Indoor split generator of abundant and fresh potable atmospheric water and sterile air.

Abstract

The invention provides an atmospheric water and indoor chilled air generator to achieve self-sufficiency in clean air and fresh drinking water in tropical zones at a lower energy and financial cost indoors, by means of: - an incomplete split atmospheric water generator (without a compressor or condenser), - its connection to the outdoor unit of a pre-existing split air conditioner, for example, to remove the latent heat of condensation and distribute the coolness from the evaporator inside, ensuring condensation, - its air intake through which all the humid tropical atmospheric air ventilating the dwelling passes. Figure 1 (for the abstract)

Description

Title of the invention: Indoor split generator of abundant and fresh potable atmospheric water and sterile air. Technical field

[0001] The field of the invention is portable household appliances installed by a professional or a DIY enthusiast, which require connection by means other than electricity. This category includes, for example, a gas oven, a washing machine, a sink, a water filter, a kitchen exhaust hood, and a wall-mounted split air conditioner. They are delivered complete, may be subject to independent industrial property rights, but are only functional after being connected, respectively, to the gas network, the water network, an exhaust vent, or a refrigeration circuit.

[0002] The field of the invention excludes commercial central air conditioners and heating systems (HVAC) which are functional and integrated from the construction stage, circulate conditioned air through bulky ducts, are immovable and ultimately not very adaptable to certain critical circumstances such as an epidemic.

[0003] The invention is complete but functional only after electrical connection, to an air vent and to the refrigeration circuit of an external split air conditioner unit.

[0004] Scope:

[0005] Air-conditioned indoor spaces, housing, offices, shops, factories, sports and concert halls, administrations and hospitals in areas with a tropical, hot and humid climate, poorly served by the municipal drinking water network.

[0006] In the rest of the description, these spaces are called dwellings and are arbitrarily quantified into individual spaces of 36 m2 and 100 m3 on average.

[0007] Problem posed:

[0008] According to the WHO, each individual in the tropics needs 150 liters of drinking water per day to compensate for a failing or polluted municipal network. They particularly need an alternative to bottled water delivery, which is expensive and a source of pollution.

[0009] Tropical air with an average temperature of 26.5°C and a high humidity level of 20 g / m³ suggests the use of an Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG), which produces potable water by condensing water vapor on a cold evaporator. It also by-produces a significant amount of latent heat, 0.7 kWh / L, released by a condenser, plus 0.4 kWh / L released by its compressor, which consumes 0.4 kWh / L of electricity.

[0010] Removing 1.1 kWh / L with an air conditioner costs 0.36 kWh / L of electricity in addition to the aforementioned 0.4 kWh / L. With a cumulative electricity consumption of 0.76 kWh / L, a Indoor AWG is less efficient than direct wastewater distillation by an electric still, but it is infinitely more expensive to purchase.

[0011] Indoor AWGs appear counterproductive in the tropics. Yet, thousands have been sold in recent years because drinking water is a basic need, proving that those skilled in the art are either mercenary or too limited in their scope to provide a real solution to the problem, and in particular to anticipate the invention. This suggests that the invention is not obvious to those skilled in the art, who are no less motivated by water quality than the rest of the population.

[0012] In the tropics, the dew point is at 22.5 °C and air conditioners regulate comfort by default, as elsewhere, at 21°C and 50% humidity, i.e. 9g / m3.

[0013] All their instruction manuals specify that everything, doors and windows, must be closed before starting the unit to prevent internal condensation and, above all, to protect the compressor. The application of the compressor warranty depends on this.

[0014] The air in an air-conditioned dwelling is renewed once every two hours by mandatory construction vents at 0.5 ACH. (ACH = Air Change per Hour).

[0015] An average individual dwelling of 100 m3 is therefore traversed daily by 1200 m3 of hot and humid air which the air conditioner has no difficulty in cooling and dehumidifying by condensing 15.6L.

