This is a concept to use a material like salt which responds slowly to changes of temperature, to provide a house with the summer’s heat in the winter, and winter’s cooling in the summer.
Shown is a horizontal heat sink (salt, concrete, etc.) which is insulated from the weather except for an exposed end at a distance from the house. The opposite end of the heat sink is exposed inside the house to radiate the temperature it was exposed to six months earlier. Thermally, the heat sink is 6-months long.
Alternately, the roof of a house can be made of a material, the thickness of which would be chosen to have a one-day cycle to insulate the house during the day, and to radiate the day’s accumulated heat inside the house at night. In theory, the thickness could be increased to have a 6-month lag. From that time on, the house receives essentially free heating and air conditioning.
https://www.hineslab.com/thermal-lag-heating
Like this entry?
-
About the Entrant
- Name:Steve Hines
- Type of entry:individual
- Profession:
- Number of times previously entering contest:3
- Steve's favorite design and analysis tools:I like the moment the light bub goes on, when I have that spark of an idea. That's a thrill as an inventor. I also like the wide variety of inventions, and the respect of my piers, whether or not I'm able to license or productize an invention.
- For managing CAD data Steve's company uses:Strata Design 3D CX
- Steve's hobbies and activities:inventing, photography, taking apart cameras.
- Steve belongs to these online communities:CleanTecnica
- Steve is inspired by:I like solving problems. I like the "ah-ha moment" when I come up with an invention.
- Software used for this entry:MscDraft
- Patent status:none