| STATEMENT OF CLAIMS 1. I claim that I have developed geothermal, gravity based water heating and cooling system which provide cold water during hot climate and hot water during cold climate which is very helpful for the people living in extreme climates and also its energy saving and pollution free. 2. I claim that my invention is based on the principle of constant ground temperature and gravity. 3. I claim that this system works by using constant ground temperature and gravity controls the water flow. 4. I claim that this device works in three modes water heating mode, water cooling mode and hybrid water heating and cooling mode. 5. I claim that the geothermal, gravity based water cooling and heating system doesn’t consume electricity or any other energy for its working in the normal condition. 6. I claim that this system doesn’t produce any harmful gases like CFC, C02 etc. 7. I claim that my invention includes either a hand pump or submersible pump for providing water outlet even though there is no continuous inlet supply. 8. I claim that it can be used in places with extreme cold areas by adding a preheater to prevent icing of water in the pipes. 9. I claim that geothermal, gravity based water cooling and heating system is a novel device developed by myself and the idea has never been used anywhere to the best of my knowledge. |
COOLING SYSTEM
Field of invention and use of invention
This invention relates to geothermal energy and it is applicable in the field of water heating and cooling. The device is geo thermal, gravity based water cooling and heating system which doesn’t requires any external energy to operate. The system works on the basis of constant ground temperature and gravity. Compared to currently used water heaters and coolers, no power is consumed and works with high efficiency. No CO 2, CFC emission, which are very harmful gases. Till now the geothermal energy is used for room cooling and heating, electricity generation etc. All these application the geo thermal energy is obtained either from the depth of around 150 to 400 feet or from the surface length of around 100 to 300 feet and it is difficult to install. But here we need only 4 to 6 feet depth so installation is easy and less expensive. Once this system is installed without any expenditure we can obtain the heat or cold water as per the weather.
Prior art and problem to be solved
Day by day so many innovations are made or new resources are discovered. New technologies are arising to make human lives much better. But still common people are struggling for their basic needs. Humans need fresh air, water, food and shelter for their survival. There are highly developed communication systems, advanced mobiles, transportation facilities. But even now there are places where people find difficulty to get hot or cold water during extreme climate.
Everyone go behind the new inventions. Exploration of the existing resources or renewable resources can be implemented on lot of applications in an efficient manner and also can reduce pollution to an extent. The commonly used renewable resources are solar and wind. The hydro, biogas and geo thermal are least explored ones and also there are so many limitations for these resources. The geo thermal energy is commonly used in homes for space heating, farming to heat their green house, industry for drying purpose, for electricity generation etc. For all these applications the ground temperature is brought up with the help of some agents like water, air etc. For the circulation of these agents one or two pumps are used. Today there are two types of systems - closed loop and open loop. In closed loop the same agent is circulated and only the heat is transferred whereas in open loop system the agent is exchanged during each circulation. Based on the structure of piping and method of cooling the systems are classified as vertical loop, horizontal loop, surface water loop etc. The area of installation is much large. For horizontal loops even though the depth required is less the length ranges from 100 to 300 feet. The depth required for the vertical loops ranges from 150 to 400 feet. The surface water loop system uses coils of pipe typically 300 to 500 feet in length.
Hereby we can conclude that all the existing systems are electricity consuming, having high cost for installation. The reasons why the geo thermal resource is not explored much are:
• As geothermal systems are consuming electricity, it is not considered as a renewable technology.
• As geothermal systems are having difficulties to install and operate, photovoltaic and wind turbines are more preferred renewable technologies.
• Geothermal needs lots of yard or lands to place the polyethylene piping earth loops.
• Geothermal heat pumps are noisy and need maintenance.
• Geothermal systems only work in either heating mode or cooling mode.
Now days, either coil heaters or heat pumps are commonly used to heat the water and refrigerators for cooling with the help of compressor and expansion valve. The other methods are gravity fed system and solar water heaters. These are very power consuming and working efficiency is very less. These cause C0 2 , CFC emission, which are very harmful gases. Solar water heaters are not power consuming but it can be used only during day time.
For all these issues energy saving, eco friendly, maintenance free and cheaply installable geothermal, gravity based water cooling and heating system is proposed. Objects of the invention
The principal object of this invention is to reduce the electricity shortage and to make available of cold or hot water at the remote areas, experiencing extreme climates. Another purpose of this invention is to prevent the pollution related health troubles. This invention also aims at creating a peaceful atmosphere to attract more birds and tiny animals in order to keep the balance of ecosystem and also to protect ozone layer by preventing harmful gases such as CFC, C0 2 etc.
Summary
As a solution for energy crises and for high efficiency we introduce a geothermal, gravity based water heating and cooling system. In this system only geo thermal energy is used. The gravity controls the water flow from the higher level to lower level. Cold water can be obtained during summer and hot water during winter without any energy consumptions. The soil temperature is maintained constant.
Depending upon the solar radiation, rainfall, seasonal changes, local vegetation, type of soil, and depth the soil temperature varies from month to month. As soil have higher heat capacity and thermal insulation provided by the vegetation and surface soil layers, the changes in soil temperature will be much less and lag at the deep in the ground than the air temperature. Thus in summer, the soil warms more slowly and will be cooler than the overlying air. Likewise during winter, the soil cools very slowly and will be warmer than the overlying air.
Geothermal, gravity based water cooling and heating system provide hot water during cold climate and cold water during hot climate without using electricity or any other energy. This creates no pollution in the society and no wastage of energy. It’s completely an eco friendly product which is mainly meant for the peoples living in extreme climate. This will be a new exploration in the field of geo thermal resource.