[0016] Since the condensate from an air conditioner has been known to be toxic since 1976, when 27 legionnaires were infected, these very insufficient 15.6L are discharged into the sewer without regret.

[0017] But since 2023 the WHO recommends ventilating at 5 ACH to remove exhaled carbon dioxide with infectious germs, covl9 and others as soon as possible.

[0018] Since then, no air conditioner operating instructions have changed. None mention the new ventilation standard, and no individual air conditioner draws 5 ACH directly from the outside to ventilate the interior.

[0019] As soon as an individual opens a window, the warm air at 26.5 °C condenses on all surfaces at 21 °C because they are below the dew point of 22.5 °C. This instantly transforms the dwelling into a sauna, in the long term into a mushroom farm, and the floor into an ice rink if it is made of marble.

[0020] To dry a ventilated dwelling at 5 ACH to an average of 9g / m3 with air containing 20g / m3 of vapor, an individual air conditioner operating in dehumidification mode conditioning air at 7°C and 7g / m3 should dehumidify at a rate X of 27.5 ACH:

[0021] 9 * (X + 5) = 5 * 20 + 7 * X gives 2 * X = 55 gives X = 27.5 ACH.

[0022] The most powerful fan speed of the most powerful individual air conditioner on the market does not exceed 8.5 ACH. Its dehumidification mode requires a fan speed of one-third of the The nominal value to reach 7°C at the outlet is 2.7 ACH. This is insufficient to the point of being useless.

[0023] Since air conditioning is doomed to failure in the tropics, direct ventilation at 5 ACH is therefore excluded by the very operating principle of a wall-mounted split air conditioner.

[0024] If someone persisted in installing an AWG in an air-conditioned, closed dwelling, the air conditioner will have already condensed and discharged all available moisture into the drain, so there would be nothing left for this figurative AWG to condense.

[0025] There is currently no way to generate sufficient atmospheric water - 150L - to cover the needs of an individual in the tropics, in their tropical (therefore air-conditioned) dwelling of 100 m3, yet it is in the tropics that the need is most pressing.

[0026] The WHO recommendation to introduce 12000 x 0.02 = 240 L of vapor of which 156 L could be condensed upon passing through an evaporator maintained at 5°C summarizes the problem and outlines the invention.

[0027] The rate of air conditioner ownership multiplied by the rate of use peaks in Singapore, where each family has at least four operating 24 hours a day.

[0028] 60% of individual air conditioners are of the wall-mounted split type, with an indoor unit which recycles 100% of the indoor air and a durable outdoor unit exposed to the elements.

[0029] 70% of the cost of a split air conditioner is attributable to its outdoor unit, the lifespan of which The theoretical lifespan is 10 years.

[0030] 70% of the power of an air conditioner is consumed to condense the humidity of air, even at low ACH.

[0031] The invention comprises:

[0032] - an outer casing 1,

[0033] - standard means for fixing it to or resting it against a partition 2 interior separating the dwelling from the outside, for example a wall, a door or a window, by

[0034] - a so-called rear face 3, intended to face said partition 2, comprising possibly standard means of fixing, and not including air outlet 4, or treated condensate outlet 5, or display of operational information.

[0035] - an intake air inlet 6 inscribed in said rear face,

[0036] - in this casing, at least one fan or suction turbine 7 centered on said air inlet 6 and blowing into a cavity closed by

[0037] - a pollution-reducing and bactericidal filter 8, for example of type HEPA 13 or 14 in front

[0038] - a cold evaporator 9 connected to

[0039] - two refrigerant gas tubes 10 forming half of a refrigeration circuit, whose standard connector ends are open and visible through said casing,

[0040] - a condensate collector 11, preferably a reservoir; preferably of 150 L for example visible through a sealed window 12, located under said evaporator 9, sterilized as well as said evaporator by

[0041] - a germicidal light source 13 for example UVC,

[0042] - an outlet of cold, dry air 4.

