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Title:
GEOTHERMAL PROBE FOR AN AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2008/152470
Kind Code:
A3
Abstract:
A geothermal probe (1) for an air-conditioning system designed to be inserted in a vertical position in the ground and comprising a descending branch and an ascending branch for a fluid that is to exchange heat with the ground; the geothermal probe comprises a monolithic body (2) made of polymeric material, made in which are two longitudinal through cavities (3) substantially parallel to one another; one of the two cavities (3) represents the descending branch and the other of the two cavities (3) represents the ascending branch for the fluid.

Inventors:
DI REZZE GINO (IT)
PETROZZI EDMONDO (IT)
PALOMBO DOMENICO (IT)
MARTINI ROBERT (CA)
GILETSKI ILLARIO (CA)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2008/001485
Publication Date:
February 05, 2009
Filing Date:
June 10, 2008
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
GROUNDHEAT SYSTEMS INTERNAT S (IT)
DI REZZE GINO (IT)
PETROZZI EDMONDO (IT)
PALOMBO DOMENICO (IT)
MARTINI ROBERT (CA)
GILETSKI ILLARIO (CA)
International Classes:
F24J3/08
Foreign References:
EP0582118A11994-02-09
US4714108A1987-12-22
CH687268A51996-10-31
US20050121169A12005-06-09
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
JORIO, Paolo et al. (via Viotti 9, Torino, IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:

CLAIMS

1. A geothermal probe (1) for an air-conditioning system designed to be inserted in a vertical position in the ground and comprising a descending branch and an ascending branch for a fluid that is to exchange heat with the ground; said geothermal probe being characterized in that it comprises a monolithic body (2) made of polymeric material, provided in which are two longitudinal through cavities (3) substantially parallel to one another; one of the two cavities (3) representing said descending branch and the other of the two cavities (3) representing said ascending branch for said fluid.

2. The geothermal probe according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an end connection element (4) designed to be welded to a bottom end (2a) of said monolithic body (2) and designed to connect the two cavities (3) in a fluid-tight way.

3. The geothermal probe according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said monolithic body (2) is made by extrusion of polymeric material.

4. The geothermal probe according to Claim 3, characterized in that said polymeric material is high-density polyethylene.

5. An air-conditioning system using the geoexchange technique, characterized in that it comprises a geothermal probe (1) according to any one of the preceding claims .

Description:

"GEOTHERMAL PROBE FOR AN AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM"

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a geothermal probe for an air-conditioning system.

BACKGROUND ART

Low-enthalpy geothermy regards exploitation of the Earth's heat located in the proximity of the surface. In this way, it is possible, using heat pumps combined with geothermal probes, to capture and exchange the heat at a depth that can vary from one metre to hundreds of metres outside any geothermal anomaly and, hence, without any territorial constraint.

The technology referred to as "geoexchange" technology is based upon low-enthalpy geothermy and enables air conditioning of environments. A system based upon geoexchange is basically constituted by a geothermal probe, a heat pump installed within the building, and a heat-distribution system.

The geothermal probe basically consists of a pair of pipes set vertically in the ground at a maximum depth of approximately one hundred metres and connected to one another at the bottom by a "U" connector. At the surface the pipes of the geothermal probe are connected to a purposely provided manifold connected to the heat pump. Inside the geothermal probe a fluid circulates, generally constituted by water or by a water/glycol mixture, which exchanges heat with the ground as it flows underground.

In the specific case, in order to heat the environments the heat is extracted from the fluid present in the geothermal probe set underground thanks to the heat pump and then distributed inside the building by means of a classic system of air ducts . The colder air present in the building is

returned to the geothermal pump where it cools the fluid, which will again be heated in its path underground. In order to cool environments, the process is the reverse of the one just described.

