Multisource geothermal air-conditioning device on diffusive wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional geothermal air conditioning systems, such as the Canadian and Provençal wells, face limitations including soil type incompatibility, high installation costs, and difficulty in seismic regions, as well as inefficiency in climates with minimal temperature variations, making them unsuitable for all geological and climatic conditions.
Innovation Solution
A dual-source geothermal energy system utilizing a 'geothermal on diffusive wall' approach, where vertical serpentine collectors are positioned in embankments near buildings, leveraging both earth and wall-based calorific contributions to preheat or cool air without deep digging, allowing for modular expansion and installation on unstable soils or small areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional geothermal systems (Canadian/Provençal wells) are installed, then air preheating/cooling efficiency is improved, but installation complexity and cost increase due to deep digging requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from horizontal deep-burial geothermal systems to a vertical wall-integrated system. The heat exchanger is mounted on the exterior wall surface, utilizing the wall's thermal mass instead of requiring deep horizontal trenches. This dimensional shift from subsurface horizontal installation to surface vertical installation eliminates digging complexity while maintaining geothermal exchange functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The building wall itself serves as an intermediary medium between the external environment and the air handling system. Instead of directly burying pipes in the ground, the system uses the wall structure as a heat transfer interface, with the heat exchanger mounted on the wall exterior to capture thermal energy from the wall's thermal mass.
2Temperature
If traditional geothermal systems are installed, then thermal exchange performance is improved, but adaptability to different soil types and seismic regions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system relocates the geothermal exchange interface from the subsurface (ground-buried pipes) to the surface level (exterior wall mounting). This eliminates dependency on subsurface soil conditions, making the system universally adaptable to all soil types and seismic zones without compromising thermal exchange performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall-mounted heat exchanger design creates a universal system that can be installed on any building regardless of soil composition, seismic activity, or terrain characteristics. The system's performance depends on the wall's thermal properties rather than ground conditions, providing broad applicability across diverse environmental contexts.
3Use of energy by moving object
If deep digging is performed for traditional geothermal installation, then geothermal energy recovery is improved, but installation cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces time-intensive deep digging and horizontal trenching with simple wall surface mounting. The heat exchanger is attached to the exterior wall in a fraction of the time required for traditional installation, while still achieving effective geothermal energy recovery through the wall's thermal mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential geothermal exchange function from the complex subsurface installation process and relocates it to the building envelope. By taking out the heat exchange capability and placing it on the wall surface, the system eliminates the need for extensive earthmoving operations while preserving the core energy recovery function.
4Device complexity
If wall-mounted heat exchanger is used, then installation cost and complexity are reduced, but heat exchange surface area is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is designed as a modular unit that can be segmented into multiple sections or panels. These segments can be distributed across different wall surfaces, allowing the total heat exchange area to be expanded by adding more modules rather than requiring a single large complex unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the vertical dimension of the building wall to maximize heat exchange surface area within a compact footprint. By mounting the heat exchanger vertically on the exterior wall, the system achieves substantial exchange area without occupying significant horizontal space or requiring complex three-dimensional configurations.
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 system reduces installation costs, enables efficient air conditioning in diverse geological and climatic conditions, and allows for scalable, modular expansion, providing effective heating and cooling without the need for deep earthworks, thus overcoming the limitations of traditional geothermal systems.
Implementation Method 1
passing a new air flow from outside the home through pipes with a minimum length of 30 meters buried in the ground at a depth between 1 and 2 meters... the ground thanks to its thermal inertia, at 1.5 meters depth is warmer than the outside temperature above ground because the ground was able to take on heat during the summer. The cold air is then heated as it passes through this underground pipe network.
Implementation Method 2
Using the principle of thermal inertia, the geothermal system is all the more effective when the daily external thermal amplitudes are strong or when it faces extreme climatic events of short duration such as snow.
Implementation Method 3
A multisource geothermal air-conditioning device on diffusive wall... leveraging both earth and wall-based calorific contributions to preheat or cool air
Data Source
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AI summary
Multi-source passive air conditioning device intended to heat or air-condition totally or partially a building or a dwelling for passive use (B), comprising a double-effect exchanger manifold called 'geothermal energy on a diffusive technical wall' (E), said manifold consisting of one or more coils (E',E") connected to each other having the function of an exchanger manifold in a sandwich inertial earth (T) air duct (E) on a diffusive wall (MD), the device being able to be connected to equipment VMC (V) or operate independently of air blowing with its own on-board fan, in that said collector (E) achieves its first geothermal exchange gain with the mass formation of earth which surrounds it (T), in parallel and at the same time, so as to ensure its second heat exchange gain, the collector is fixed in contact over its entire surface against diffusing honeycomb boxes encapsulated in resin (C) forming a technical zone of diffusive wall (MD) opposite the collector (E), said diffusive wall (MD) is loaded from the inside of the habitat with a removable insulating and diffusive material (C3), the exchanger collector device ( C) with its diffusive wall (MD) forming an assembly attached to a sloped building facing a mass formation of high inertia earth in the buttress (T). The device is intended to equip all buildings or dwellings entirely or partially sloped wishing to be equipped with an economic and passive heating and/or cooling system with good performance thanks to a double gain of natural origin.