Zero-Fossil-Fuel-Using Heating and Cooling Apparatus for Residences and Buildings

Abstract

This invention provides a residential or building apparatus to: 1. transfer water heated by the sun's heat into proximity with the air space inside any residence or building to warm it, and 2. during spring, summer, fall, and winter, provide the sun's heating for the hot water heater, and 3. generate electricity, and charge a battery, during daylight hours by the use of focused sunlight to heat water to power a steam-powered electricity generator, and 4. move water cooled by the subsurface ground into proximity with the air space inside any residence or building to cool it.

Claims

1. A residential or building apparatus-structure capable of transferring water, heated by focusing the sun's heat, comprising: (a) a building, a solar collector, a magnifying glass or Fresnel lens to focus the sun's heat on the solar collector, water delivered under pressure from a garden hose spigot/bib or water main pressure or kitchen faucet pressure to the collector, wherein the water is heated at the solar collector and is circulated through the building using only gravity and pressure from the garden hose spigot/bib or water main pressure or kitchen faucet pressure to the solar collector, in order to heat the building, without using a pump for additional pressurization, by pipe structures that heat the air space inside any residence or building to warm it, and (b) the same building, solar collector, magnifying glass or Fresnel lens and pipe structures to heat water to run a steam-powered electricity generator, comprising a zero-fossil-fuel-using non-carbon-dioxide-emitting apparatus structure to focus and magnify the sun's heat and then, without using any pumps, transfer that heat throughout pipe structures in a residence or a building, using only the water's heat conduction characteristics or gravity and garden hose pressure or water main pressure or kitchen faucet pressure to circulate the heated water throughout the pipe structures.

2. An apparatus structure comprising the same building, solar collector, Magnifying glass or Fresnel lens, generator and pipe structures to generate electricity during daylight hours by the use of focused sunlight to heat water to power a steam-powered electricity generator and, also, charge a battery to provide electricity during the non-daylight hours, by providing a zero-fossil-fuel-using, non-carbon-dioxide-emitting apparatus to focus and magnify the sun's heat to run a steam-powered electricity generator structure to: (i) provide, during daylight hours, immediate electricity, and (ii) charge, during daylight hours, a battery that can provide electricity during non-daylight hours.

3. An apparatus pipe structure to move water cooled by the subsurface ground into proximity with the air space inside any residence or building to cool it, to provide cooling of the air inside a residence or building, comprising a zero-fossil-fuel-using, non-carbon-dioxide-emitting apparatus to capture the coolness of the subsurface ground which is four feet or deeper below the surface, and then, without using any pumps, transfer that coolness throughout a residence structure or a building structure using the water's coolness conduction characteristics or gravity and garden hose pressure from a garden hose spigot/bib or water main pressure or kitchen faucet pressure to circulate the coolness.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG. 1: The Water Heating Apparatus. The Figure looks at a two-story house, with a basement, from the west, with four different positions of the sun, as it travels from east to west. At different times of the afternoon, the sun's rays hit a row of magnifying glasses or Fresnel lens, which focus the sun's rays on a car-radiator-like set of water tubes that take heated water from the sun's rays on the roof to all other levels of the residence or building and heat the air on each level.

[0043] FIG. 2: The Water Cooling Apparatus. FIG. 2 is a figure which looks at a two-story house, with a basement, from the west. Cold water will flow from the cool basement to the upper levels of the residence or building and cool the air.

[0044] FIG. 3: The Steam-powered Electricity Generator Apparatus. FIG. 3 looks at a two-story house, with a basement, from the west. Water will flow from the garden hose faucet to a car-radiator-like-set of tubes on the roof of the residence or building and the sun's rays will be focused on that car-radiator-like set of tubes to create steam to drive the turbines of an electricity generator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0045] FIG. 1: The Water Heating Apparatus. FIG. 1 looks at a two-story house from the west, with four different positions of the sun, as it travels from east to west. The top sun position is 12 Noon (see the circled 12), the next lower position is 2 p.m. (see the circled 2), the next lower position is 4 p.m. (see the circled 4), and the bottom position is 6 p.m. (see the circled 6). The a level is the below-ground basement, the b level is the ground-level building, and the c level is the second story of the residence or building. d is an adjustable holding structure that holds a row of magnifying glasses or Fresnel lens that can be tilted to catch the rays of the sun and focus them on e, a holding structure that holds a row of car-radiator-type tubes holding water that will heat, but not melt, when the suns rays are focused on them. Such tubes will allow water to flow through the car-radiator-like tubes so that the focused sun's rays can heat that water, and then the heated water will flow through the network of car-radiator-like tubes that take the sun-heated water to each level of the residence or building to heat that residence or building, ending by going into the hot water heater, f, so that the hot water heater can send the hot water (124 degrees Fahrenheit) to the hot water faucets of the residence or building, or, if the water has been heated, but not heated enough to be 124 degrees Fahrenheit, the hot water heater will detect the temperature and heat the water the rest of the way to 124 degrees Fahrenheit. Water will initially flow into all the water tubes by turning on the garden hose faucet (or other faucet). The water will be heated by the sun. That hot water will be conducted throughout the water tubes by the radiation of heat through the water, but will also move faster when water is released from the system—such as when a person takes a shower and releases hot water from the shower nozzle, and when hot water is released from the kitchen sink faucet. When water is released from the residence or building water pipes, more water will flow into the water pipes, and then that water, too, will be heated by the sun, or cooled by the subsurface ground.