Generally, the pipes of the geothermal probes are physically- separate from one another and connected together at their bottom end by a "U" connector. A solution of this sort entails a series of disadvantages deriving basically from the poor stability of the pipes thus connected together, in particular during their installation in the excavation in which they are to be housed. In fact, if during the step of installation the two pipes connected as described undergo distortion, it is necessary to intervene to restore their correct position, and such an intervention, in addition to slowing down the operations of installation, risks damaging the excavation for housing the geothermal probe. Sometimes the damage to said excavation can even render it necessary to repeat the excavation.

•In addition, once the pipes have been installed, they have the natural tendency to cross over one another, a fact that may prevent complete insertion of a third pipe designed for filling the excavation with bentonite so as to embed the pipes themselves.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to provide a geothermal probe the technical characteristics of which will be such as to solve the problems of the known art in a simple and inexpensive way.

Forming the subject of the present invention is a geothermal probe for an air-conditioning system designed to be inserted in a vertical position in the ground and comprising a descending branch and an ascending branch for a fluid that is

to exchange heat with the ground; said geothermal probe being characterized in that it comprises a monolithic body made of polymeric material, provided in which are two longitudinal through cavities substantially parallel to one another, one of the two cavities representing said descending branch and the other of the two cavities representing said ascending branch for said fluid.

According to a preferred embodiment, the geothermal probe of the present invention comprises an end-connection element designed to be welded to a bottom end of said monolithic body and designed to connect the two cavities in a fluid-tight way.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the geothermal probe of the present invention is made of high-density polyethylene .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The ensuing example is described by way of non-limiting illustration, for a better understanding of the invention with the aid of the figures of the annexed plate of drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the geothermal probe forming the subject of the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross section of a detail of the geothermal probe of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 illustrates the geothermal probe forming the subject of the present invention in an operative position.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In Figure 1, designated as a whole by 1 is the geothermal probe according to the present invention.

The geothermal probe 1 comprises a monolithic body 2 obtained by extrusion of high-density polyethylene and made in which are two longitudinal through cavities 3 set parallel to one

another. As represented in Figures 1 and 2, the two cavities 3 have a cylindrical conformation and are designed to house the circulating fluid. In particular, one of the two cavities 3 represents the descending branch and the other the ascending branch for the fluid, which is usually water or a water/glycol mixture .

The geothermal probe 1 comprises a connection element 4 , which is coupled by means of welding to an end 2a of the monolithic body 2. Made in the connection element 4 is a "U" -shaped through cavity 5, which, as may be readily understood from Figure 1, connects the two cavities 3 to one another in a fluid-tight way to enable circulation of the fluid from the descending branch to the ascending branch.

Figure 3 represents the geothermal probe 1 set in operative conditions. As is illustrated, the geothermal probe 1 is set in a vertical position within an excavation 6 made in the ground. The geothermal probe 1 comprises the connection element 4 fixed to the bottom end 2a of the monolithic body 2 for connecting the cavities 3 in a fluid-tight way.

In the top end 2b each of the two cavities 3 is connected to a respective manifold pipe I 1 which is connected to a heat pump, known and not described for reasons of simplicity. In use, the excavation 6 is filled with bentonite to embed the geothermal probe within it.

As emerges clearly from the above description, the geothermal probe forming the subject of the present invention is handled with extreme simplicity and convenience without incurring the problems of the known art as described above. In this way, the risks of damage to the excavation for housing the probe are reduced considerably, and a shorter installation time is required.

In addition, the geothermal probe forming the subject of the present invention is produced and assembled at lower costs and with lower expenditure of time as compared to geothermal probes of the known art. Other advantages of an economic nature as compared to the geothermal probes of the known art derive from the possibility of making boreholes in the ground of smaller diameter, given that the space occupied by each of the two separate pipes is smaller, and of using a smaller amount of bentonite necessary to embed the geothermal probe in the excavation made in the ground.

Finally, it has been experimentally shown that, even though the two, descending and ascending, branches are made of one and the same piece, there is no heat exchange such as to vitiate the efficiency of the geothermal probe.