[0043] The invention also includes

[0044] - a pump 14 conveying the condensate from the reservoir 11 to

[0045] - a bactericidal filter 15, for example with activated carbon and then with

[0046] - an alkaline 16 remineralizing filter then at least to

[0047] - a tap 5

[0048] Finally, as an option, a branch of the conduit to the tap to a sprayer 17 simulating rain visible through the window 12 in said reservoir 11.

[0049] The closest version of the invention without options remains a modified, therefore optimized, standard AWG.

[0050] In addition to the aforementioned non-optional components, a standard AWG also necessarily includes a compressor, a condenser and an expansion valve.

[0051] Its refrigeration circuit is closed and does not leave the casing.

[0052] The air that it draws in and expels does not pass through any partition; it either draws in indoor air and expels it warmer inside, or it draws in and expels it warmer outside.

[0053] It does not have any open and apparent refrigerant gas inlet-outlet tubes passing through its casing.

[0054] Thus the invention is an improved, simplified AWG, less expensive to produce because it is without a compressor, generating enough air and fresh water to meet the standards at a lower energy cost, by means of the aforementioned differences.

[0055] The invention achieves:

[0056] After connection to the external unit 18 of a new or already installed (therefore recycled) standard split air conditioner, and after filling the cooling circuit 10 with refrigerant, the invention provides an economical indoor generator of abundant and purified fresh sterilized air and drinking water, from exclusively tropical atmospheric air drawn from outside, and electricity.

[0057] By drawing in less contagious but hot and humid tropical outside air directly into said split generator, it does not mix with the already cold and dry indoor air. Thus, it can be filtered and conditioned efficiently because it is concentrated with various pollutants and water vapor.

[0058] The volume of humid air to be treated is then reduced to 5 ACH, more generally by a factor of 5 compared to the volume to be treated when 5 ACH pass through a window.

[0059] The outside air can therefore be treated slowly all at once on the fly and not through a multitude of rapid and successive cycles.

[0060] This allows the invention to blow 5 ACH at 7°C and 7g / m3 inside without drowning the occupants and therefore respecting the new ventilation standards.

[0061] The blown air maintains the interior at the floor level of outside carbon dioxide but no longer the pollution or the germs intercepted by the HEPA 13 filter. The standard 5 ACH is sized to evacuate carbon dioxide and germs from a dwelling occupied by several occupants, one for every 10m2.

[0062] 5 ACH represents 12000 m3 per day per person, and therefore 156 litres of condensate.

[0063] The latent heat of condensation of the 156 litres as well as the pumped heat to cool the hot atmospheric air is transported by refrigerant fluid to the compressor 19 and the condenser similar to the refrigerant fluid 20 of the external unit 18 according to a refrigeration cycle known from the state of the art.

[0064] This heat is then dissipated by the external ventilated condenser 20.

[0065] The fan 6 subjects the housing to relative overpressure by blowing clean air. Pollution, dust, and germs cannot therefore enter through gaps or outlet vents. While not cleaning the housing itself, the invention ensures its long-term cleanliness and eliminates the need for dusting.

[0066] Preferably, the dwelling has only two ventilation vents 21 and 22 and also keeps all windows and doors closed. The intake air inlet 6 of the invention faces the lower vent 21, which consequently provides an atmospheric air intake vent.

[0067] Preferably the air exits warm through a single second vent 22 just below the ceiling, preferably located above the inlet vent 21.

[0068] First optimization: recycling the coolness of the outgoing air by means of a heat exchange with the external condenser:

[0069] The single outlet vent 22 faces the outdoor unit, drawing in all the outgoing warm air. This air, cooler than the atmosphere, cools its condenser. This air mixture simulates a colder climate, making heat pumping more efficient.

[0070] Second optimization: recycle the freshness of the condensate by means of a liquid-liquid heat exchange with the compressed refrigerant.