[0046] The sun's heat will be transferred by two mechanisms:

(i) The heat will be transferred by being radiated from the hot water in the direct path of the focused sun rays to all the water in the car-radiator-like tubes that form a water tank. Just like the burner under a water kettle heats the water on the bottom of the kettle and that heat radiates to the rest of the water in the kettle, the focused sun rays will be the “burner” and the heated water in the direct path of the focused sun rays will radiate its heat to the rest of the water in the car-radiator-like tubes that form a water tank, so that all the water on all levels of the residence or building will be heated to somewhere between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit to heat the residence or building, and that water will also flow into the hot water heater, f, to be further heated to a maximum of 124 degrees Fahrenheit, if necessary. In the best case situation, the traditional hot water heater would never need to burn non-sun energy to heat the water to 124 degrees Fahrenheit and the owner of the building would no longer burn that energy nor pay for the cost of that energy.
(ii) The water will be under the garden-hose pressure that occurs when a garden hose is turned on, but the nozzle on the other end of the garden hose stops the flow of water. The water will be released, like a garden hose nozzle that has been turned on, when a hot water faucet (such as a shower faucet or a kitchen sink faucet) is turned on, and hot water flows out of the system and allows more sun-heated hot water from the roof to go through the car-radiator-like tubes and heat each level of the building. As previously stated, if the water is moving so fast that the sun's rays do not completely heat the water to 124 degrees Fahrenheit, the hot water heater will sense that deficiency and heat the water further before the water is released from a faucet. Also, when the sun is not shining at night, the hot water heater will heat the water to 124 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to stop the hot water heating during hot weather, there will be a shade that will block the rays of the sun from hitting the magnifying glass(es) or Fresnel lenses. In similar manner, if the hot water heater senses that the water is too hot, it will mix it with cold water to bring the temperature down to 124 degrees Fahrenheit.

[0047] The invention is designed to have an apparatus that will be constructed on the roof of the residence or building and be open to the air. In order to avoid birds and other animals (including humans) from accidentally getting burned by the focused rays of the sun, there will be a casing around the entire structure that will let the suns rays enter it, but will prevent any other birds or animals from being hit by the focused sun rays.

[0048] FIG. 2: The Cooling Apparatus. Looking at a two-story house from the west, cold water from the house water faucet is directed to a car-radiator-like set of tubes that go down to the basement to a level that is lower than four feet below the ground surface where it is spread out so that the tubes come into contact with the 50 to 55 degree Fahrenheit walls of the basement, which cool the already-cool garden hose water in the tubes. The water tubes go around the basement (a) to absorb the cool temperature of the walls, and then the tubes go up to the first floor (the b level) and go around the walls of the b level; then the tubes go up to the second floor (the c level) and go around the walls of the c level; then the water goes from the c level back to a water drain on the a level—or to the lawn outside the b level of the house. The water from the water faucet will be turned on to a low level of current so that it slowly goes through the basement level and becomes 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and then slowly goes through the upper levels of the residence or building to cool those levels, and then slowly goes to the basement water drain or slowly goes to the outside lawn. Faucet water is usually somewhat cool (50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit) because it comes from subsurface levels of ground, so the water will already be that cool temperature even before it is cooled by travelling along the basement walls. As that water travels through the upper levels of the house, it will cool the air to, perhaps, 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

[0049] Both the heating and cooling water systems assume that the residence or building has the usual constant supply of water that will flow under the pressure of a garden hose. If this water supply is not readily available, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/734,978 of David William Stauffer.

[0050] There will be fans on all building levels above the basement that blow the hot air that has been heated by the hot pipes, or the cool air, that has been cooled by the cool water from the basement, from the car-radiator-like pipes