Indoor HVAC apparatus

Abstract

A heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning (HVAC) or climate control apparatus 10 comprises a radiator (14, fig 2) in thermal communication with a thermoelectric device 11. The radiator is suitable for radiatively transferring heat to or from an environment external to the apparatus. The thermoelectric device is suitable for transferring heat to or from the radiator. The apparatus may be for indoor or domestic use. A heat exchanger 13 may transfer heat between the thermoelectric device and the radiator by exchanging heat between air flowing through the apparatus and the thermoelectric device. The heat exchanger may comprise a plurality of copper pipes 131 containing a working fluid within the pipes. The working fluid may comprise a phase change material. A first air flow channel (21, fig 3) may be in fluid communication with an external environment and the apparatus and extends from an outdoor air inlet (210) to an indoor air outlet (212) or from an indoor air inlet (220, fig 4) to an indoor air outlet (222). The apparatus may comprise a second air flow channel (22) in fluid communication with the external environment and the apparatus and the thermoelectric device transfers heat to or from the second channel.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning (HVAC) or climate control apparatus, preferably for indoor use or domestic use. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Buildings are said to consume about 27% (140GW) of the UK's energy, with heating alone consuming 75% (105GW). This consumption raises economy, energy security, and environment concerns. Over 200m-tonnes of CO2 are released annually by UK heating systems, which is equivalent to 40 million cars. However, the rate of decarbonisation appears to be slowing down due to high upfront costs of existing solutions and technical challenges in retrofitting heating system to existing leaky homes. Further, with the current focus shifting more on heating and cooling than ventilation, buildings are made airtight which deteriorates the indoor air quality and causes overheating if ventilation is not added. With added upfront costs, home residents and owners eliminate the need for energy recovery ventilation and resort to opening windows, which increases heating loads and plays against the intended energy savings. To mitigate this issue, a one-stop solution that can be easy to install, requires low maintenance, and can perform HVAC within a single unit by balancing the heating load and indoor air quality. Existing low carbon HVAC systems such as air-air heat pumps or ground source heat pumps are facing three major issues in homes. Firstly, they are bulky and complex systems with carbonintensive ducting and are prone to installation errors that can severely deter energy efficiency. Secondly, the use of refrigerants increases the mechanical complexity of the system and are prone to refrigerant leaks. The use of air filters in ventilation systems creates landfill since they have a short lifetime as filters may be disposed every 6 months or washed for just 5 years and then are replaced. Thirdly, the balance between heating or cooling, and ventilation in a house is essential to reduce space heating or cooling demands. Unfortunately, systems that merge heating or cooling and ventilation together suffer from lower coefficients of performance (COP) than their counterparts. One such solution is the provision of exhaust air heat pumps, which utilise the exhausted hot air from indoor spaces as a source of heat in a heat transfer. However, they have increasing complexity installation and room sizing. Further, centralised climate control systems suffer from reduced ceiling height and increased floor height for ducting and underfloor heating. Hence, existing vapour compression heat pumps clearly need a reduced-maintenance, installation, and cost intensive alternative to decarbonise HVAC and mitigate associated emissions. The alternatives to vapour compression systems are thermoelectric, thermoacoustic, and magnetocaloric. Thermoelectric based systems have traditionally had a lower COP (around 0.2 to 3) compared to other vapour compression alternatives that have COPs ranging from 5 to 7. Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved thermoelectric based HVAC or climate control system. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present disclosure, there is provided a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning (HVAC) or climate control apparatus, preferably for indoor or domestic use. The apparatus of the present disclosure may also be referred to as a heat pump. The apparatus may be for providing an airflow to an indoor space or a space that is inside a building. The apparatus may be a domestic HVAC or domestic climate control apparatus. The apparatus may comprise a thermoelectric device. The apparatus may comprise a radiator in thermal communication with the thermoelectric device. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat to and / or from an environment external to the apparatus. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat to and / or from an indoor space. The thermoelectric device may be configured to transfer heat to and / or from the radiator. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat from the thermoelectric device to an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat from an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus to the thermoelectric device. In other words, the radiator is configured to radiatively transfer heat to and / or from the thermoelectric device from and / or to an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus. According to the present invention, there is provided a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning (HVAC) or climate control apparatus according to claim 1. According to the present invention, there is provided a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning (HVAC) or climate control apparatus preferably for indoor use, the apparatus comprising: a thermoelectric device; and a radiator configured to radiatively transfer heat to and / or from the thermoelectric device from and / or to an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus. Preferred features are set out in the dependent claims. In the present disclosure, a thermoelectric device refers to a device that transfers heat through a thermoelectric effect, for example any one of the Seebeck effect, Peltier effect, and Thomson effect. A thermoelectric device can be a heater, cooler, or both which serves as a solid state heat pump used to move heat from one surface to another, thereby creating a temperature difference between the two surfaces via thermoelectric materials when an electrical current is provided to the thermoelectric device. The thermoelectric device may comprise or consist of a thermocouple or thermopile. The thermoelectric device may comprise or consist of a thermoelectric heat pump. The thermoelectric device may comprise or consist of a Peltier device or heat pump. The thermoelectric device may comprise or consist of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to draw air. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to expel air. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to heat air. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to cool air. The thermoelectric device of the HVAC or climate control apparatus may be configured to heat and / or cool air entering and / or exiting the HVAC or climate control apparatus. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to filter air. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to heat an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus via thermal convection. The thermoelectric device may be configured to heat air flowing through the apparatus. The HVAC or climate control apparatus may expel such heated air in order to heat an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be configured to heat an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus via thermal radiation. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat to an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat from the thermoelectric device to an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus. The radiator may be configured to radiatively transfer heat from an indoor space or an environment external to the apparatus to the thermoelectric device. An environment external to the HVAC (or climate control) apparatus may be an indoor space, a space that is indoors or inside a building, an outdoor space, or a space that is outdoors or outside a building. In the present disclosure, thermal communication between two elements refers to the transfer of heat via convection, conduction, and radiation between such two elements, either directly or indirectly via one or more intervening elements. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be mountable to a building wall. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be mountable within a building wall. The HVAC or climate control apparatus of the present disclosure may be at least partly received within a building wall. There is also provided a building wall comprising an HVAC or climate control apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure. The HVAC or climate control apparatus may be integral to or embedded within the building wall. The HVAC or climate control apparatus may be at least partly received within a cavity of the building wall. A portion of the outer surface of the building wall may be defined by an outer surface of the HVAC or climate control apparatus. The building wall may be a partition wall for a building. Preferably, the radiator defines a portion of an outer or external surface of the HVAC or climate control apparatus. Preferably, an outer or external surface of the radiator defines a portion of an outer or external surface of the HVAC or climate control apparatus. In use, the radiator (or radiative panel) may face the indoor space. Any feature in the present disclosure may be applied to any aspect of the present invention, and in any appropriate combination. It should also be appreciated that particular combinations of the various features described and defined in any aspects of the invention may be implemented and / or supplied and / or used independently. It should also be understood that when an element or component is referred to being connected to, coupled to, interconnected to or engaged with another element or component, it may be directly or indirectly, via intervening elements or components, connected to, coupled to, interconnected to or engaged with the other element or component. In contrast, an element or component referred to as being directly connected to, directly coupled to, directly interconnected to or directly engaged with another element or component, refers to fact that there are no intervening components or elements between the elements or components that are directly connected to, directly coupled to, directly interconnected to or directly engaged with each other. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS &DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figures 1 &2 illustrate a schematic cross-sectional, frontal view of a portion of an HVAC apparatus 10. The apparatus comprises a thermoelectric device 11, a radiator in the form of a radiative panel (not shown in Figure 1). Figure 1 shows such a portion of an HVAC apparatus 10 with the radiator 14 removed. Figure 2 shows the same portion of an HVAC apparatus 10 with the radiator 14 present; some internal components or elements, such as a portion of the thermoelectric device 11 heat exchanger 13, present behind the radiator 14 or radiative panel are shown in broken lines. The thermoelectric device 11 is thermally conductively coupled to the radiator 14 via a heat conducting plate 12 and a heat exchanger 13. Thus, both the heat conducting plate 12 and heat exchanger 13 are conductively coupled to the thermoelectric device 11 and the radiator 14. The radiator 14 is shown in Figure 