[0071] The treated condensate is dispensed from the front by a tap and / or a fountain, or stored in the tank of the invention or in a bottle under the invention. The excess condensate is pumped to the external unit, preferably located at a higher level, and cools—or is heated by—the refrigerant. compressed just before its release by valve 23. This exchanger 24 also simulates a colder climate making the pumping - of less heat - more efficient.

[0072] After being heated, said condensate is preferably stored at a sanitary temperature above 60°C in a solar tank for example on the roof.

[0073] Third optimization: comfort without thermal regulation by the invention.

[0074] Since the airflow at 7°C is insufficient to lower the temperature of the family home below 21°C, other independent air conditioners of an apartment can ensure the regulation in parallel without prejudice of efficiency because the latter then have nothing to condense or discharge into the sewer.

[0075] Fourth optimization: economical regulation of internal temperature

[0076] Reducing ventilation reduces the volume of air blown at 7°C into the room, therefore leaving it To warm up. Increasing ventilation increases the volume of air introduced, but only when it is warmer than 7°C and more humid, which lowers the temperature.

[0077] The best compromise is a match achieved at 5 ACH between the interior volume, insulation losses, and the outside temperature, therefore between more interior humidity and less condensation. This compromise is experimental.

[0078] According to this option, the speed of the fan turbine 6 is regulated by an adjustable internal thermostat.

[0079] Fifth optimization: precise regulation of internal temperature by maintaining aeration precisely at 5 ACH and constant potable water generation.

[0080] The air exiting at 7°C from the split AWG at a constant 5 ACH can cool the interior too much and compromise energy efficiency.

[0081] Heating the air before diffusing it at the correct temperature at 5 ACH inside is achieved without loss by means of at least one (smaller) condenser 25 through which the air exiting the invention passes, interposed on the air outlets.

[0082] Said small condenser, connected in series with a solenoid valve (standard for refrigerators), is connected in parallel with the main external condenser of the outdoor unit by means of a secondary hot refrigerant circuit of relatively small diameter (not shown). The opening of the solenoid valve is regulated by a thermostat sensitive to the internal temperature.

[0083] Heating the air exiting the invention in this way creates a heat exchange which also simulates a colder climate, making the pumping of less heat more efficient.

[0084] Sixth optimization: mechanical adjustment of ambient temperature.

[0085] Removing the invention from the partition allows fresh, dry ambient air to be introduced into the fan turbine. This further cools the room at the expense of condensate production, while maintaining the air purity level thanks to the HEPA 8 filter through which the recycled indoor air passes and the negative pressure that prevents the intake of outside air from bypassing the invention.

[0086] Seventh optimization: cooling of the condenser by forced evaporation of excess condensate on the external condenser.

[0087] If all the tanks are full, and if the condensate is not reinjected into the municipal network, rather than draining it into the sewers, said condensate, under pressure from a special pump (not shown), is nebulized 26 onto the condenser of the external compartment of the split air conditioner to force its evaporation and thus recycle its latent condensation coolness. This exchange by forced evaporation also simulates a colder climate, making the pumping—of less heat—more efficient.

[0088] Preferably, the condensate drain and refrigerant circulation tubes exit through the top of the internal compartment and enter through the base of the external unit of the split air conditioner along the shortest path. This minimizes the length of the circulation, thereby reducing insulation losses between the two.

[0089] The first 15 liters of condensation are free as an unavoidable by-product of any air conditioning system at 1 ACH; an aeration rate generally adopted before the Covid-19 crisis and maintained in air-conditioned spaces. The marginal power consumption for the production of potable water is then 0 kWh / L for the first 15 liters. By increasing ACH up to 5, the marginal efficiency of condensation converges to a value significantly lower than 0.3 kWh / L, the performance standard of a basic outdoor AWG.

[0090] The invention has the particularity of making the obtaining of the volume of drinking water recommended by the WHO conditional on aeration respecting the number of air changes per hour recommended by the WHO, two performances which the current state of the art of air conditioners and AWGs does not allow to ensure, either independently or jointly.

