BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The origin of the invention comes from the subject area of mechanical systems for residential and commercial buildings, where there is a need to maintain a desired temperature in case of emergency situation. During the power outage, most buildings that do not have power systems, such as a generator, cannot provide heat. Gas furnaces that rely on fans provide heat during a power outage, however the fan(s) necessary to distribute heat throughout the building are disabled when power is not provided. Generators require a large capital investment, fuel and periodic maintenance.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of Emergroom is to provide a reliable and economical source of heat for some portion of a residential or commercial building in case of a power outage. The cost of the Emergroom is a fraction of traditional backup power sources, and it can be either installed in new construction or retro-fitted for existing construction. Since it is fed by an existing natural gas hot water heater, only minor plumbing alteration and few square feet of wall space are necessary to construct the heater.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows how the heater is connected to the hot water supplied by the boiler, and enclosed in a metal housing which is divided into two components. The upper portion of housing serves to cover the heating unit, while the purpose of the lower portion of the housing is to supply fresh air from outside the building being heated. A ⅜ to ½-inch cooper pipe taps into the hot water system within the building and, as shown in FIG. 1, can either provide hot water for the sink during normal conditions or, in case of power and heating failure, can be re-routed trough the looped piping of the heater. Radiant heat is efficiently transferred to the atmosphere via metal vanes attached to the piping system of the heater. Valves are used to direct the flow of hot water to either the sink or heating unit and sink.
FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the heater, which is located within a metal housing that is attached to a wall. The heater can be mounted anywhere in a room, including adjacent to a sink which would provide the necessary drain piping for the spent hot water. Any room piped with portable hot water and a sanitary sewer drain is suitable for the heater. The fresh air supply pipe enters the heater through the wall, and into the bottom portion of the heater. Radian heat can exhaust directly in to the room, or through a vent in the side of a kitchen cabinet, as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a typical room where the heating unit may be installed. Fresh air is drawn from one end of the room, at the end of the cabinets, and then heated and discharged at the other end, under the sink. Alternatively, the heater may be installed further away from the sink to enhance dissipation of the heat into the room.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention will be described by referring to the numbered components shown in FIG. 1. The heater is enclosed in rectangular shaped metal housing made of painted steel or tin. The housing 1 dimensions vary depending on several factors, including the size of the room, desired temperature, insulation and location of the heater. The hot water is delivered via a ½-inch (typically) cooper conduit and terminates at a tee 6. Two ½-inch ball valves 48, 49 can be operated to direct the hot water either into the heater (open 48, closed 49) or directly to the sink (open 49, close 48). When operating, the heater circulates hot water through a ½-inch cooper pipe 2. The pipe turns back 180 degrees via two 90 degree elbows 32.
Radiant heat transfer is enhanced by aluminum or copper 3 vanes that are spaced ½-inch apart and attached to the copper pipe 2 inside the heater. As the hot water exits the heater, it enters a tee 9. The hot water control valve 11 for a standard faucet 13 is opened to allow the spent hot water to drain in to the sink 14, through the faucet 13, and into the sanitary sewer service line 15.
FIG. 2 shows the 4-inch fresh air supply line 17 which daylights from the building and enters the lower section of the metal housing 1. A 4-inch flange 18 connects the supply line 17 to the housing 4. Brackets 20 and wood screws 21 secure the metal housing to the wall 24. The aluminum or cooper vanes 3 are notched at the bottom 33 to allow a free flow of fresh air from the lower housing 4 to the upper housing 1, trough ⅜-inch wide slats 16 at the top of the lower housing 4, spaced at 2 inches on center. This also enables the heating unit to be supported by the vanes 3 on the lower housing 4. When the unit is installed within based cabinets, a went 27 having twice the area of the fresh air supply line 17 is located near the top of the cabinet end unit. If space is not factor, the heating unit can be installed under the in place of the toe kick, which allows for more effective radian heat transfer in to the room.
The supply of fresh air is regulated through a manually operated butterfly valve 19, as shown on FIG. 3. To minimize the energy required to heat the water, an optional insulated pre-heating tank 45 may be installed to allow to portable water supply to achieve room temperature before being heated in the hot water tank 43.
One embodiment of my invention, as shown on FIGS. 1-3 inclusive, includes an combination of hot water heater with fresh air supplier unit, identified generally by the numeral 34 mounted within exterior standard wall 24 of a conventional frame building, which is shown only fragmentarily in FIGS. 1-3, inclusive. As shown, such wall is characterized by a plurality of 16″ on center studs 24 and has a thickness of no less than 4.5 inches.
As shown, my hot water heater with fresh air supplier unit is comprised of an elongated metal casing 1 which is dual rectangle in cross-section connected to the wall 24 with the screws 21 and metal brackets 20. At the lower portion of the casing 1, at the faraway distance from the outdoor wall, opening is made at the side of the casing 1, as shown on the FIG. 2. At the opening, collar 18 is installed to the casing 1, oriented to the wall 24. Of the collar 18, pipe 36 is extended trough the wall 24 to the wall cap 35, with 90 degree elbows 37 and butterfly valve 19. The other end of the casing 1, lower portion 4 is closed with cap 5. The sliding gate 38 is located at the faraway end of the casing 1, at upper portion.
The half inch cooper pipe 2, as shown on FIGS. 1 and 2, is constructed in “U” shape with two 90 degree elbows 32 with welded metal plates 3 at ½″ o.c. distance. One end of the cooper pipe is connected to the hot water pipe 7 via valve 48 and “T” 6. The other end of the pipe is connected to the “T” 9. The half inch pipe 10 is connected to the half inch diameter standard valve 11. Of the valve 11, standard connection is used for connection to the faucet 13. The hot water pipe 7 is connected to the hot water tank 43, as shown on FIG. 3. The “T” 6 is connected to the “T” 9 with half inch diameter cooper pipe 8, via standard half inch valve 49, as shown on FIG. 1. The pipe 44, which is supplying the hot water tank 43, with cold water, is connected to the other (optional) tank 45, which is located into the building and is not insulated. The tank 45 is connected to the existing interior cold water pipe 47.
The miniature (optional) counter 22 is proposed to be installed along the same wall 24 over the casing 1 with miniature sink 14 and miniature stove 38. On the miniature counter 22 are two openings for air circulation, opening with removable grate 31 and opening with permanent grate 27. Around the miniature counter 22, moldings 30 proposed to be install at the floor 28.
