Condensate drain system for a furnace
AssigneeTyco Fire & Security GmbH
InventorMadhuka M. Jayarathne
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A condensate drain system for a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a heat exchanger having a plurality of tubes configured to receive ambient air and fluidly coupled to a drain via a conduit, a valve positioned along the conduit between the plurality of tubes and the drain, where the valve is configured to enable a flow of condensate from within the plurality of tubes toward the drain in an open position and the block the flow in a closed position, and a controller configured to adjust a position of the valve based on feedback indicative of an operational state of the HVAC system.
Claims20
A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a furnace comprising a heat exchange tube disposed within an air flow path, wherein the heat exchange tube of the furnace is configured to direct a working fluid therethrough and place the working fluid in a heat exchange relationship with an air flow directed across the heat exchange tube of the furnace and along the air flow path;
- a condensate drain system comprising a drain conduit fluidly coupled to an interior of the heat exchange tube of the furnace and a valve disposed along the drain conduit, wherein the valve is configured to control a flow of condensate from the interior of the heat exchange tube of the furnace to a drain via the drain conduit;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the valve and configured to adjust a position of the valve based on feedback indicative of an operational state of the furnace.
A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a furnace comprising a tube configured to direct combustion gases therethrough, wherein the furnace is disposed within an air flow path configured to direct an air flow across the tube;
- a drain conduit fluidly coupled to an interior of the tube of the furnace and configured to direct condensate from the interior of the tube to a drain;
- a valve disposed along the drain conduit, wherein the valve is configured to control flow of the condensate from the interior of the tube of the furnace toward the drain;
- and
- a controller configured to adjust a position of the valve based on feedback indicative of an operational state of the furnace.
A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a furnace comprising a first heat exchanger disposed within an air flow path of the HVAC system, wherein the first heat exchanger of the furnace comprises a tube configured to receive ambient air, and the first heat exchanger of the furnace is configured to heat an air flow directed along the air flow path and across the tube;
- a second heat exchanger disposed within the air flow path upstream of the first heat exchanger of the furnace relative to a direction of the air flow along the air flow path, wherein the second heat exchanger is configured to cool the air flow directed along the air flow path and across the second heat exchanger;
- a drain system comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to an interior of the tube of the first heat exchanger of the furnace and comprising a valve disposed along the conduit, wherein the valve is configured to control condensate flow from the interior of the tube, through the conduit, and toward a drain;
- and
- a controller configured to adjust a position of the valve based on feedback indicative of an operational state of the furnace.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.