System for heating a room of a building

Abstract

 A system for heating a room of a building comprising a floor which extends between an upper floor level and a lower floor level, which system comprises a heating boiler at least including a burner and a heat exchanger for heating a medium which is transported by means of a network of heating pipes extending from said heat exchanger for delivering heat at a point inside said room which is remote from the heating boiler, wherein the heating boiler is disposed below the upper floor level, in a housing especially intended for that purpose, whose interior is sealed substantially hermetically from said room, and which comprises walls which surround at least the heating boiler.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a system for heating a room of a building comprising a floor which extends between an upper floor level and a lower floor level, which system comprises a heating boiler at least including a burner and a heat exchanger for heating a medium which is transported by means of a network of heating pipes extending from said heat exchanger for delivering heat at a point inside said room which is remote from the heating boiler.

[0002] Such heating systems are generally known, in particular in private houses. Frequently, the heating boiler, for example a gas-fired heating boiler, is present in a room of the building that is not used very much, for example the attic. The network of heating pipes can be formed by a closed circuit for water, for example, with radiators being fitted in the circuit in the various rooms that are to be heated. Alternatively, hot air heating is used, whereby the network of heating pipes opens into one or more rooms of the building. It is noted, by the way, that within the framework of the invention the term room is understood to include all the rooms of a building that are intended for accommodating persons on a regular basis. In this connection a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom or a bedroom may be considered, for example. The term floor is understood to mean a floor construction, for example a ribbed-slab, waffle slab or soffit board-type floor, which may or may not be provided with finishing layers on the upper side and/or the underside, and possibly also with an insulating layer. The thickness of such a floor (i.e. the distance between the upper floor level and the lower floor level) is a few dozen centimetres. When so-called combination boilers are used, the heating boiler is also used for heating tap water, for which there may be a need in the kitchen, for example, or in bathrooms. Such systems have a number of drawbacks. Since the heating boiler is disposed at a more or less remote point inside the building, relatively long pipes are used, for example for transporting heated medium to the point of delivery, which as such involves additional costs in connection with the installation and maintenance thereof, whilst in addition substantial energy losses may occur via said pipes. In addition to this, the heating boiler itself, and usually also part of the pipes, occupies a costly part of the available space in the building.

[0003] The object of the invention is to provide a solution for the above drawbacks, whether or not in a preferred embodiment thereof, as a result of which on the one hand the heating boiler does not take up part of the available space in a room of a building, or at least a considerably smaller portion thereof, whilst on the other hand a more advantageous situation is achieved from an energetic point of view. In order to accomplish that objective, the invention is characterized in that the heating boiler is disposed below the upper floor level, in a housing especially intended for that purpose, whose interior is sealed substantially hermetically from said room, and which comprises walls which surround at least the heating boiler. Within the framework of the invention, the burner and the heat exchanger are considered to be essential parts of the heating boiler. Consequently it is necessary within the framework of the invention that at least said boiler and seat heat exchanger are accommodated in the special housing. Other components that form part of heating boilers according to the prior art, such as electrotechnical control means, which control the burner, and a circulation pump, for example, can be mounted outside the housing within the framework of the invention, for example in a meter cupboard. Thanks to these characteristic features, it is possible on the one hand to provide the required space for the heating boiler without the available space in a room being reduced, or at least to a substantially smaller extent. As a result, more space will be available for the users of the building. In addition to this, the invention makes it possible, irrespective of the lay-out of the building, to dispose the heating boiler relatively close to the room or rooms to be heated, such as the living room, the kitchen and/or the bathroom, in particular if said rooms are located on the ground floor. This makes it possible to achieve a considerable reduction of the energy losses that occur during transport of heated medium between the heat exchanger and the room to be heated. In principle, the housing functions as an installation box for the heating boiler, whilst it may also seal the heating boiler hermetically form the direct surroundings of the housing. The use of the system according to the invention makes it possible to meet higher requirements as regards comfort, health and safety, at a cost comparable to the cost of using heating systems according to the prior art. One of the main advantages, however, is the substantial saving of energy and the relief of the burden on the environment that can be achieved. In addition, a saving on installation components, such as pipes, can be achieved. It is emphasized that the walls of the housing may also be partially made up of the (for example concrete) walls of a recess, which may or may not be a through recess, in the floor. The bottom side of a through recess can be closed by means of a bottom plate or the like, if necessary.

[0004] Preferably, the housing is at least partially fixed to the floor, so that the floor and the housing will occupy a fixed position relative to each other at all times. The housing is preferably installed in such a manner that the housing is freely suspended and that its bottom side is clear of the surface under said housing.