Detailed Description
The ground temperature is nearly constant at the depth of 4 to 6 feet. At the warm places the ground temperature ranges from 22-30°C and at the cold places it ranges from 7-22°C. The proposed system for water heating and cooling consumes only the geothermal energy and the water flow is controlled by the gravity. All the existing systems have pumps for circulating water or air, which consumes electricity.
The tank which is kept below the ground is designed in such a way that maximum surface of the tank is in contact with the ground. This helps in faster transfer of heat and water quickly get heated or cooled. The complete system should be air tight, so that the water will flow from the higher potential to the lower (outlet) without any mechanical or electrical support. The cold water occupies the bottom portion of the tank and hot water at the top. As per the requirement the inlet and outlet connections are done either at the bottom or at the top.
Geothermal, Gravity based Water Heating System
Figure 1 : Geothermal, gravity based water heating system
The components required for the system are a tank below the ground, a tape for receiving hot water and pipe connections between the two tanks and the tape. The water to be heated is stored in the reservoir. At a depth of 4 or 6 feet other tank is kept. The cold water from the reservoir is fed to the underground tank. As the density of cold water is higher than the hot water, the inlet for cold water is at the bottom of the tank. The water gets heated by absorbing the ground temperature and rises to the top of the tank. The outlet for taking the hot water is at the top of the tank. At cold places the atmospheric temperature may fall upto -47°C.
This cold water can be heated upto the ground temperature. The heated water can be used for bathing, cleaning, washing, etc. This can be used as preheated water so that energy needed to raise upto around 25°C can be saved. For countries having temperature below 0°C, preheating system have to be provided to prevent icing of water in the pipes.
Geothermal, Gravity based Water Cooling System
The cooling system is very much similar to heating system. The only difference is that the as the inlet pipe to the underground tank carry hot water, it is mounted at the top. The outlet pipe which carries cold water is kept at the bottom. Mainly the cooled water is used for drinking, so the water is purified using filters.
Figure 2: Geothermal, gravity based water cooling system Geothermal, Gravity based Water Heating and Cooling System
This is the hybrid system, where we can cool as well as heat the water. This is used in places where both the extreme cold and hot climate are experienced. During hot climate the proposed system works as the water cooling system. At that time the first ball valve ( VI ) is kept open, ie it acts as inlet. At the same time the second ball valve (V2) is kept closed. So, the hot water enters the tank from the top and the cold water exits from the bottom.
During cold climate the proposed system works as the water heating system. At that time the first ball valve (VI) is kept closed. At the same time the second ball valve (V2) is kept opened, ie it acts as an inlet. So, the cold water enters from the bottom and the hot water exits the tank from the top. So this system is reliable throughout the year.
Figure 3: Geothermal, gravity based water heating and cooling system
Limitations
If there is no continuous inlet the proposed system will not work. So an external force is required to have water outlet. For that we are also providing some alternative methods which are cheap and effective. The places having electricity connection can use a small submersible pump which cost only around Rs.lOO/- (1.50 $) and consumes power 18 - 20 watts. If we are using these pumps for 1 hour per day, the consumption for a month will be 0.6kWh. According to the tariff rates in India, the cost for single unit for domestic areas is Rs.3/- (0.04 $) and for industries is Rs.6.35/- (0.1$). So the money required for domestic areas is Rs.l.8/- (0.03 $) and for industries is Rs.3.8l/- (0.06 $) to work submersible for a month (by working for an hour per day).
For the places where there is no electricity connection, the hand pumps can be used. This requires only the man power.
(a) (b)
Figure 4: Geo thermal, gravity based water heating system with (a) submersible pump (b) hand pump
The next problem we have to face is icing of water at cold places. As a solution for this we have to use a pre -heater for the inlet pipe. As the outlet pipe is carrying hot water problem of icing doesn’t effect.
Highlights of Geothermal, Gravity based Water Heating and Cooling System
• The system doesn’t require any electrical or external energy for the working.
• Area required to install is very less.
• No C0 2 emission, so it is eco friendly.
• Maintenance free
• It is available for 24x7.
• Very cheap of cost.
The energy required for heating or cooling of water by using electrical heaters are given by
Where,
E Energy required for heating the water (kWh)
V - Volume of water (L)
C - Specific heat capacity of water (4.2 kJ / kg °C)
DT Change in temperature (°C) To raise l°C of 1000L water requires is 0l.l667kWh. So for raising lO°C, it will be 11.667k Wh. By assuming electrical heaters are having 100% efficient, for a month it will be 350kWh consumption. It costs Rs.l050/- (15.74 $) for domestic and for industries it is Rs.2222.5/- (33.31 $). By using the proposed system we can save the amount as well as electricity. If each consumer is saving 350units for a month, we can reduce energy crisis.
Applications:
1) Defence purpose: The defence functions at the country borders where they experience extreme climate and electricity shortage. At these places getting hot water is very difficult.
2) Remote areas and Islands: There are so many interior regions and islands where there is no electricity supply. At these places without the electricity hot or cold water can be obtained for drinking purpose, cleaning, washing etc.
3) Deserts: The desert regions experience extreme hot climate. Here getting cold water is very solace for the people.
4) For preheating: with the help of geothermal, gravity based water heating system the temperature can raise upto 20°C.
5) For energy conservation: The geothermal, gravity based water cooling and heating system doesn’t consume energy for water heating or cooling. Around 350units can be saved per month for varying lO°C temperature of 1000L water daily.