which can generate a sufficient amount of electricity to power the whole building, including the geothermal system, the computer processing unit, and the building’s other electrical needs. Depending on the solar panel configuration and footprint, and when rain water collectors are used, the building can be said to be self-sufficient” in terms of energy and water needs as almost no outside energy or water may be required in some situations.

[0007] In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, the system comprising: a geothermal unit having an input port, an output port, and an underground circuit in fluid communication between the input port and the output port, and a pump moving water from the input port, along the underground circuit, towards the output port, said moving cooling the water below a first temperature; a first conduit in fluid communication with the output port of the geothermal unit and receiving water therefrom; a computer processing unit having a plurality of computing devices generating heat when operating, the computer processing unit in thermal exchange communication with the water of the first conduit, said thermal exchange communication cooling the plurality of computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance receiving the water at the second temperature for delivery thereof.

[0008] Further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the input port of the geothermal unit can for example be fluidly connected to a water source, the water source being at least one of a natural water source, a potable water source, a rainwater source and a filtered water source.

[0009] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the input port of the geothermal unit can for example be fluidly connected to a water filterassembly, the water filter assembly receiving greywater and outputting filtered water to the geothermal unit via the input port.

[0010] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the sanitary appliance can for example receive the water at the second temperature from the first conduit and outputs greywater, the system can for example further comprise a filter assembly fluidly connected downstream from the sanitary appliance.

[0011] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the filter assembly can for example filter the greywater into filtered water and feeds at least a portion of the filtered water to the geothermal unit, the geothermal unit and the sanitary appliance forming a semi-closed circuit.

[0012] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the filtered water can for example be cooled below the first temperature by the geothermal unit, and then the filtered water cools the plurality of computing devices while heating to the second temperature greater than the first temperature.

[0013] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the first temperature can for example range between about 4°C and 21 °C.

[0014] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the second temperature can for example range between about 25°C and 50°C, preferably between 37°C and 40°C.

[0015] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the computer processing unit and the sanitary appliance can for example be enclosed within a building.

[0016] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the building can for example have a plurality of solar energy converting apparatuses generating electrical energy from sun energy, the generated electrical energy powering the computer processing unit.

[0017] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, one of the plurality of solar energy converting apparatuses can for example be provided in the form of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) units integrated to an exterior surface of a wall of the building.

[0018] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the system can for example further comprise an energy storage device storing excess electrical energy generated by the plurality of solar energy converting apparatuses.

[0019] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the computer processing unit can for example be a micro data center.

[0020] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, excess heat generated by the computer processing unit, and captured by the water at the second temperature, can for example be at least one of: converted into electrical energy and used as thermal energy to carry heat.

[0021] Still further in accordance with the first aspect of the present disclosure, the sanitary appliance can for example be selected from a group consisting of: a bath, a shower, a pool, a spa, a water tap, a bidet, and a dishwasher.

[0022] In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, the system comprising: a conduit flowing water; a geothermal unit having an underground loop circulating a heat transfer fluid, and a heat pump forcing circulation of the heat transfer fluid around the underground loop, said heat pump cooling the water flowing into the conduit by thermal exchange with the heat transfer fluid, said thermal exchange cooling the water below a first temperature; a computer processing unit having a plurality of computing devices generating heat when operating, the computer processing unit in thermal exchange communication with the conduit, said thermal exchange communication cooling the plurality of computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance receiving the water at the second temperature for delivery thereof.

[0023] Further in accordance with the second aspect of the present disclosure, the heat transfer fluid can for example include an antifreeze solution.

[0024] Still further in accordance with the second aspect of the present disclosure, the sanitary appliance can for example be selected from a group consisting of: a bath, a shower, a pool, a spa, a water tap, a bidet, and a dishwasher.

[0025] In accordance with a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of delivery hot water to a sanitary appliance, the method comprising: using a geothermal unit, cooling water below a first temperature; operating a plurality of computing devices, thereby generating excess heat; bringing the water and the plurality of computing devices in thermal exchange communication, said thermal exchange communication cooling the plurality of computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance supplying the water at the second temperature during standard use thereof.

[0026] Further in accordance with the third aspect of the present disclosure, said cooling the water below the first temperature can for example include moving the water underground, said moving causing said cooling.

