Wiser cooling system

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tion for transmission of the cold to an underground cold

WISER CooLING SYSTEM storage chamber which contains anti-freeze. The anti freeze in the chamber is cooled and finally reaches tem

This is a continuation-in-part of my pending applica peratures below 32 F. during the cold and cool seasons. tion Ser. No. 06/218,800, filed Dec. 22, 1980, U.S. Pat. In turn, when the anti-freeze reach 32' F. or below, it No. 4,346,569 granted on Aug. 31, 1982, which is a freezes water inside plastic bags which are installed in continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 951,518, the cold storage chamber. According to the coefficient filed Oct. 13, 1978, and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,268, of performance for any refrigeration system, more than granted on Dec. 23, 1980. 50% of electric energy can be saved if the system is 10 operated at an average of 55' F. atmospheric environ

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ment instead of that at an average of 95° F. environ 1. Field of the Invention ment. The present invention suggests that mechanical The present invention relates to utilizing mechanical refrigerating equipment in this novel WISER system be refrigeration, and more particularly to a system for operated during the cold and cool seasons for ice gener transmitting and storing cold medium, preferably un 15 ation.

derground, for effective uses during summer seasons.

This system is called WISER, meaning Winter Ice For forThe extraction of cold from the cold storage chamber space cooling and cold storage is accomplished by

Summer Energy Relief. pumping coolant liquid from the chamber through a 2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior art ground cold storage systems are generally 20 tion thepiping closed loop. When air conditioning is in opera accomplished by blowing winter cold ambient air the piping loop tois apumped coolant from the chamber through bank of tubes situated in a conven through a cold reservoir formed by a bed of crushed stones and rock. In other cases, cold liquid medium is tional warm ventilation air duct system. As the returning air from rooms or other environment passes the pumped through pipes embedded in stone and rock medium in the form of which constitutes a closed heat 25 bank of coolant tubes in the ventilation air duct, it loses heat to the coolant in the tubes. The coolant then flows exchange system. back through the piping loop to the cold storage cham The stones and rocks, as a cold storage reservoir, ber. In the process of coolant recirculation in the stor have several shortcomings. First, cold storage capaci age chamber, the coolant is cooled by the ice with the ties are limited because of the narrow temperature range for cooling. In other words, the difference of 30 bags and the coolant circulation cycle repeated. storage temperature in winter and upper-limit useful to Accordingly, an important object of the invention is temperatures in summer is less than thirty degrees Fahr cold which can be used for underground provide for long-duration storage of enheit (30 F. to 60°F). For example, in a volume of one storage when air-conditioning space cooling and cold is required.

cubic foot of stone at a temperature difference of 30 F., A further and important object of the invention is to the energy flux is about 1.3X10 BTU. Assuming a 35 provide a cold storage system using mechanical refrig summer requirement of 25X106 for an average size eration for home, a volume of cold storage required for cooling is regions eveniceifmaking freezing during cold and cool seasons in climate seldom exists.

estimated at 20X 103 cubic feet. In contrast to this large volume, if ice is used for cold storage instead of rock, tionA still further and very important object of the inven is to provide means for relieving the peak power the required storage volume is about 2.5x103 cubic demand on electric utility systems during the summer, feet.

Another shortcoming of the stone and rocks as cold utility thus reducing considerable capital investments of the storage is the low thermal conductivity. It would re industry.

quire a long length of liquid pipes and considerable A still further and important object of the invention is pumping power in order to meet the maximum cooling 45 to provide means for operating mechanical refrigerating equipment during cold and cool months, thus saving rate required during hot summer days.

Furthermore, the ground cold storage systems men considerable electric energy for the users of air-condi tioned above can be only applied to regions where suffi tioning equipment.

cient freezing climate exists. A still further object of the invention is to provide a 50 highly efficient means for transmitting cold from a me

SUMMARY OF INVENTION chanical refrigerating system into the ground for cold This invention relates to a system for transmitting, storage through the use of cooling coils and heat pipes. storing and utilizing cold produced by mechanical re A still further object of the invention is to provide a frigeration, and more particularly, to a system in which plurality of bags containing water inside the cold stor cold medium can be stored underground for subsequent 55 age chamber or reservoir which is filled with anti-freeze cooling utilization during summers without relying on liquid; thereby a considerable increase in heat transfer conventional air-conditioning systems. rate between the cooling coils or heat pipes and the ... The invention contemplates a novel system for trans anti-freeze liquid can be achieved. This in turn, in mitting, storing and utilizing"cold wherein the system creases the rate of ice forming.

comprises means for transmitting cold produced by 60 A still further object of the invention is to provide mechanical refrigeration to freeze bags of water in a means to make and store ice in an underground reser reservoir below the surface of the ground, the circula voir, thereby a considerable reservoir volume can be tion means to circulate the stored cold to a ventilation reduced for the same cold storage capacity of conven air duct which cools and dehumidifies the returning tional beds of stones and rock.

warm air flow from the space cooling in an air-condi 65 Further objects and advantages of my invention will tioning system. . . . . . . become apparent from an understanding of the follow For accomplishing the foregoing objective, the in ing detailed description of the preferred embodiments vention contemplates the use of mechanical refrigera of my invention.

