THERMAL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SAME

Abstract

A thermal device comprising a heatable and ventilatable thermal cabin (2) for at least one person is equipped with adjustable heating means (4) and with adjustable ventilation means (6) and, optionally, with a temperate sensor (8). Furthermore, detection means (10) are available for the continuous detection of the presence of persons situated in the thermal cabin, wherein said detection means interact with a heating control device (12) for the heating means (4). Due to the fact that a base heating power can be set when no one is present and that a comparatively higher operational heating power can be set when someone is present, the energy requirement when operating the thermal facility can be reduced considerably.

Claims

1. A thermal device comprising a heatable and ventilatable thermal cabin (2) for at least one person, wherein the thermal cabin is equipped with adjustable heating means (4) and with adjustable ventilation means (6) and, optionally, with a temperature sensor (8), characterized in comprising detection means (10) for the continuous detection of the presence of persons situated in the thermal cabin, wherein said detection means interact with a heating control device (12) for the heating means (4) in such manner that a base heating power is set when no one is present and that a comparatively higher operational heating power is set when someone is present.

2. The thermal device according to claim 1, wherein the detection means are further configured to detect the number of persons situated in the thermal cabin.

3. The thermal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection means further interact with a ventilation control device (14) for the ventilation means (6) in such manner that a base air flow rate is set when no one is present and that a comparatively higher operational air flow rate is set when someone is present.

4. The thermal device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detection means (10) comprise at least one infrared sensor (16) and one door contact device (18).

5. The thermal device according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the adjustable heating means (4) are configured as a sauna oven.

6. The thermal device according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the adjustable heating means (4) are configured as a steam generator or as an infrared heater.

7. A method for operating a thermal device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating means are operated with a base heating power when no one is present and are operated with a comparatively higher operational heating power when someone is present.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the base heating power is substantially constant.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the base heating power is zero.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the base heating power is controlled in such manner that a predefined base temperature range is maintained in the thermal cabin.

11. The method according to one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the operational heating power is substantially constant.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the operational heating power is set according to the number of persons present in the thermal cabin.

13. The method according to one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the operational heating power is controlled in such manner that a predefined effective temperature range is maintained in the thermal cabin.

14. The method according to one of claims 7 to 13, wherein the ventilation means are operated with a basic air flow rate when no one is present and are operated with a comparatively higher operational air flow rate when someone is present.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Examples of the invention will henceforth be described in more detail by reference to the drawings, which show:

[0022] FIG. 1 a schematic view of a thermal device according to the present invention, in a perspective view;

[0023] FIG. 2 an exemplary operating diagram when using the method according to the present invention, and

[0024] FIG. 3 in each case, an exemplary operating diagram when using [0025] a) a method according to prior art; [0026] b) the method according to the present invention during winter operation; [0027] c) the method according to the present invention during summer operation.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0028] The thermal device shown in FIG. 1 comprises a heatable and ventilatable thermal cabin 2, which is equipped with adjustable heating means 4 in the form of a sauna oven. In addition, the thermal device comprises ventilation means, generally referred to as 6, and two temperature sensors 8. In addition, detection means, generally referred to as 10, for the continuous detection of the presence of persons situated in the thermal cabin are provided, wherein the detection means interact with a heating control device 12 for the heating means 4. The configuration shown allows to set a base heating power when no one is present, i.e., when the thermal cabin is empty, and to set a comparatively higher operational heating power when someone is present.

[0029] In the example shown, the detection means 10 are further connected to a ventilation control device 14 for the ventilation means 6. This allows to set a base air flow rate when no one is present and to set a comparatively higher operational air flow rate when someone is present.

[0030] In the example shown, the detection means 10 comprise two infrared sensors 16 positioned above the entrance area and one door contact device 18, which is in connection with the cabin door 20.

[0031] As also shown schematically in FIG. 1, the heating control device 12 can be implemented as a central control unit 22, which is in contact with the various sensors and control elements via appropriate lines. These may be both wire connections as well as wireless connections.

[0032] The ventilation means 6 comprise a fan unit 24 connected to the control unit 22, a supply air line 26, an exhaust air line 28 and, here, also an additional night drying line 30, which are equipped with controllable flaps 32.

[0033] The operation of a thermal device according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 2 using the example of a sauna. The profile referred to as “temperature” actually consists of three curves, namely the measured values from two temperature sensors and the mean value thereof. The two measurement curves are practically congruent, and accordingly, also their mean value.

[0034] During the day there was mostly one person present, but occasionally there were two persons or no person in the sauna cabin. The operational heating power was provided as impulse operation with 7 kW peak power each time; a continuous feed of 1 kW was used as base heating power.

[0035] In the initial phase up to around 10.15 h, the cabin temperature was raised after the night break. From about 13.45 h to about 15.15 h, the sauna cabin was empty.

[0036] In this phase of absence, the heating power was reduced considerably, whereas the ventilation rate was not changed. In this example, despite the reduction of the heating power, there was only a very slight temperature decrease of about 5° C., which would not even be noticed by a subsequently entering person.

[0037] A further example for the operation of a thermal device according to the present invention in comparison to a conventional thermal device is shown in FIG. 3.

[0038] As in the previous example, the profile referred to as “temperature” actually consists of three curves, namely the measured values from two temperature sensors and the average value thereof. The two measurement curves are practically congruent, and accordingly also their mean value.

[0039] In the comparative example of FIG. 3a, a conventional thermal device was operated with a heating power operating in pulsed mode but substantially constant, which was in particular independent of the number of persons in the sauna cabin. As expected, the temperature was maintained largely constant in the range of approximately 87 and 91° C. Incidentally, the same behavior would be expected with the thermal device according to the present invention, if it were operated in the empty state. The heating energy averaged over the entire measurement period shown was 30.72 KWh.

[0040] In the example of FIG. 3b, the thermal device according to the present invention was operated according to a scenario typical for wintertime or comparatively high frequency of use. The set temperature was selected as 90° C. and the minimum temperature as 50° C. As can be seen from the curves, the heating power was controlled depending on the instantaneous number of persons. After the initial warm-up phase, the cabin temperature could be maintained in a well acceptable range between approximately 73 and 90° C. The heating energy averaged over the entire measurement period shown was 28.55 KWh, which represents a saving of approximately 8% compared with the comparative example in FIG. 3a.

[0041] In the example of FIG. 3c, the thermal device according to the present invention was operated according to a scenario typical for summertime or comparatively low frequency of use. The set temperature was again selected as 90° C. and the minimum temperature as 50° C. As can be seen from the curves, the heating power was again controlled depending on the instantaneous number of persons. After the initial warm-up phase, the cabin temperature was maintained in an acceptable range between approximately 50 and 90° C. The heating energy averaged over the entire measurement period shown was only 10.76 KWh, which represents a very considerable saving of approximately 65% compared with the comparative example in FIG. 3a.