[0027] Still further in accordance with the third aspect of the present disclosure, said cooling the water below the first temperature can for example include circulating a heat transfer fluid along an underground circuit, said circulating heating the heat transfer fluid, and extracting heat from the heat transfer fluid to heat the water to the first temperature while cooling the plurality of computing devices.

[0028] In this disclosure, the term “sanitary appliance” is meant to encompass any receptacle-like apparatus to which water can be supplied. In some embodiments, greywater such as soil water or wastewater can be discharged by the sanitary appliance after use of the water. Examples of such sanitary appliances can include, but are not limited to, a bath, a shower, a pool, a spa, a water tap, a bidet, a dishwasher, a WC, a urinal, a washbasin, a sink, a drinking fountain, to name a few examples.

[0029] It is understood that the water that is flowed to the system disclosed herein can be clean water that has been filtered elsewhere or on site. In some embodiments, the water used in the system disclosed herein is rain water, greywater or natural water that was then filtered to provide water of sufficient quality for use in conventional sanitary appliances such as shower(s), spa(s), and pool(s).

[0030] All technical implementation details and advantages described with respect to a particular aspect of the present invention are self-evidently mutatis mutandis applicable for all other aspects of the present invention.

[0031] Many further features and combinations thereof concerning the present improvements will appear to those skilled in the art following a reading of the instant disclosure.DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0032] In the figures,

[0033] Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an example of a system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, shown with a geothermal unit, a computer processing unit, and a sanitary appliance, in accordance with one or more embodiment;

[0034] Fig. 1 A is a schematic view of the geothermal unit and the computer processing unit of the system of Fig. 1 , in accordance with one or more embodiments;

[0035] Fig. 2 is a schematic view of another example of a geothermal unit of a system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, in accordance with one or more embodiments;

[0036] Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, in accordance with one or more embodiments; and

[0037] Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a method for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, in accordance with one or more embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Fig. 1 shows an example of a system 100 for receiving water from a water source 102 and delivering hot water to one or more sanitary appliances 108. The water source 102 can be a potable water source, a natural water source, a rain water source, a filtered water source, or a combination thereof. More specifically, the system 100 includes a geothermal unit 104, a computer processing unit 106, and two sanitary appliances 108. The two sanitary appliances 108 are provided in the form of a shower and a pool in this example. However, it is understood that the system 100 can include only one sanitary appliance 108, or more than two sanitary appliances 108. Different types of sanitary appliances can be used as well.

[0039] As best seen in Fig. 1A, the geothermal unit 104 has an input port 104a in fluid communication with the water source 102, an output port 104b, and an underground circuit 104c which is in fluid communication between the input port 104a and the output port 104b. The geothermal unit 104 also has a pump 1 16 forcing movement of the water received from the water source 102 via the input port 104a, along the underground circuit 104c, and towards the output port 104b. Depending on the embodiment, the underground circuit 104c can include, but is not limited to, a deep vertical heat collector conduit, a shallow horizontal heat collector, a pond heat collector, to name a few examples. The movement of the water along the underground circuit 104c, where it is cooler as at least a portion thereof lies under the ground’s freezing line, cools the water up below a first temperature which can range between about 4°C and 21 °C.

[0040] As shown, the system 100 has a first conduit 112 which is lies between the geothermal unit 104 and the sanitary appliance 108. More specifically, the first conduit 1 12 is in fluid communication with the output port 104b of the geothermal unit 104 and receives the water cooled below the first temperature from the geothermal unit 104.

[0041] As depicted, the computer processing unit has one or more computing devices 106a generating excess heat when operating. The amount of excess heat generated by the computing devices 106a can vary as a function of the amount of computing devices 106a currently operating, the computing capacity of each computing device, the spacingbetween each computing device 106a, the ambient temperature, and the like. It is intended that the computer processing unit 106 is in thermal exchange communication with at least a portion of the first conduit 112 which thereby cool the computing devices 106a while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature. Depending on the embodiment, the second temperature typically ranges between about 25°C and 50°C, and preferably between 37°C and 40°C. In some embodiments, the computer processing unit is enclosed within a cabinet such as an electrical cabinet. The cabinet can have a footprint similar to a footprint of a fridge or any other electric appliances, depending on the embodiment.