[0005] A very suitable situation is obtained if the housing is accessible from its upper side. Because of the practically inherent presence of space on the upper side of the housing, such accessibility makes up a universally usable embodiment.

[0006] Such a situation can be effected in a very suitable manner if the housing is accommodated in a recess in the floor which extends vertically downwards from the upper floor level. On the one hand such a recess can easily be closed on the upper side, for example by means of a hatch, whilst on the other hand access to the interior of the housing can easily be obtained via the space above the floor.

[0007] In order to reduce the usable space that is required for the housing with the heating boiler present therein, the housing preferably extends at least partially between the lower floor level and the upper floor level. As a result, part of the space that would be taken up more or less uselessly by the floor if the housing according to the invention were not used, is now usefully taken up by the housing containing the heating boiler.

[0008] An optimum situation from the viewpoint of space is obtained if the housing extends entirely between the lower floor level and the upper floor level. It stands to reason that in such a situation, given a usual thickness of the floor, the heating boiler would have to be of relatively flat construction, which may be unusual, but certainly not impossible.

[0009] In view of installation and maintenance work it is very advantageous if means are provided for moving the heating boiler between positions below the upper floor level and a position wherein the heating boiler, or at least parts thereof, extend above the upper floor level, which means are connected to the housing on the one hand and to the heating boiler on the other hand. In this connection a sliding system or a tilting system may be considered, by means of which the heating boiler can be moved in vertical direction.

[0010] In order to make the installation of the housing as simple as possible, the housing is preferably prefabricated, or said housing comprises at least prefabricated walls. A system of such design makes it possible to install the housing as one unit, after which the heating boiler can be mounted in the housing at a later stage.

[0011] Preferably, in order to make it easier to couple the heating boiler to the pipes connecting thereto, at least one of the walls of the housing includes connections for being coupled to pipes connected to the heating boiler. Said pipes may be fuel pipes, for example, as well as pipes for supplying oxygen or discharging combustion gases, for example, which are necessary when using a closed combustion-type heating boiler.

[0012] The housing preferably comprises metal, plastic or concrete walls, whereby the latter type of material is advantageous in particular if the housing is installed outside the building. On account of their corrosive properties, aluminium and stainless steel are highly suitable materials for the metal walls. Metal, plastic or concrete walls are quite suitable for constructing a hermetic seal of the heating boiler, whereby the housing can readily be used as an installation box for the heating boiler, and also as a receptacle for collecting condensed water.

[0013] An excellent accessibility of the heating boiler is obtained if the housing comprises a cover for opening and closing the housing from the upper side. Preferably, said cover hinges on a horizontal pivot near the upper floor level, although this is not necessary within the framework of the invention.

[0014] According to an advantageous alternative for a position inside the building, it is possible within the framework of the invention to dispose the housing outside the building. This offers the additional advantage that by definition the housing with the heating boiler present therein takes up no space at all. Another advantage of a housing disposed outside the building is the fact that maintenance work by specialists can take place without said specialists necessarily having access to the house, that is, without the presence of a user of the building, for example the occupant of a house, being required.

[0015] When using a housing which is disposed outside the building, it is very advantageous if the system comprises a lock with lock walls which extends from the housing outside the building to the upper side of a floor inside the building for passing pipes from the heating boiler and connecting pipes forming part of the building. Such a lock forms an ideal connecting element between the heating boiler which is located below the upper floor level outside the building on the one hand and the network of heating pipes that extends largely inside the building. Preferably, cocks and switches and the like are fitted in the lock, at least for enabling the heating boiler to function but possibly also for other public utility facilities. As with the housing, the walls of the lock are preferably made of a metal or a plastic, and the lock is preferably prefabricated.

[0016] Preferably, said lock and said housing are provided with openings connecting to each other, so that the passage of pipes from the heating boiler into the lock can take place in an easy manner through said openings. As a matter of fact, it is generally important that the connection between the housing and the lock be watertight, so that the connection of the housing to the lock cannot lead to moisture problems.

[0017] A very advantageous position of the housing is obtained if the housing is installed near an entrance door to the building. Said position near a door may be either on the inside or on the outside of the building. Such a position offers the advantage that it is located near the position where normally the public utility facilities enter a building, whilst sufficient space will be available at all times for the provision of a cover for the housing, in view of the required free space near a door.

[0018] Additional advantages from an energetic point of view are obtained if means are provided for utilizing the heat that is released within the housing for heating a room of the building. In this connection the use of a fan may be considered, which blows hot air from the interior of the housing into said room. Since a housing is used, heat that is emitted by the heating boiler will be confined within the interior of the housing, as a result of which a relatively high temperature may prevail inside the housing, which heat can suitably be used for heating the room.

