Heating and cooling of buildings using underground heat storage with horizontal bores
AssigneeUnited Services Automobile Association (USAA)
InventorJohn Andrew Weems
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for heating and cooling buildings using geothermal heat storage includes a heat exchange system coupled to a heat storage medium including rock. The heat exchange system comprises pipes running through boreholes in the rock. The pipes of the heat exchange system are connected to pipes used within the building for heating and cooling the building. The system stores excess heat collected during the summer in the rock and discharges heat from the rock during the winter. The pipes of the heat exchange system may be arranged horizontally, and configured to run under the foundation of a building. Horizontal bores containing the pipes can be constructed using directional drilling techniques.
Claims16
A system for extracting and storing heat in a subterranean layer including rock, comprising:
- an assembly of pipes, further comprising:
- a first primary pipe and a second primary pipe;
- a plurality of secondary pipes running between, and connecting, the first primary pipe and the second primary pipe;
- wherein in an installed configuration of the assembly of pipes within the subterranean layer including rock:
- the plurality of secondary pipes extend between the first primary pipe and the second primary pipe;
- and
- the first primary pipe and the second primary pipe are disposed at opposing ends of the assembly of pipes.
A system for extracting and storing heat in a subterranean layer including rock, comprising:
- an assembly of pipes, further comprising:
- a first primary pipe and a second primary pipe;
- a plurality of secondary pipes running between, and connecting, the first primary pipe and the second primary pipe;
- wherein in an installed configuration of the assembly of pipes within the subterranean layer including rock the assembly of pipes are arranged as:
- a first subset of pipes oriented along a first hemispheric surface;
- a second subset of pipes oriented along a second hemispheric surface;
- and
- wherein the first subset of pipes are disposed vertically above the second subset of pipes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.