2. The heat conducting plate 12 is located between the thermoelectric device 11 and the heat exchanger 13. The heat conducting plate 12 facilitates conductive heat transfer between the thermoelectric device 11 and the heat exchanger 13. In this specific embodiment, the heat conducting plate 12 comprises an aluminium alloy. In this specific embodiment, the heat exchanger 13 comprises copper pipes 131. Fins 132 are attached to some of the copper pipes 131 to facilitate heat transfer between the copper pipes 131 and air flowing through the apparatus. Some of the copper pipes 131 which do not have attached fins are attached to the radiator 14. For example, the copper pipes 131 may be etched into the radiator 14. In use, the copper pipes 131 contain a working fluid (not shown). The working fluid facilitates heat storage within the copper pipes 131. In this specific embodiment, the working fluid may comprise a phase-change material. The phase-change material may allow for latent heat transfer between the thermoelectric device 11 and the radiator 14. In this specific embodiment shown in Figures 1 &2, the radiator 14 is a radiative panel. The radiative panel forms a portion of the housing and is formed from an aluminium alloy. Heat is conducted from the heat exchanger 13 to the radiator 14 via thermal conduction. The radiator 14 is configured to radiatively transfer heat to and / or from an environment external to the apparatus. The radiator 14 may also be configured to facilitate convective heat transfer to and / or from an environment external to the apparatus. Thus, heat may be transferred between the thermoelectric device 11 and the radiator 14 via conductive heat transfer via the heat conducting plate 12 and heat exchanger 13. Figure 3 illustrates a schematic frontal view of an HVAC apparatus 10 without a housing. The portion of the apparatus defined between section lines A and B is substantially the same as the portion of an apparatus 10 illustrated in Figures 1 &2. Illustrative details have been omitted from this portion for clarity. The same reference numbering has been used where an identical feature has been previously described in any earlier Figure. The apparatus comprises a first air flow channel 21 in fluid communication with an environment external to the apparatus. The thermoelectric device (not shown) is configured to transfer heat to and / or from the first air flow channel. The first air flow channel is defined from a first air inlet 210, through an air filter 23, the heat exchanger 13, a first fan 211 and to a first air outlet 212. In this specific embodiment, the first air inlet is an outdoor air inlet and the first air outlet is an indoor air outlet. The apparatus further comprises a second air flow channel 22 in fluid communication with an environment external to the apparatus. The thermoelectric device (not shown) is configured to transfer heat to and / or from the second air flow channel. The second air flow channel is defined from a second air inlet 220, through the air filter 23, the heat exchanger 13, a second fan 221 and to a second air outlet 222. In this specific embodiment, the second air inlet is an indoor air inlet and the second air outlet is an outdoor air outlet. The first fan is operable to draw air through the first air flow channel. The first fan is electrically coupled to a controller (not shown) for controlling the fan. The second fan is operable to draw air through the second air flow channel. The second fan is electrically coupled to a controller (not shown) for controlling the fan. The same controller may be used to control the first and second fan. Alternatively, the first and second fan may be electrically coupled to different controllers. The air filter is configured to remove dust and pollutants from air flowing through the air filter. Thus, the air filter may filter any air flowing through the air filter. In this specific embodiment, the air filter is a ceramic air filter. Thus, in this embodiment, the apparatus is configured to operate in a heating mode, wherein air is extracted from an outdoor space and heated by transferring heat from thermoelectric device to the air, before being ejected into an indoor space. Alternatively, or in addition, the apparatus is configured to operate in a cooling mode, wherein air is extracted from an outdoor space and cooled by transferring heat from the air to the thermoelectric device, before being ejected into an indoor space. Figure 4 illustrates a schematic frontal view of an HVAC apparatus 10 without a housing. The apparatus illustrated in Figure 4 is substantially the same as the apparatus 10 of Figure 3, with the exception of the first air channel 31. The same reference numbering has been used where an identical feature has been previously described in any earlier Figure. In this specific embodiment, the first air inlet 220 is an indoor air inlet and the first air outlet 212 is an indoor air outlet. Thus, in this embodiment, the apparatus is operable in a recirculation mode where the apparatus extracts air solely from an indoor space and ejects at least a portion of such air heated or cooled by the thermoelectric device into an indoor space. Figure 5 illustrates a schematic front view of an HVAC apparatus 10 without a housing. The apparatus illustrated in Figure 5 is substantially the same as the apparatus 10 of Figure 3, with the exception of the first air channel and the second air flow channel 42. The same reference numbering has been used where an identical feature has been previously described in any earlier Figure. ln this specific embodiment, the apparatus only comprises a second air flow channel 42 and does not comprise a first air flow channel, wherein the second air inlet is an indoor air inlet 212 and the second air outlet is an outdoor air outlet 222. Thus, in this embodiment, the apparatus is operable in a cleaning mode where the apparatus extracts air solely from an indoor space and ejects all of 5 such air into an outdoor space. In this embodiment, the thermoelectric device is powered off.