[0019] The use of the housing according to the invention offers the additional advantage that the heating boiler can be disposed relatively close to a delivery point of hot tap water. Consequently, the heating boiler is preferably also arranged for heating tap water intended for consumption inside the building.

[0020] The system according to the invention can be advantageously combined with a closable meter housing which is disposed outside the building, in which at least one fuel consumption meter for the heating boiler is present. Such a meter housing, which is also capable of accommodating a consumption meter of a public utility facility which is not directly related to the heating boiler, has the additional advantage that said consumption meter does not take up any space up inside the building. In existing buildings, the location of the consumption meter may be moved from a position under a hatch in the crawl space to a position outside the building, as a result of which the crawl space under said hatch becomes available for a housing containing a heating boiler, or for a lock as described above. Preferably, in order to enable third parties to take the meter reading without having to enter the building, it is possible to gain access to the closable meter housing from the outside of the building.

[0021] The invention will now be explained in more detail by means of a number of possible embodiments of the system according to the invention, wherein reference will be made to the following figures, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic top plan view of a first embodiment;

Figure 2 is a sectional view along line II-II in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view along line III-III in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a second possible embodiment;

Figure 5 is a schematic top plan view of a third embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is sectional view along line VI-VI in Figure 5;

Figure 7 sectional view along line VII-VII in Figure 5;

Figure 8 is sectional view along line VIII-VIII in Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is a sectional view corresponding to Figure 7.

[0022] Figures 1 - 3 schematically show in top plan view and in vertical sectional view a first possible embodiment of a heating system according to the invention. A through opening 4 is formed in floor 1, which floor is bounded by the upper floor level 2 on its upper side and by the lower floor level 3 on its lower side, which opening is closed on its upper side by a hatch 5. Present under floor 1 is a crawl space 6, whilst a room 17 is present above floor 1. Room 17 forms part of a building (not shown). Present within through opening 4 is a housing 7, which is fixed to floor 1. Housing 7 is substantially rectangular in shape and comprises a bottom 8 and upright walls 9, 10, 11, 12 which join said bottom along the circumferential edge thereof. The upper side of housing 7 is closed by hatch 5. Present within housing 7 is a heating boiler 13, which is schematically indicated as a rectangular block. The heating boiler is suspended from two arms 14, which are pivotally connected at their ends to side walls 9, 11 of housing 7 on the one hand and to heating boiler 13 on the other hand. Upward tilting movement of arms 14 about pivots 15 causes the heating boiler 13 to be moved upwards, to a position at least partially above the upper floor level, at least if hatch 5 has been removed or opened in advance. In this raised position of heating boiler 13, maintenance work or the like can easily be carried out on said heating boiler 13. Heating boiler is a closed combustion-type boiler, which means that it does not draw the oxygen that is needed for the combustion process from the room 17 above floor 1, but from the outside of the building of which room 17 and floor 1 form part. A tube 18 is present for supplying oxygen from the outside air, which pipe is surrounded by tube 19, which is in turn intended for carrying combustion gases outside the building. Tubes 18 and 19 are connected to heating boiler 13. In addition to this, a gas pipe for supplying gas to be combusted to the heating boiler and pipes that form part of a heating circuit comprising radiators, which extends through the building, are connected to the heating boiler 13. This is not shown in the figures. Preferably, either quick-action couplings are used for connecting pipes or tubes to the heating boiler, or standard couplings, in the latter case in combination with flexible pipework, however, for example in the form of flexible plastic hoses. Also a combination is possible. As a result, it remains possible in a simple manner to raise the heating boiler 13 above the upper floor level 2.

[0023] As is clearly shown in particular in Figures 2 and 3, both housing 7 and heating boiler 13 extend below the lower floor level 3 into the crawl space 6. In those cases wherein floor 1 is not a ground level floor but a first floor level floor, it is also possible and advantageous within the framework of the invention to adapt the dimensions of housing 7 and heating boiler 13 such that bottom 8 of housing 7 is located above lower floor level 3, which also implies that heating boiler 13 extends within the vertical dimensions of floor 1. This means that housing 7 with heating boiler 13 do not take up any space of the room that is positioned under floor 1.