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elasticity to expand when water 32 freezes. The bags 30

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED are held in place by elastic supporters 34 and have fill EMBODIMENTS ing tubes 36 in order that the bags 30 can be filled with FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic section view of a system for water after the installation of the bags. transmitting, storing and utilizing cold by employing When the compressor 11 is in operation, cold is ab heat pipes and auxiliary mechanical refrigeration equip sorbed by the condenser section 16 of the heat pipe 12 ment in accordance with the present invention. which causes the vapor therein to condense, and the condensed liquid at the sub-freezing temperature then

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic section view of an alterna tive cold storage system using cooling coils without the flows downward to the evaporator section 20. In this use of heat pipes. 10 continuously automatic process of cold absorption and Referring to FIG. 1, the novel transmitting, storing heat extraction, the liquid coolant 2 in the tank 14 will and utilizing system of mechanical refrigeration, gener eventually reach temperatures below 32 F. which ally indicated by the numeral 10, includes an artificial or freezes the water within the bags 30. This constitutes mechanical refrigerating unit 11 and a series of heat the cooling and freezing process of the cold storage pipes 12 for collecting and transmitting cold from cool- 15 reservoir.

ing coils 17 into an underground tank 14 which contains In order to prevent the penetration of summer heat to liquid coolant 2. The liquid coolant 2 remains in liquid the cold storage tank 14, a layer of insulating material 38 state under all refrigeration conditions that may be is placed above the cover 40 of the tank 14. It is prefera transmitted by the heat pipe or cooling coils to the ble that the insulating material 38 is covered by a sheet liquid coolant. Each heat pipe 12 include a condenser 20 of plastic 42 which, in turn, is covered by a thick layer section 16, an adiabatic section 18, and an evaporator of soil 44. At the bottom of the tank 14 it is preferable to section 20 as well as containing a working fluid (not lay of few layers of gravel or rocks so that water from illustrated). Briefly, cold is absorbed by the condenser surrounding wet soil, if any, adjacent to the tank 14 can section 16 which causes the vapor therein to condense, be drained. - W and the condensed liquid then flows downward through 25 When it is desired to use the cold that has been stored the adiabatic section 18 to the evaporator section 20 in the tank 14, the thermostatically controlled pump 50 which is located inside the liquid coolant tank 14. The will be set in operation. The function of pump 50 is to condensed working fluid in the evaporator section 20 of deliver the liquid coolant in the tank 14 through pipes the heat pipe extracts heat from the surrounding liquid 46 and 52 and entrance pipe 54 to the manifold 56 lo coolant 2 and the working fluid changes its phase to 30 cated inside the ventilation air duct 51. The delivery vapor which then flows upward to the condenser sec pipes 46 and 52 are well insulated by, e.g., conventional tion 16, and the cold absorption and heat extraction fiberglass pipe insulation tube. The manifold 56 is con cycle repeated. nected to a bank of tubes 58.

The mechanical refrigerating unit 11 consists of a As the complete air-conditioning system in a cooling compressor 13, powered by electric motor (not shown), 35 environment is in operation, the warm air (indicated by a condenser 15 and cooling coils (evaporator) 17. The arrow 57) from the returning duct passes through the low-pressure refrigerant vapor from the cooling coils bank of tubes 58 and gives up the heat to the liquid (evaporator) 17 passing through passage or pipe 23 is coolant. Hence, the warm air 57 becomes a cooler (indi inducted into the compressor 11, which rises the vapor cated by arrow 53) and will be recirculated throughout in pressure and temperature for delivery to the con- 40 the house or other environment which is to be cooled. denser 15. After heat removal (by the circulating air or In the meantime, the coolant in the bank of tubes 58 water) and condensation in the condenser, the liquid picks up the heat from the passing warm air as it flows refrigerant may pass first to a receiver (not shown) and through the manifold 60 and insulated pipe 62 to the next through the expansion valve 19 to the evaporator cold storage tank 14. Then, the cooling process cycle is 17. In the evaporator 17 the liquid refrigerant, in vapor- 45 repeated.

