Heat Pump Pipe Holder for Thermal Decoupling Through Walls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling and heating devices, such as heat pumps, face challenges in guiding liquid-carrying pipes through walls while minimizing heat conduction and protecting against environmental factors like rain, with current solutions either allowing heat transfer or failing to provide adequate insulation and protection.
Innovation Solution
A holder system that maintains a significant distance between the liquid-carrying pipe and the wall, utilizing a plastic holder with a seal to achieve thermal decoupling and protection, and includes a nut-and-rod mechanism for secure attachment, ensuring the pipe is heat-decoupled and protected from environmental elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the pipe is routed directly through the wall with a large opening, then the pipe installation is simple and the opening can compensate for offset or play, but heat conduction from the pipe to the wall and housing occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The holder acts as an intermediary component between the pipe and the wall. It provides a sealed opening for pipe passage while incorporating thermal insulation material that mediates the heat transfer path, preventing direct thermal contact between the pipe and the housing wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe is nested within the holder structure, which itself is integrated into the wall opening. The holder contains the pipe while providing insulation, creating a nested configuration where the pipe is surrounded by insulating material within the wall opening.
2Loss of energy
If the pipe is held at a distance from the wall using a holder, then heat conduction is minimized and heat decoupling is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The holder performs multiple functions simultaneously: it seals the wall opening, provides thermal insulation, mechanically supports the pipe, and maintains the required distance from the wall. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder is designed with specific dimensional parameters, particularly the distance between the pipe and the wall (preferably greater than the wall thickness, e.g., >1mm), and the insulation material properties are selected to optimize thermal performance while controlling the overall structure.
3Productivity
If cooling water below dew point temperature is routed through the pipe, then cooling performance is improved, but condensation and freezing risks increase on the pipe surface
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating holder acts as a thermal mediator that prevents the cold pipe surface from directly cooling the surrounding air to the dew point. By providing thermal resistance, it prevents the air near the pipe from reaching condensation temperatures, eliminating the harmful condensation and freezing effects.
4Ease of manufacture
If the pipe is attached directly to the wall, then the installation is simple, but noise emissions and vibrations are transmitted to the housing
Solution Approach 1:
The holder serves as a vibration-isolating intermediary between the pipe and the housing wall. The insulating material and sealing elements in the holder provide damping that reduces the transmission of structure-borne noise and vibrations from the pipe to the housing, while still providing secure mechanical attachment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces heat transfer between the pipe and the wall, enhances noise damping, and provides protection against dust and water ingress, improving the coefficient of performance and durability of the heat pump by maintaining thermal insulation and protection.
Implementation Method 1
The tube is heat-decoupled in relation to the wall in a holder. The distance, which is preferably greater than the wall thickness of the wall, prevents heat conduction from the pipe to the wall and the housing.
Implementation Method 2
Structure-borne noise, in particular vibrations, which are transmitted from the compressor to the pipes, can only extend to the housing parts in a heavily damped manner. The damping is also achieved by the seal, especially if it is made of rubber.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The heat pump has a fluid guide pipe (130) fixed to a wall (120) by a holder (200). Conduction of heat is reduced to a minimum by the spacing (A) of the wall from the plane (E) in which the pipe is fixed to the wall. Sound is also partly damped out for the same reason, and a higher degree of protection against entry of fluids or foreign objects is provided.