[0091] The invention provides an economical, individual, and removable indoor water heater characterized in that it meets the standard needs of a tropical inhabitant for fresh drinking water and purified fresh air, by means of

[0092] - of electricity at a marginal rate increasing with the condensed volume from 0 to less 0.3 kWh per liter of condensed drinking water

[0093] - due to the absence of a compressor in its casing 1

[0094] - of at least two connectors of an open refrigeration circuit 10 passing through said envelope 1, with a connection standard compatible with an external split air conditioner unit

[0095] - removable fixings of the flat rear face 3 of its casing 1 on a partition 2, or a ground support of said envelope 1 set back from said flat rear face 3

[0096] - of its air inlet 7 passing exclusively through said flat rear face 3 of said envelope 1, with a diameter greater than that of the standard ventilation vents 21 of a partition 2 of a dwelling.

[0097] characterized in that its efficiency is optimized by means of a liquid-liquid heat exchange 24: cold outgoing condensate - hot refrigerant fluid 20.

[0098] characterized in that its efficiency is optimized by means of a gas-liquid heat exchange: fresh outgoing indoor air - hot refrigerant fluid 20.

[0099] characterized in that the internal temperature is regulated by means of a gas-liquid heat exchange: hot refrigerant circulating in a secondary condenser 25 through which cold air from the internal evaporator 9 passes

[0100] characterized in that it is optimized by means of a fluid-liquid heat exchange by forced evaporation of the excess condensate from a nebulizer 26 on the external condenser 20 through which said hot refrigerant fluid flows.

Claims

Demands

1. An electric atmospheric water generator by condensation of water vapor in the air, contained in a casing 1 having an air inlet 6 in its rear face 3, characterized in that it silently and economically generates fresh drinking water and dehumidified fresh air in and from a room isolated from the outside by a wall 2 pierced by at least one ventilation vent 21 and traversed by at least one refrigeration circuit 10, by means of - a removable support or fixing of said casing, rear face 3 resting against said wall 2, its air inlet 6 facing the ventilation vent 21 entering said casing 1: - electricity, via a removable connection to the domestic electrical network - refrigerant, via a removable connection to said refrigeration circuit 10 - exclusively humid outside air,via said wall vent 21 and via said opening 6 in said casing - of at least one air filter 8 - of at least one water filter 15, 16 - of at least one evaporator 9 connected to said refrigeration circuit 10 and through which the said outside airflow passes - of at least one water pump 14 and - of the absence of any compressor - of the absence of any condenser,

2. An atmospheric water generator by condensation of air vapor, electric, economical, removable, silent and contained in a casing 1 having an opening on the rear face, according to claim 1, characterized in that its efficiency is optimized by means of a liquid-liquid heat exchange 24: cold exiting condensate - hot refrigerant 20.

3. Atmospheric water generator by condensation of air vapor, electric, economical, removable, silent and contained in an envelope 1 having a rear face having an opening according to claim 1 characterized in that its efficiency is optimized by means of a gas-liquid heat exchange: fresh outgoing interior air - hot refrigerant fluid 20.

4. An atmospheric water generator by condensation of air vapor, electric, economical, removable, silent and contained in a casing 1 having a rear face having an atmospheric water opening according to claim 1 characterized in that the internal temperature is regulated by means of a gas-liquid heat exchange: hot refrigerant circulating in a secondary condenser 25 external to the casing, through which cold air from the internal evaporator 9 passes.

5. An atmospheric water generator by condensation of air vapor, electric, economical, removable, silent and contained in a casing 1 having a rear face having an opening according to claim 1 characterized in that it is optimized by means of a fluid-liquid heat exchange by forced evaporation of the excess condensate of a nebulizer 26 on the external condenser 20 through which said hot refrigerant fluid flows.

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