izing, absorbs heat from the condenser section 16 of the When the air-conditioned environment reaches a heat pipes 12 before being inducted into the compressor desired temperature by the cooling system, the pump 50 11. will be shut off automatically by an electronic or elec An insulated chamber, generally indicated by the tromechanical thermostatic control 48 which is con numeral 22, contains the liquid cooling tank 14. This 50 nected to and actuated by a temperature sensor 55 that chamber 22 may be located in any available space but, monitors the temperature of the warm air. As men preferably, is located underground to take advantage of tioned previously, the same thermostat control will start the natural earth temperature. The pit or chamber 22 is the pump 50 when the present temperature of the air coated with a layer of foam synthetic plastics 24 and conditioned environment is reached. . . . lined with rigid insulation material 26 which would 55 In order to increase the heat transfer rate between the . hold its shape under hydrostatic pressure. The interior liquid coolant 2 in the tank 14 and water 32 in the bags surface of the insulation 26 is lined with a plastic sheet 30, the liquid coolant is preferably in circulation. This barrier 28. The shape of the chamber 22 can be cylindri arrangement can be accomplished by turning the valve cal, cubic or any other suitable form which encloses a 59 to the position 66. In this case the liquid coolant 2 is plurality of plastic bags 30 containing water 32 and is 60 circulated under the pressure of pump.50 through insu substantially filled with liquid coolant 2. On the other lated pipes 46 and 68 and back to the cold storage tank : hand, the tank 14 can be prefabricated like concentric 14. Since this operation is required only during cool rigid shells with insulating material in between. The size seasons, the valve setting at position either 66 or 64 can and the skin thickness of the water bags 30 are deter be manually adjusted. . . . .

mined by the heat transfer rate between the liquid cool- 65 An alternative cold storage system 25 is shown in ant 2 and water 32. Furthermore, the plastic material of FIG. 2. In the system, all the heat pipes employed in the water bags 30 must have sufficient strength to with system 14 are replaced by cooling coils 21 and all other stand the hydrostatic pressure of water 32 and sufficient functions here are identical to that of FIG. 1. In this

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case the low-pressure refrigerant vapor from the cool first pipe means (46,52) for passing said anti-freeze from ing coils 21 passing through passage or pipe 23 is in said chamber (22) to said heat exchanger means, second ducted into the compressor 13, which rises the vapor in pipe means (62) for returning said anti-freeze liquid pressure and temperature for delivery to the condenser from said heat exchanger means to said chamber (22), 15. After heat removal and condensation in the con and pump means (50) for circulating said anti-freeze denser, the liquid refrigerant passes through the expan liquid in said pipe means and said heat exchanger means. sion valve 19 to the cooling coils (evaporator) 21. In the cooling coils 21, the liquid refrigerant, vaporizes and ber2.isAlocated system as defined in claim 1 wherein said cham within the earth.

absorbs heat from the liquid coolant 2 before being 3. A system as defined in claim 1 including heat pipe inducted into the compressor 13. 10 means (12) having a condensor section (16), an adiabatic

While a preferred system and a preferred combina section tion of heat pipes or cooling coils and water bags for use coils (17)(18)being and an evaporator section (20), said cooling in heat transfer contact with said con in such a system have been illustrated and described, it densor section (16), said evaporator section (20) being is to be understood that various changes and arrange immersed in said anti-freeze liquid, and a working fluid ment of parts may be made without departing from the 15 contained within said heat pipe means, whereby said spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the ap cooling coils remove heat from said working fluid and pended claims.

I claim: the cooled working fluid removes heat from said anti 1. A system for storing and utilizing cold, said system freeze liquid.

(10,25) including a chamber (22), insulating means sur 20 4. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said cooling rounding said chamber, an anti-freeze liquid (2) con coil means (21) has one end which is connected to and tained within said chamber, water container means (30) extends from said condensor (15) and is immersed in immersed in said anti-freeze liquid and being at least said anti-freeze liquid for removing heat therefrom, and partially filled with water (32), refrigeration means (11) the other end of said cooling coil means is connected to for cooling said anti-freeze liquid below the freezing 25 said compressor (13).

point of water so that water (32) within said container 5. A system as defined in claim 1 including circulating means (30) changes phase from liquid to solid; said means for circulating, said anti-freeze liquid (2), said refrigeration means (11) including a compressor (13), a circulating means comprising a pipe (68) and a valve condenser (15), cooling coils (17, 21), and a refrigerant (59) connected to said pump for by-passing said heat contained therein for removing heat from said anti 30 exchanger means (51). is is freeze liquid; and heat exchange means (51) including