[0042] Referring back to Fig. 1 , the water source 102 is directly fluidly connected to the input port 104a of the geothermal unit 104. However, this fluid connection can be indirect in some other embodiments. For instance, in some other embodiments, the input port 104a of the geothermal unit 104 is fluidly connected to a first filter assembly 118a which receives water from the water source 102 and outputs filtered water to the geothermal unit 104. In the depicted embodiment, the water source 102 includes a rain water collector (not shown) and provides at least a portion of rain water to the first filter assembly 118a. It is understood that the water source 102 can be provided in the form of a water reservoir which collects rain water, natural water and the like. In these embodiments, rain water collectors (e.g., collecting water from building’s roofs, pathways) can be in fluid communication with the water reservoir. The water reservoir can be heated in some embodiments to keep the water warm and / or prevent it from freezing. In some embodiments, the water reservoir is underground and passed the freezing line. In these embodiments, or in other embodiments where the water reservoir would be above ground, underground and / or heated conduits can guide the water between the water source 102 and the geothermal unit 104, and / or between the sanitary appliance 108 and the water source 102.

[0043] Moreover, the greywater produced by the sanitary appliances 108 can be fed to a second filter assembly 118b fluidly connected downstream from the sanitary appliances 108. More specifically, the sanitary appliance 108 has an input port 108a receiving the water from the first conduit 112 and an output port 108b outputtinggreywater after standard use of the hot water. In the depicted embodiment, the system 100 has a second conduit 120 which is fluidly connected between the sanitary appliances 108 and the water source 102 via a second filter assembly 118b. In this embodiment, the second filter assembly 1 18b is configured for filtering the greywater into filtered water which is then fed back to the geothermal unit 104 via the water source 102 and the first filter assembly 118a. In this specific embodiment, the water source 102 can thus supply filtered water and rain water to the first filter assembly 118a, for instance. In this specific embodiment, the geothermal unit 104 and the sanitary appliance 108 can form a closed or semi-closed water circuit around which water circulates for one or more cycles, depending on the embodiment. In some embodiments, the first and second filter assemblies 118a and 118b reduce the amount of new, filtered water that has to be added into the closed water circuit at each cycle.

[0044] In this embodiment, the system 100 is integrated to a building 124. The building 124 can be a commercial building, a domestic building such as a house, a lodge, and the like. More specifically, in this example, the computer processing unit 106 and the sanitary appliance 108 are wholly enclosed within the building 124, with the geothermal unit 104 only partially enclosed within the building 124. In this example, the building 124 is provided with a number of sun energy converting apparatuses 126 such as building- integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) panels, conventional solar panels, and the like. While some of the converting apparatuses 126 are provided on the roof of the building 124, acting as roof panels 126a, some other panels 126a are integrated to exterior surfaces of the walls of the building 124. Such panels 126a are referred to as wall-integrated panels. It is intended that the sun energy converting apparatuses 126 generate electricity from the sun, or more specifically from the sun energy radiated by the sun during the day. Any excess electrical energy generated by the sun energy converting apparatuses 126 can be temporarily stored on energy storage devices. Examples of such energy storage devices can include, but are not limited to, battery(ies), battery pack(s) and / or battery module(s), Tesla® Powerwall, Harnyss® hydrogen energy storage devices. In some embodiments, electric vehicles can be plugged into the building’s electrical grid. Accordingly, during higher energy demand periods, electrical energy can be fetched from the electric vehicle’s energy storage device to power the system 100. At some otherinstances, especially during lower energy demand periods, excess electrical energy generated by the converting apparatuses 126 can be used to charge the electric vehicle’s energy storage device back to its original charge, for instance. The generated electricity can power the computer processing unit 106 in full or in part. In some embodiments, excess heat generated by the computer processing unit 106, and captured via the cool water flowing along the first conduit 112, can be converted into electricity. In these embodiments, an electricity-generating turbine (not shown) or any other suitable electricity generation equipment can be provided downstream from the computer processing unit 106. Moreover, it was found particularly convenient to position the pump 116 of the geothermal unit 104 and the computer processing unit 106 in a basement of the building 124. In this way, a building owner can live in the ground floor and the upper floors while renting a portion of the basement to a data center company, for instance. In some instances, it was found that with the rise of interest rates, building owners can profit from unused space in their building to generate additional revenue to help with the increasing mortgage payments.

