Sub-surface tubing spacer means for direct expansion heating/cooling systems
AssigneeEarth to Air Systems, LLC
InventorB. Ryland Wiggs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A direct expansion geothermal heat exchange system with spacer fins attached to at least one of a sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing containment pipe and to sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing, so as to ensure the sub-surface pipe/tubing does not come into direct contact with the ground and is surrounded/encased by a thermally conductive grout that is resistant to corrosive sub-surface elements.
Claims11
At least one of a direct expansion heat pump system sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing containment pipe arrangement and a direct expansion heat pump system sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing arrangement positioned inside a well/borehole having an interior wall defined by naturally occurring sub-surface elements, the well/borehole extending along well/borehole axis, the arrangement comprising:
- at least one spacer device positioned between at least one of the sub-surface containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing and the naturally occurring sub-surface elements, the spacer device being functional to space the at least one of the sub-surface containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing away from the interior wall of the well/borehole, the spacer device being oriented substantially parallel to the well/borehole axis and extending only partially along the length of the at least one of the sub-surface containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing;
- and
- a heat conductive grout fill material disposed between the at least one of the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing, the at least one spacer device, and the naturally occurring sub-surface elements.
At least one of a direct expansion heat pump system sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing containment pipe arrangement and a direct expansion heat pump system sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing arrangement positioned inside a well/borehole having an interior wall defined by naturally occurring sub-surface elements, the arrangement comprising:
- at least one spacer device positioned between at least one of the sub-surface containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing and the naturally occurring sub-surface elements, the spacer device being functional to space the at least one of the sub-surface containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing away from the interior wall of the well/borehole;
- and
- a heat conductive grout fill material disposed between the at least one of the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing containment pipe and the sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing, the at least one spacer device, and the naturally occurring sub-surface elements;
- wherein multiple spacer devices comprise a spacer device set, and wherein multiple spacer device sets are discretely spaced along the containment pipe or refrigerant transport tubing by a minimum length segment of at least approximately twenty feet in a system with vertically oriented sub-surface refrigerant transport tubing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.