Apartment Hot Water Extraction Control for Balanced Ventilation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing installations for producing domestic hot water in collective housing face issues such as air pollution between dwellings due to failed fans, increased energy and noise pollution due to uneven air extraction pressures, and the need for costly maintenance and equipment to prevent fire spread.
Innovation Solution
An installation with individual air extraction networks and a common air extraction network, where individual fans are regulated by pressure sensors to maintain constant or increasing pressure, and a common fan is adjusted based on pressure measurements to ensure equal airflow across all dwellings, preventing cross-pollution and optimizing energy use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If individual extraction fans are used in each dwelling, then air extraction can be performed locally, but cross-pollution between dwellings occurs when fans fail and maintenance requires access to each housing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual extraction networks into a common air extraction network that serves multiple dwellings. A single common extraction fan replaces multiple individual fans, eliminating cross-pollution risks while maintaining local extraction capability through the distributed network structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The common air extraction network acts as an intermediary between individual dwelling extraction systems and the external environment. It centralizes the extraction function while providing a controlled pathway that prevents direct cross-contamination between dwellings.
2Reliability
If flame-arresting cartridges and non-return valves are installed, then fire spread is prevented, but installation cost and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes flame-arresting cartridges and non-return valves from the system. The common extraction fan design inherently prevents fire spread through centralized control and reversed airflow logic, eliminating the need for these additional safety components.
3Productivity
If extraction fans provide greater energy for higher pressure drop, then air extraction from difficult locations is improved, but energy consumption and noise pollution increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic pressure regulation where the common extraction fan automatically adjusts its operating pressure based on real-time measurements from pressure sensors in the common network. This ensures optimal energy consumption while maintaining sufficient extraction capability across all dwellings.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure sensors provide feedback about the actual pressure conditions in the common extraction network. This feedback loop enables the system to adjust fan operation to match actual demands, preventing excessive energy consumption and noise while ensuring adequate extraction performance.
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
This solution ensures consistent air extraction and heating across all dwellings, reduces energy consumption and noise, and minimizes maintenance needs by regulating fan pressure dynamically and preventing overpressure, thus enhancing operational efficiency and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
heat pump for heating water to be heated contained in a storage tank
Implementation Method 2
heat exchange means comprises a refrigerant circuit between an evaporator, where the air extracted from an individual dwelling exchanges heat with the refrigerant, and a condenser where the refrigerant exchanges heat with the water to be heated
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
A domestic hot water production installation (10) for a collective dwelling (12) comprising a plurality of individual dwellings (14a-14h), comprises an individual extraction network (16a-16h) associated with each of the individual dwellings ( 14a-14h), each individual exhaust network (16a-16h) being provided with an individual exhaust fan (18a) to extract air from the associated individual housing (14a-14h) and to bring the air extracted in heat exchange means with water to be heated contained in a storage tank (32a) of a water heater (26a) arranged in the individual housing (14a-14h), and a network of common air extraction (34) to the various individual dwellings (14a-14h), into which the individual extraction networks (16a-16h) lead, downstream of the water heaters (26a-26h), the network of common air extraction (34) being provided with a common air extraction fan (40).