[0024] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view comparable with Figure 3, which shows the manner in which a housing 30 for a heating boiler (not shown) can be accommodated, in accordance with a second preferred embodiment, in a floor 31. The floor is a ribbed-slab/waffle slab-type floor, which is known to those skilled in the art and which is characterized by regularly spaced-apart ribs 32, which extend on the lower side of the floor 31. Such a floor is made of concrete. An opening is formed between two neighbouring ribs 32 for the purpose of receiving a housing 30. In the illustrated situation, floor 31 is not yet provided with a top layer whose upper side corresponds to an upper floor level of floor 31. Housing 30 extends from said upper floor level to a level below the lower floor level 33 at the location of ribs 32. An insulating layer 34 is provided on the underside of floor 31, which insulating layer also extends on the underside of housing 30. Such floor insulation is used in particular with ground level floors.

[0025] Figures 5 - 9 are various schematic (sectional) views of a third preferred embodiment of the heating system according to the invention. Housing 50 is disposed underground on the outside of facade 51 of a building, at the location of a front door 52. On its side facing the facade 51, housing 50 has a projecting nose 54 having a vertical section of inverted U-shape. Positioned within said U-shaped section is a bushing 55, in such a manner that the connection between housing 50 and bushing 50 is liquid-tight. Bushing 55 forms part of a lock 56, which, in the sectional view of Figure 7, comprises a passage 57 of horizontal L-shape. Said passage 57 is accessible from the inner side of facade 51, via opening 65. The lock can be closed by means of a hatch (not shown). A heating boiler 58 is present within housing 50. Pipes connected to the heating boiler 58 are led into the house via the passage 57, of which the interior of bushing 55 forms part. The connections to piping which forms part of the house, such as a hot water pipe or pipes that form part of a network of heating pipes with radiators fitted therein, have been effected within passage 57, to which end persons can obtain access to passage 57 from the upper side, via opening 65. As is apparent in particular from the sectional view of Figure 7, housing 50 is positioned entirely below the surface level 59, whilst lock 56 extends in vertical direction from a position just below the upper floor level 60 to a position just below the lower floor level 61 of floor 62 of the building of which facade 51 forms part. A crawl space 63 is furthermore present under floor 62.

[0026] Figures 8 and 9 show a possible lay-out of the interior of housing 50, wherein use is made of an installation frame 64, by means of which components, such as heating boiler 58, are mounted within housing 50. Besides heating boiler 58, also other equipment may be mounted in housing 50, such as meters for the various public utility facilities and pumps, mechanical ventilation facilities as well as central vacuum cleaning facilities, for example. The piping which is required for such facilities can be led into the house via bushing 55. A revolving stool 65 is provided for the operation and/or maintenance of all the equipment that is present in housing 50, so that persons can carry out their work inside housing 50 while sitting on revolving stool 65.

Claims

1. A system for heating a room of a building comprising a floor which extends between an upper floor level and a lower floor level, which system comprises a heating boiler at least including a burner and a heat exchanger for heating a medium which is transported by means of a network of heating pipes extending from said heat exchanger for delivering heat at a point inside said room which is remote from the heating boiler, characterized in that the heating boiler is disposed below the upper floor level, in a housing especially intended for that purpose, whose interior is sealed substantially hermetically from said room, and which comprises walls which surround at least the heating boiler.

2. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing is at least partially fixed to the floor.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the housing is accessible from its upper side.

4. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the housing is accommodated in a recess in the floor which extends vertically downwards from the upper floor level.

5. A system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that said housing extends at least partially between said lower floor level and said upper floor level.

6. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said housing extends entirely between said lower floor level and said upper floor level.

7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that means are provided for moving the heating boiler between positions below the upper floor level and a position wherein the heating boiler, or at least parts thereof, extend above the upper floor level, which means are connected to the housing on the one hand and to the heating boiler on the other hand.

8. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing is prefabricated or comprises at least prefabricated walls.

9. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the walls of the housing includes connections for being coupled to pipes connected to the heating boiler.

10. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said housing comprises metal, plastic or concrete walls.

11. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said housing comprises a cover for opening and closing the housing from the upper side.

12. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said the housing is disposed outside the building.

13. A system according to claim 12, characterized in that the system comprises a lock with lock walls which extends from the housing outside the building to the upper side of a floor inside the building for passing pipes from the heating boiler and connecting pipes forming part of the building.

14. A system according to claim 13, characterized in that said lock and said housing are provided with openings connecting to each other.

15. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing is installed near an entrance door to the building.

16. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that means are provided for utilizing the heat that is released within the housing for heating a room of the building.

17. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating boiler is also arranged for heating tap water intended for consumption inside the building.

18. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a closable meter housing is disposed outside the building, in which at least one fuel consumption meter for the heating boiler is present.

Drawing