Apparatus and Method for Flexibly and Efficiently Varying Air Temperatures in Multiple Rooms

Abstract

The invention enables coordinated, flexible, agile, and energy efficient temperature variation among a plurality of rooms, as found in a hotel, an apartment building, or a group of exercise rooms, by transferring heat between the rooms. Air can be moved by fans and/or heat can be transferred by a heat pump. Heat transfer between exercise rooms can be powered partly by exertion of individuals in the rooms. Rapid air exchange can quickly equalize temperatures in adjacent rooms. Embodiments exchange heat between rooms and interior and/or exterior reservoirs of warmer and cooler air and/or water, and some embodiments move air from the reservoirs into and out of the rooms. Heat can be pumped into or out of the system, and air and/or water can be added or extracted from the reservoirs. In some embodiments heat is moved sequentially through a variable series of rooms, creating a monotonic variation of temperatures.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.