Claims

1. A heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning (HVAC) or climate control apparatus preferably for indoor use, the apparatus comprising:a thermoelectric device; anda radiator in thermal communication with the thermoelectric device, wherein the radiator is configured to radiatively transfer heat to and / or from an environment external to the apparatus, wherein the thermoelectric device is configured to transfer heat to and / or from the radiator.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric device is conductively coupled to the radiator.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a heat exchanger for transferring heat between the thermoelectric device and the radiator.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the heat exchanger is configured to exchange heat between air flowing through the apparatus and the thermoelectric device.

5. An apparatus according to claims 3 or 4, wherein the heat exchanger is conductively coupled to the thermoelectric device and the radiator.

6. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the heat exchanger comprises a plurality of metal pipes, for example copper pipes, and a working fluid within the pipes.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the working fluid comprises a phase-change material.

8. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a first air flow channel in fluid communication with an environment external to the apparatus, wherein the thermoelectric device is configured to transfer heat to and / or from the first air flow channel.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first air flow channel extends from an outdoor air inlet to an indoor air outlet or from an indoor air inlet to an indoor air outlet.

10. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a second air flow channel in fluid communication with an environment external to the apparatus, wherein the thermoelectric device is configured to transfer heat to and / or from the second air flow channel.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second air flow channel extends from an indoor air inlet to an outdoor air outlet or from an indoor air inlet to an extraction chamber.

12. An apparatus according to claims 8 and 10 when dependent on any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the heat exchanger is configured to be in thermal communication with the first air flow channel and the second air flow channel.

13. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one fan for drawing air through the apparatus.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a controller for controlling the at least one fan.

15. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one filter for filtering air flowing through the apparatus, the at least one filter preferably comprising or consisting of a ceramic material.

16. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a housing.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the housing is mountable to a wall inside ofa building.

18. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the housing is configured to be embedded into a wall inside of a building.

19. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the radiator comprises a radiative panel.

20. An apparatus according to claims 16 and 19, wherein the radiative panel forms a portion of the housing.

21. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a heat conducting plate that is conductively coupled to the thermoelectric device and to the radiator.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the heat conducting plate comprises orconsists of aluminium.

23. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a heat sink for drawing heat from air flowing through the apparatus.

24. An apparatus according to claims 10 and 23, wherein the heat sink is in thermal communication with the second air flow channel.

25. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is operable in a heating mode where the apparatus ejects air heated by the thermoelectric device into an indoor space.

26. An apparatus according to claim 25, wherein, in the heating mode, the apparatus or the thermoelectric device extracts heat from air extracted from an indoor space.

27. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is operable in a cooling mode wherein the apparatus ejects air heated by the thermoelectric device into an outdoor space.

28. An apparatus according to claim 27, wherein, in the cooling mode, the apparatus or the thermoelectric device extracts heat from air extracted from an outdoor space.

29. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is operable in a recirculation mode where the apparatus extracts air solely from an indoor space and ejects at least a portion of such air heated or cooled by the thermoelectric device into an indoor space.

30. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is operable in a cleaning mode where the apparatus extracts air solely from an indoor space and ejects all of such air into an outdoor space.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30, wherein, in the cleaning mode, the thermoelectric device is powered off.

32. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises a power supply for supplying power to the thermoelectric device or wherein the apparatus is connectable to an external power supply in order to supply power to the thermoelectric device, or both.

33. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the heat exchanger is finned.

34. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the radiatorcomprises or consists of alumina or an aluminium alloy, such as a 6000 series aluminium alloy.

35. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the radiator is moveable, pivotable, or detachable with respect to the rest of the apparatus in order to provide access to the interior of the apparatus.

36. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the radiator defines a portion of an outer surface of the apparatus.

37. A building wall comprising an HVAC or climate control apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

38. A building wall according to claim 37, wherein the HVAC or climate control apparatus is integral to or embedded within the building wall.

39. A building wall according to claim 37 or 38, wherein the HVAC or climate control apparatus is at least partly received within a cavity of the building wall.

40. A building wall according to any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein a portion of the outer surface of the building wall is defined by an outer surface of the HVAC or climate control apparatus.

41. A building wall according to any one of claims 37 to 40, wherein the building wall is a partition wall for a building.

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