[0045] Fig. 2 is an example of a system 200 for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance. The system 200 generally has a first conduit 212, a geothermal unit 204, a computer processing unit 206, and a sanitary appliance 208. More specifically, the first conduit 212 flows water from a water source 202 through the geothermal unit 204. As shown, the geothermal unit 204 has an underground loop 214 circulating a heat transfer fluid. The heat transfer fluid can include, but is noted limited to, water, an antifreeze solution, a refrigerant solution, and the like. The geothermal unit 204 also has a heat pump 216 forcing circulation of the heat transfer fluid around the underground loop 214 in continuous or quasi-continuous modes of operation. In this example, the heat pump 216 is in thermal exchange communication with the first conduit 212 is configured for imparting heat by the warm water of the water source 202 to the heat transfer fluid and direct the extracted heat away from the water flowing within the first conduit 212. The geothermal unit, via the heat pump, can cool the water below a first temperature. As shown, the computer processing unit 206 is in thermal exchange communication with the first conduit 212. As such, when computing devices 206a of the computer processing unit 206 operate, they collectively generate excess heat that can be exchanged to thewater to heat the water up to a second temperature greater than the first temperature while cooling the computing devices 206. It is understood that although the first conduit 212 is shown as a continuous conduit, the first conduit 212 can be provided in the form of a series of serially connected conduits which may include other fluidic components such as valve(s), connector(s), and the like, along the whole length of the first conduit 212. In the illustrated embodiment, the first conduit 212 is positioned above the computing devices 206a so the water can be heated via convection. However, it is noted that, although not shown, the computer processing unit 206 can include a heat exchanger in thermal exchange communication between the first conduit 212 and the computing devices 206a. In these embodiments, the efficiency with which the potable can be heated to the second temperature can be further enhanced. In some embodiments, the system 200 is provided with a second conduit feeding greywater from an output port of the sanitary appliance 208 to a water dump, water drain, or to a water filter assembly.

[0046] Fig. 3 shows an example of a system 300 for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance 308. As depicted, the system 300 includes a water source 302, a geothermal unit 304, a computer processing unit 306, a sanitary appliance 308, and a filtering unit 310. As will be further discussed below, it is intended that the water source 302 and / or the filtering unit 310 can be optional as they can be omitted in some embodiments. The water source 302 and / or the filtering unit 310 can be sold separately from the system 300. During use of the system 300, the geothermal unit 304 cools the water below a first temperature. Then, due to the operation of computing devices of the computer processing unit 306, excess heat is generated. The excess heat generated by the computing devices of the computer processing unit 306 heats the water to a second temperature which is greater than the first temperature. The first temperature can range between about 4°C and 21 °C whereas the second temperature can range between about 25°C and 50°C. The hot water can then be supplied at the sanitary appliance 308 for standard use thereof. The presence of the filtering unit 310 allows the greywater outputted by the sanitary appliance 308 to be filtered and then fed back to the geothermal unit 304 in some embodiments. As the filtered water is generally warm, its passage into the geothermal unit 304 will cool it, thereby allowing another computer cooling cycle. Itis intended that the system 300 can be dedicated to a singly building (e.g., a single home). However, in some embodiments, the system 300 can be shared between a number of different buildings. In these embodiments, the buildings are preferably closely located relative to one another. As shown, a solar energy converting apparatus 312 can be used to power in full or in part the geothermal unit 304, the computer processing unit 306, the sanitary appliance(s) 308, the filtering unit(s) 310, or a combination thereof.

[0047] Fig. 4 shows an example of a method 400 for the delivery of hot water to a sanitary appliance. The method 400 can be performed using the system 300 described with reference to Fig. 3. However, it is understood that the method 400 can be performed with any embodiment of the system described herein, including the systems 100 and 200 described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

[0048] At step 402, water is cooled below a first temperature using a geothermal unit. In some embodiments, the first temperature ranges between about 4°C and 21 °C. In a typical situation, the water will be fetched from a water source such as the aqueduct, an artesian well, a filtered water source, a rain water source, a potable water source, a natural water source, or a combination thereof. More specifically, in some other embodiments, the water can be received from a filtering unit which receives greywater or rainwater water that is not necessarily potable, and then filters the greywater or natural water into filtered water of sufficient quality to be used in sanitary appliances. In these embodiments, the filtering unit is upstream from the geothermal unit. The potable can be cooled at temperatures as low as 3-4°C during winter as the feeding conduit(s) and / or reservoir(s) are exposed to winterly conditions.

