Zero-fossil-fuel-using heating and cooling apparatus for residences and buildings with an array for tracking the sun
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current heating and cooling methods in residences and buildings rely heavily on fossil fuels, leading to air pollution and high energy consumption, with existing technologies failing to provide efficient, zero-fossil-fuel alternatives that can track sunlight and utilize subsurface earth cooling without electricity.
Innovation Solution
A zero-fossil-fuel apparatus using an array of magnifying glasses or Fresnel lenses to focus sunlight onto car-radiator-like tubes filled with water, combined with garden hose pressure and subsurface earth cooling, to heat and cool buildings, and generate steam-powered electricity, while being earthquake-resistant through a multi-arch support structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If fossil fuels are used for heating and cooling, then energy consumption is high and air pollution occurs, but if zero-fossil-fuel alternatives are implemented, then reliability of heating and cooling may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides heating and cooling functions into separate seasonal operations: solar heating system for winter/months requiring heat, and evaporative cooling system for summer/months requiring cooling. This segmentation allows each subsystem to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall system reliability without fossil fuels.
Solution Approach 2:
The rooftop structure serves multiple functions: it supports the solar heating collectors, provides evaporative cooling through water distribution, acts as a structural platform, and can function as a building envelope element. This multi-functionality ensures reliable heating and cooling through diverse mechanisms rather than dependence on a single fossil-fuel-based system.
2Productivity
If solar tracking arrays are implemented, then sunlight capture efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The solar tracking array incorporates movable components that can dynamically adjust their orientation and position to follow the sun's path across the sky. This dynamic adjustment maximizes sunlight capture efficiency throughout the day and across different seasons, improving productivity while the modular design keeps complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system operates on periodic cycles corresponding to the sun's daily arc and seasonal movements. By synchronizing tracker movements with these natural periodic patterns, the system maintains high sunlight capture efficiency without requiring complex real-time control algorithms, thus balancing productivity with manageable device complexity.
3Temperature
If subsurface ground cooling is used, then cooling efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases due to underground piping
Solution Approach 1:
The subsurface ground cooling system utilizes the natural thermal properties of the earth itself as the cooling medium. The underground piping network circulates water that absorbs heat from the building and deposits it into the cooler subsurface ground, which naturally absorbs the heat without requiring additional active cooling equipment. This self-service approach improves cooling efficiency while keeping the system relatively simple by leveraging natural ground temperature differentials.
4Device complexity
If garden hose pressure is used for water circulation, then pump requirements are eliminated, but water pressure may be insufficient for large buildings
Solution Approach 1:
The system addresses water pressure limitations by utilizing vertical elevation changes within the building structure. Water is circulated through elevated storage tanks and gravity-fed distribution systems, converting vertical dimension into pressure head. This allows garden hose-level pressure sources to effectively serve multi-story buildings by leveraging gravitational potential energy from elevated water positions rather than requiring high-pressure pumps.
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 provides free, pollution-free heating and cooling, reduces energy consumption, and decreases reliance on fossil fuels, offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative for both heating water and generating electricity, while also providing structural support to buildings.
Implementation Method 1
an array of magnifying glasses or Fresnel lenses to focus sunlight onto car-radiator-like tubes filled with water
Implementation Method 2
focus sunlight onto car-radiator-like tubes filled with water, combined with garden hose pressure and subsurface earth cooling, to heat and cool buildings
Implementation Method 3
transmitting the heated water through the building for heating air space within the building
Implementation Method 4
using only the water's heat conduction characteristics, gravity, and garden hose pressure to circulate the heat
Implementation Method 5
a steam-powered expander downstream of and fluidly connected to the solar collector, the steam-powered expander receiving steam from the solar collector
Implementation Method 6
heat water for a steam-powered electricity generator
Implementation Method 7
capture the coolness of the subsurface ground, down four feet below the surface, and then, without using any pumps, transfer that coolness throughout a residence or a building
Implementation Method 8
transferred that coolness throughout a residence or a building using only the water's heat conduction characteristics, gravity and garden hose pressure to circulate the coolness
Implementation Method 9
without using any pumps, transfer that heat throughout a residence or a building, using only the water's heat conduction characteristics, gravity, and garden hose pressure to circulate the heat
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides an apparatus which can heat water using a Fresnel lens or magnifying glass to focus and concentrate sunlight on water-filled radiator-like tubes which move water, by the water pressure from a water spigot/bib (without pumping), to:1. move the heated water through tubes to heat any space inside any building, and2. provide steam to power a steam-powered electricity generator to provide electricity, and charge a battery, during daylight hours, and then use the charged battery to supply electricity during the night hours, and3. move water, cooled by the subsurface ground, by water pressure from a water spigot/bib without pumping, into proximity with any air space inside any building to cool the air space, and4. array a series of magnifying glasses or Fresnel lenses in order to catch the rays of the sun from sunrise to sunset and focus those rays on the car radiator-like tubes full of water in order to heat the water without using fossil fuels, and5. support the, array of magnifying glasses or Fresnel lenses and car-radiator-like water tubes with arch structures to hear the weight and protect the structure from earthquake damage.