Construction products and systems for providing geothermal heat
AssigneeExotex, Inc.
InventorsMichael J. Parrella, Nevil R. Ede
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A geothermal heat delivery system supplies geothermal heat for various residential, surface heating applications, including heating driveways, paths, sidewalks, homes, roofs, swimming pools, and commercial applications, including heating roadways, parkways, highways, airport runways, parking lots and sidewalks. The geothermal heat delivery system includes a series of heat pipes that are used to provide geothermal heat from a borehole to a structure or a surface, which can for example, melt precipitation on a road, driveway or roof, without the use of a ground source heat pump.
Claims14
A system for providing geothermal heat to an outdoor surface, comprising:
- at least one borehole heat pipe inserted into a borehole, the at least one borehole heat pipe comprising:
- a vacuum sealed container comprising an operating fluid;
- a first end comprising an evaporation section;
- and
- a second end comprising a condensation section;
- wherein the evaporation section of the at least one borehole heat pipe is configured to absorb geothermal heat and convert the operating fluid from liquid to vapor, such that the vapor flows to the second end of the borehole heat pipe, and wherein the condensation section is configured to release the geothermal heat from the vapor and convert the operating fluid from vapor to liquid;
- and
- a plurality of surface heat pipes each having a base section and a heat transfer section, wherein the base sections of the plurality of surface heat pipes surround the second end of the borehole heat pipe and are configured to absorb the geothermal heat released by the condensation section of the at least one borehole heat pipe, and the heat transfer sections are positioned beneath the outdoor surface and configured to transfer the geothermal heat to the outdoor surface;
- wherein each of the plurality of surface heat pipes comprises:
- a further vacuum sealed container comprising a further operating fluid;
- a first end in the base section comprising an evaporation section;
- and
- a second end in the heat transfer section comprising a condensation section,
- wherein the evaporation section of each of the plurality of surface heat pipes is configured to absorb geothermal heat from the at least one borehole heat pipe and convert the further operating fluid from liquid to vapor, such that the vapor flows to the second end of the each of the plurality of surface heat pipes, and wherein the condensation section of each of the plurality of surface heat pipes is configured to release the geothermal heat from the vapor and convert the further operating fluid from vapor to liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.