[0049] At step 404, a number of computing devices are operated, which generates excess heat. Depending on the embodiments, the number of computing devices can vary. For instance, in some applications, the computing devices are part of a micro data center unit. The data center unit can be a standalone data center in some embodiments whereas in some other embodiments the data center unit can be part of a decentralized data center having other micro data center units located elsewhere. In some embodiments, the computing devices can be part of a cryptocurrency mining rig, for instance.

[0050] At step 406, the cool water and the computing devices are brought in thermal exchange communication which cools the computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature. For instance, the second temperature can range between about 25°C and 50°C, preferably between 37°C and 40°C.

[0051] At step 408, a sanitary appliance supplies the water heated at the second temperature during standard use of the sanitary appliance. In the context of a shower, the step 408 of supplying the hot water can include flowing the hot water through a shower head without necessarily, nor exclusively, relying on a conventional water heater tank.

[0052] As shown, at step 410, the sanitary appliance outputs greywater after standard use thereof, and the greywater is filtered using a filtering unit. In these embodiments, the filter unit can thus be downstream from the geothermal unit. In some optional embodiments, the filtered water can be fed back to the geothermal unit or to the original water source. As such, the method can be performed in a closed loop in which the same amount of water, or at least a portion thereof, can be used for several cycles of the method, depending on the embodiment. The location of the filtering unit can depend on the embodiment. In some embodiments, the filtering unit is immediately downstream from the sanitary appliance, whereas in some other embodiments the filtering unit is upstream from the geothermal unit.

[0053] As discussed with reference to Figs. 1A and 2 above, the cooling of the water below the first temperature can be performed in a number of different ways. In some embodiments, the water is moved underground which causes the water to cool down to the first temperature or below. Such underground circulation can include one or more conduits running underground. The underground conduit(s) can be located below, and more preferably well below, the ground’s freezing line. A pump can be fluidly connected to the underground circuit to force the movement of the potable along the underground conduit(s).

[0054] In some other embodiments, the water is not necessarily moved underground directly. Rather, a heat transfer fluid is circulated in an underground circuit. The underground circuit can include a first portion having conduit(s) running underground and output portion having conduit(s) reaching an above-ground location where a heat pump is fluidly connected along the conduit(s). In these embodiments, the first portion can be considerably greater in fluidic path length than the output portion. In any case, during its circulation, the heat transfer fluid cools down to a given temperature thanks to the surrounding ground which is below the freezing line. It is intended that the heat pump exchanged the heat from the warm water incoming from the water source and heat the heat transfer fluid, thereby providing cooler water as an input for the geothermal unit.

[0055] The computer processing unit can be provided as a combination of hardware and software components. The hardware components can be implemented in the form of one or more computing devices. Each computing device can have a processor, a memory, and / or a I / O interface.

[0056] The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose microprocessor or microcontroller, a digital signal processing (DSP) processor, an integrated circuit, a field- programmable gate array (FPGA), a reconfigurable processor, a programmable readonly memory (PROM), a programmable logic controller (PLC), or any combination thereof.

[0057] The memory can include a suitable combination of any type of computer- readable memory that is located either internally or externally such as, for example, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), electro-optical memory, magneto-optical memory, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) or the like.

[0058] Some I / O interfaces enable the computing device to interconnect with one or more input devices or with one or more output devices. Some I / O interfaces enable the controller to communicate with other components, to exchange data with other components, to access and connect to network resources, to server applications, andperform other computing applications by connecting to a network (or multiple networks) capable of carrying data including the Internet, Ethernet, plain old telephone service (POTS) line, public switch telephone network (PSTN), integrated services digital network (ISDN), digital subscriber line (DSL), coaxial cable, fibre optics, satellite, mobile, wireless (e.g. Wi-Fi, WiMAX), SS7 signaling network, fixed line, local area network, wide area network, and others, including any combination of these. The computing devices and any software application described herein are meant to be examples only. Other suitable embodiments of the computer processing unit can also be provided, as it will be apparent to the skilled reader.

