Method and apparatus for storing a medium heated by solar energy
US3931806A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 6, 1974 |
| Grant date | Jan 13, 1976 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 6, 1994 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02B10/20
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A heating system has means for directing heat only to a portion of a medium for storing heat which portion is at a temperature below that to which heating means then heats the medium. The system then functions to store heat in the medium during periods of less-than-maximum heating of the medium without degrading the temperature of a higher-temperature portion of the medium. The system has particular utility with a solar heat collector from which the available heat varies with the intensity of the solar energy. Heat is then collected in the portion of the medium during periods of marginal solar energy intensity without degrading the higher temperature of another portion of the medium heated to a higher temperature during a prior period of greater solar energy intensity. In a specific embodiment the system has three compartments for separating a fluid heat-storing medium into portions, a pump supplying the fluid to a solar heat collector, and a pump supplying the fluid to a heat exchanger for heating a house. The means for directing heat to a portion of the medium then direct fluid heated in the collector to a compartment of fluid at a temperature nearest below that to which the sola…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.