US-12624843-B2 - Hydronic system and method for heating and cooling a building

Abstract

A hydronic system includes a partition, a first conduit embedded in a first side of the partition, a second conduit embedded in a second side of the partition, a first sheet of finishing material covering the first conduit, a second sheet of finishing material covering the second conduit, and at least one valve and at least one pump. The at least one valve and at least one pump are configured to control a flow of a fluid inside the first conduit and the second conduit. When the hydronic system is operating in an isolating mode, the fluid flows in a first closed loop through the first conduit and the fluid flows in a second closed loop through the second conduit. When the hydronic system is operating in a heat exchange mode, the fluid flows between the first conduit and the second conduit in a third closed loop.

Inventors

• Alexandros Tsamis
• Theodorian Borca-Tasciuc
• Youngjin Hwang

Assignees

• RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240530

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A hydronic system for heating and cooling the rooms of a building, comprising: a partition; a first conduit embedded in a first side of the partition; a second conduit embedded in a second side of the partition; and at least one valve and at least one pump, the at least one valve and the at least one pump are configured to control a flow of a fluid inside the first conduit and the second conduit, wherein, when the hydronic system is operating in an isolating mode, the fluid flows in a first closed loop through the first conduit and the fluid flows in a second closed loop through the second conduit, and when the hydronic system is operating in a heat exchange mode, the fluid flows between the first conduit and the second conduit in a third closed loop.
2. 2 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , further comprising: a first sensor configured to detect a first temperature on the first side of the partition; a second sensor configured to detect a second temperature on the second side of the partition; and a processor configured to select between the isolating mode and the heat exchange mode based on the detected first temperature and the detected second temperature and to control the at least one valve and the at least one pump according to the selected mode.
3. 3 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein the partition comprises an insulation core, and wherein an effective insulation value of the insulation core changes depending on whether the hydronic system is operating in the isolating mode or the heat exchange mode.
4. 4 . The hydronic system of claim 3 , wherein the insulation core comprises a rigid foam material.
5. 5 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit comprises a microcapillary layer.
6. 6 . The hydronic system of claim 5 , wherein the microcapillary layer comprises a plurality of pipes in a parallel arrangement.
7. 7 . The hydronic system of claim 5 , wherein the microcapillary layer comprises a plurality of pipes in a honeycomb-shaped arrangement.
8. 8 . The hydronic system of claim 5 , wherein the microcapillary layer comprises a continuous pipe having a plurality of bends.
9. 9 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit comprises a bladder.
10. 10 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first conduit and the second conduit comprises a plurality of polycarbonate sheets.
11. 11 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , further comprising a first sheet of finishing material covering the first conduit, and a second sheet of finishing material covering the second conduit.
12. 12 . The hydronic system of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the first sheet of finishing material and the second sheet of finishing material comprises a fiber-reinforced polymer panel.
13. 13 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid collector in fluid communication with the at least one pump.
14. 14 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein heat enters the hydronic system through a solar thermal energy collector.
15. 15 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein heat enters the hydronic system through a geothermal vertical loop.
16. 16 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein heat leaves the hydronic system through a geothermal horizontal loop.
17. 17 . The hydronic system of claim 1 , wherein the partition, the first conduit, and the second conduit are provided as a prefabricated partition.
18. 18 . A hydronic network for controlling the temperature within a plurality of rooms of a building, the hydronic network comprising: a plurality of hydronic systems for heating and cooling the rooms of the building, each of the plurality of hydronic systems is integrated into a floor, a ceiling, or a wall of the building, each of the plurality of hydronic systems comprising: a partition; a first conduit embedded in a first side of the partition; a second conduit embedded in a second side of the partition; a first sheet of finishing material covering the first conduit; a second sheet of finishing material covering the second conduit; and at least one valve and at least one system pump, the at least one valve and the at least one system pump are configured to control a flow of a fluid inside the first conduit and the second conduit, wherein, when the hydronic system is operating in an isolating mode, the fluid flows in a first closed loop through the first conduit and the fluid flows in a second closed loop through the second conduit, and when the hydronic system is operating in a heat exchange mode, the fluid flows between the first conduit and the second conduit in a third closed loop; a first sensor configured to detect a first temperature on the first side of the partition; and a second sensor configured to detect a second temperature on the second side of the partition; a network pump configured to supply the fluid to the plurality of hydronic systems; a fluid collector in fluid communication with the network pump; and a processor configured, for each of the plurality of hydronic systems, to select between the isolating mode and the heat exchange mode based on the detected first temperature and the detected second temperature and to control the at least one valve and the at least one system pump according to the selected mode.