[0059] As can be understood, the examples described above and illustrated are intended to be exemplary only. The scope is indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:1 . A system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, the system comprising: a geothermal unit having an input port, an output port, and an underground circuit in fluid communication between the input port and the output port, and a pump moving water from the input port, along the underground circuit, towards the output port, said moving cooling the water below a first temperature; a first conduit in fluid communication with the output port of the geothermal unit and receiving water therefrom; a computer processing unit having a plurality of computing devices generating heat when operating, the computer processing unit in thermal exchange communication with the water of the first conduit, said thermal exchange communication cooling the plurality of computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance receiving the water at the second temperature for delivery thereof.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the input port of the geothermal unit is fluidly connected to a water source, the water source being at least one of a natural water source, a potable water source, a rainwater source and a filtered water source.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2 wherein the input port of the geothermal unit is fluidly connected to a water filter assembly, the water filter assembly receiving greywater and outputting filtered water to the geothermal unit via the input port.

4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the sanitary appliance receives the water at the second temperature from the first conduit and outputs greywater, the system further comprising a filter assembly fluidly connected downstream from the sanitary appliance.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the filter assembly filters the greywater into filtered water and feeds at least a portion of the filtered water to the geothermal unit, the geothermal unit and the sanitary appliance forming a semi-closed circuit.

6. The system of claim 4 or 5 wherein the filtered water is cooled below the first temperature by the geothermal unit, and then the filtered water cools the plurality of computing devices while heating to the second temperature greater than the first temperature.

7. The system of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the first temperature ranges between about 4°C and 21 °C.

8. The system of any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the second temperature ranges between about 25°C and 50°C, preferably between 37°C and 40°C.

9. The system of any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the computer processing unit and the sanitary appliance are enclosed within a building.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the building has a plurality of solar energy converting apparatuses generating electrical energy from sun energy, the generated electrical energy powering the computer processing unit.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein one of the plurality of solar energy converting apparatuses is provided in the form of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) units integrated to an exterior surface of a wall of the building.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising an energy storage device storing excess electrical energy generated by the plurality of solar energy converting apparatuses.

13. The system of any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the computer processing unit is a micro data center.

14. The system of any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein excess heat generated by the computer processing unit, and captured by the water at the second temperature, is at least one of: converted into electrical energy and used as thermal energy to carry heat.

15. The system of any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the sanitary appliance is selected from a group consisting of: a bath, a shower, a pool, a spa, a water tap, a bidet, and a dishwasher.

16. A system for delivering hot water to a sanitary appliance, the system comprising: a conduit flowing water; a geothermal unit having an underground loop circulating a heat transfer fluid, and a heat pump forcing circulation of the heat transfer fluid around the underground loop, said heat pump cooling the water flowing into the conduit by thermal exchange with the heat transfer fluid, said thermal exchange cooling the water below a first temperature; a computer processing unit having a plurality of computing devices generating heat when operating, the computer processing unit in thermal exchange communication with the conduit, said thermal exchange communication cooling the plurality of computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance receiving the water at the second temperature for delivery thereof.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the heat transfer fluid includes an antifreeze solution.

18. The system of claim 16 or 17 wherein the sanitary appliance is selected from a group consisting of: a bath, a shower, a pool, a spa, a water tap, a bidet, and a dishwasher.

19. A method of delivery hot water to a sanitary appliance, the method comprising: using a geothermal unit, cooling water below a first temperature; operating a plurality of computing devices, thereby generating excess heat; bringing the cool water and the plurality of computing devices in thermal exchange communication, said thermal exchange communication cooling the pluralityof computing devices while heating the water to a second temperature greater than the first temperature; and a sanitary appliance supplying the water at the second temperature during standard use thereof.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said cooling the water below the first temperature includes moving the water underground, said moving causing said cooling.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20 wherein said cooling the water below the first temperature includes circulating a heat transfer fluid along an underground circuit, said circulating heating the heat transfer fluid, and extracting heat from the heat transfer fluid to heat the water to the first temperature while cooling the plurality of computing devices.