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US 12,535,233 B2Granted
Partially underground ventilation system for heating, cooling, and recirculating air of a nearby facility
OwnerAdib Aminiinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ventilation system applies geothermal temperature stability for ventilation of air in facilities near outdoor spaces. For example, there are a large number of wastewater treatment facilities built or renovated each year, with significant work on ventilation. The ventilation system therefore has significant potential for application and improvement of infrastructure.
Claims18
A ventilation system comprising:
- at least one fluid inlet located in an outdoor space with ambient air;
- parallelly oriented pipes, said pipes:
- being joined by at least one flexible pipe;
- comprising modular sections joined by said at least one flexible pipe, whereby the modular sections of the pipes can be isolated for maintenance;
- including internal plates or fins installed in an interior of the pipes;
- buried below ground at a depth within the earth at location where the ground temperature is between thirty-five and sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit year-round;
- configured to route air from the at least one fluid inlet at the outdoor space to a fluid outlet at a space to be ventilated;
- and
- an intake fan to pull said air through the pipes to the ventilated space;
- wherein heat exchange through walls of the pipes with the surrounding earth is increased via the internal plates or fins, and the ventilation system is configured to provide at least twelve air changes per hour within the ventilated space.
7 more elements
A method for ventilating air in an unoccupied facility space comprising:
- intaking air from the environment using a fan at a flow rate sufficient to completely replace air within the facility space at least twelve times per hour;
- passing said air through pipes buried to a depth beneath earth that has a year-round temperature of a range between thirty five degrees Fahrenheit (35° F.) and sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit (65° F.), the pipes including internal fins to enhance heat transfer between the air and the surrounding earth, said pipes extending for a length such that heat exchanged through the pipe walls with the surrounding earth will heat and/or cool the air to a temperature within the range;
- delivering said air of the temperature within the range to a nearby building to be ventilated;
- removing condensate from the pipes to protect the pipes from excessive moisture and to prevent mold growth;
- and
- returning at least some air within the building to the environment.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.