Supplemental heating system using solar radiation
OwnerGrady L. McDanielinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heating system for supplementing a conventional furnace or the like is disclosed. The system includes a blower that receives air from the hot air supply system of the conventional furnace, and directs the air through a separate duct to the space to be heated. The present heating system may include solar collectors using air as the heat transfer fluid so that the heat transfer fluid can be directed into the space to be heated. The system also includes one or more low-wattage electric heating elements arranged so that one element is energized when the temperature is slightly below the desired temperature, and additional elements are energized as the temperature falls lower, to maintain the least possible electric energy usage.
Claims8
A supplemental heating system, for use with a conventional heating system including a furnace, a plenum carried by said furnace for receiving air heated by said furnace, supply ducts in communication with said plenum for distributing said air to a space to be heated, and a furnace thermostat in said space for causing said furnace to operate when said space is below a predetermined temperature, said supplemental heating system including a blower having a low pressure side and a high pressure side, a first duct in communication with said low pressure side, a branch duct in communication with said plenum and said first duct, means connecting said high pressure side of said blower to said space to be heated, supplemental heating means for supplying heat to said first duct, timing means for determining periods of possible operation of said supplemental heating system, and thermostatic means for disabling said supplemental heating means when the temperature of said plenum is above a predetermined temperature, the arrangement being such that, during a period of possible operation of said supplemental heating system said furnace will operate in accordance with said furnace thermostat and said supplemental heating system will warm said space so long as sufficient heat is available through said supplemental heating system, said blower of said supplemental heating system removing heated air from said plenum and said supply ducts for distribution through said supplemental heating system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.