19. 19 . The hydronic network of claim 18 , further comprising a solar thermal energy collector configured to supply heat to the hydronic network.
20. 20 . The hydronic network of claim 18 , further comprising a geothermal vertical loop configured to supply heat to the hydronic network, and a geothermal horizontal loop configured to remove heat from the hydronic network.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a continuation application and claims the priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/879,234, filed Aug. 2, 2022, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/228,233, filed Aug. 2, 2021, which are incorporated by reference as if disclosed herein in their entireties. FIELD The present technology relates to heating and cooling systems. More particularly, the present technology relates to a hydronic system for heating and cooling the rooms of a building. BACKGROUND Building sectors are currently responsible for consuming close to 40% of total U.S. primary energy use and are therefore a significant contributor to carbon emissions. Both residential and commercial buildings' energy use is dominated by space heating and cooling, which was 38% of the residential energy use and 29% of the commercial energy use in 2018 in the U.S. The building envelope is the largest single contributor to heating and cooling energy use. On average, about 50% of the thermal load comes directly through the building envelope, and the opaque building envelope—exterior walls, roof, and foundation—affects 25% of total building energy use, which is 10% of total U.S. primary energy use. Therefore, opaque envelope technologies can play a significant role in reducing energy use in buildings. In order to mitigate undesirable heat exchange between the exterior and interior environment through a building envelope, an ideal envelope is considered to be one that offsets all heat transfer regardless of the interior space usage and fluctuating weather conditions to minimize the energy used for heating and cooling. Based on this ideal, the conventional model for building thermoregulation requires technology that maximizes the building's insulation, while all heating and cooling occurs internally through a thermo-electrical system. However, the conventional model has the disadvantages of being somewhat inefficient in that it fails to effectively utilize available hot sources and cold sinks. What is needed, therefore, is an improved heating and cooling system that addresses at least the problems described above. SUMMARY Some embodiments of the present technology provide hydronic heating and cooling systems, which take a different approach from the conventional model. In hydronic systems according to some embodiments of the present technology, opaque building elements (e.g., floors, internal partitions, or external envelopes) have a dynamic behavior, increasing or decreasing their insulation value on demand, based on heating exchange demands and available resources. More specifically, in some embodiments, an integrated heating and cooling module is applied to various opaque building components (e.g., a slab, interior partition, or exterior envelope). In some embodiments, as hardware, the system is a climate adaptive building technology designed to actively manage thermal resistance and store thermal energy. In some embodiments, the system includes a double-sided microcapillary hydronic heating and cooling layer embedded in a composite structural insulation panel. Some embodiments of the invention include any container (e.g., a pipe, a thin panel, etc.) capable of holding a fluid (e.g., water) close to the interior and/or exterior surfaces of a building panel. In some embodiments, the system is a cyber-physical system. In some embodiments, an integrated computational module regulates the dynamic thermal behaviors of the double-sided heating and cooling layer according to changes in environmental conditions, available renewable energy sources, and building thermal demands. In some embodiments, the system utilizes ambient renewable energy resources (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal energy, or low-temperature waste heat). In some embodiments, both the integrated micro-capillary hydronic layer in the inner layer and the integrated microcapillary hydronic layer in the outer layer of a structural element of a building dynamically receives and intelligently distributes available ambient energy via an optimal path through the entire opaque building elements. In some embodiments, the system is constructed by integrating thermal elements into prefabricated modular panels (e.g., structural insulated panels) In other embodiments, the double layer technology is used in other applications (e.g., in a building independently of modular construction). According to an embodiment of the present technology, a hydronic system for heating and cooling the rooms of a building is provided. The hydronic system includes a partition, a first conduit embedded in a first side of the partition, a second conduit embedded in a second side of the partition, and at least one valve and at least one pump. The at least one valve and at least one pump are configured to control a flow of a fluid inside the first conduit and the second conduit. When the hydronic system is operating in an i