GB2625104A

GB2625104A - Climate Chamber

Info

Publication number: GB2625104A
Application number: GB2218323.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ratcliffe Jason
Original assignee: Steren Surveyors Ltd
Current assignee: Steren Surveyors Ltd
Priority date: 2022-12-06
Filing date: 2022-12-06
Publication date: 2024-06-12
Also published as: GB202218323D0

Abstract

A climate chamber 10 comprises a body defined by top, back, bottom and a pair of side panels, and has an open front face. A sealing member 26 forms an interface between the front face and the wall section of a building envelope to be tested. A heating element regulates the temperature within the chamber and the wall section and at least one temperature sensor is situated within the chamber. The body is modular and each panel comprises at least one dowel or dowel hole for engaging with an adjacent panel, and the base panel 14 is provided with at least three wheels. Each panel may comprise an outer rigid layer, an intermediate vapour barrier and an internal insulating layer. The chamber may contain at least one humidity sensor. A system for monitoring thermal transmittance comprises a chamber, and room and outside temperature sensors and a data logging platform. A method of calculating thermal transmittance comprises the heating or cooling of a building envelope via a climate chamber for a period of time and monitoring the temperature within the chamber, within the building envelope and at the external wall of the building.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No GI32218323.0 RTM Date June 2023 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Velcro Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo

CLIMATE CHAMBER

FIELD

The present invention relates to a climate chamber for measuring hygrothermal properties of a building envelope.

BACKGROUND

It is a fact of modern insulation technology that older buildings tend to have poorer hygrothermal performance than more modern buildings. Given the lifespan of many buildings is measured in the decades, or even centuries, it stands to reason that there is scope for significant improvement in hygrothermal performance across many building categories. This is a focus area for governments and climate action groups.

Improvement of hygrothermal performance requires an understanding of the thermal transfer properties of a building envelope. Thermal transfer properties are typically determined using large climate chambers that abut a building wall. Temperature loggers measure the temperature: i) within the chamber; ii) within the internal room in which the climate chamber is situated; and iii) at the external wall surface. This way, variations in internal and external environmental conditions may be taken into account when calculating thermal transmittance of the part of the building envelope being tested.

Prior art climate chambers typically require significant construction effort and large vehicles to enable transport of their component parts. Movement of such prior art climate chambers without deconstruction on site is generally not possible due to their size. Consequently, to calculate thermal transmittance of several wall sections requires such prior art climate chambers to be deconstructed, moved, and then reconstructed at a new location.

It is against this background that the present invention has arisen.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate to climate chambers that are designed from a modular construction and configured to enable ease of transport on site. Climate chambers according to embodiments of the present invention generally comprise a box having a top panel, bottom panel, back panel, a pair of side panels, and an open front face. The open front face is bounded by a sealing member configured to interface with a wall section to be tested. The interior of the box comprises a heating element, a cooling element and at least one temperature sensor. Optionally, the interior of the box may also comprise a humidity sensor.

Each panel of the box may be constructed from oriented strand board forming the outer surface of the box, a vapour barrier adhered to the inner surface of the oriented strand board and an insulating material adhered to the inner surface of the vapour barrier.

The vapour barrier may comprise aluminium bubble insulation.

The insulating material may comprise insulating foam. The insulating foam may be rigid foam. The rigid foam may be 20 -200mm thick.

The sealing member may comprise a first elongate pipe insulator adhered to exposed edges of the top, bottom, and side panels. The sealing member may further comprise a second elongate pipe insulator adhered to the first elongate pipe insulator. The first elongate pipe insulator may have a diameter of 10-50mm. The second elongate pipe insulator may have a diameter less than the diameter of the first elongate pipe insulator. A specifically designed aerogel thermal seal may also be used which is a square shaped thermal seal which can then be fixed to the climate chamber by way of double-sided Velcro.

Each panel of the box may be releasably attached by way of a fastener configured to hold adjacent panels together. The fastener may be of an adjustable toggle clamp.

Each panel of the box may comprise a dowel or a dowel hole for engagement with a dowel or dowel hole of an adjacent panel.

The heating element may comprise at least one heating pad. The at least one heating pad may comprise more than one heating pad. The heating element may be supported by the bottom panel of the box. The heating element may be suspended within the box by way of one or more attachment points.

The cooling element may comprise at least one fan assisted electric powered heat sink. The cooling element may be supported by the back panel, top panel or bottom panel. The cooling element may be suspended within the box by way of one or more attachment points.

The box may take the form of a cube having equal dimensions in the X, Y and Z planes of 1000mm.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of calculating thermal transmittance of a building envelope, the method comprising: i) heating/cooling a section of the building envelope via a climate chamber abutting an internal wall of the building envelope for a first time period; ii) upon expiry of the first time period measuring heat transference from the internal wall of the building envelope to an outside wall of the building envelope; iii) heating/cooling the section of the building envelope via the climate chamber for a second time period; iv) continually monitoring the temperature within the climate chamber, inside the building envelope, and at the external wall of the building envelope; v) determining thermal transmittance of the building envelope as a function of the temperatures within the climate chamber, inside the building envelope, and at the external wall of the building envelope.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. The detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended to be given by way of example only.

FIGURES

Aspects and embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of reference to the following figures.

FIG.1 illustrates a first view of a climate chamber according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second view of the climate chamber of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates a third view of the climate chamber of FIGs 1-2. FIG. 4 is a cross-section of a panel of the climate chamber of FIGs 1 -3. DESCRIPTION The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as "lower," "upper," "horizontal," "vertical," "above," "below," "up," "down," "top" and "bottom" as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., "horizontally," "downwardly," "upwardly," etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as "attached," "affixed," "connected," "coupled," "interconnected," and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.

As shown in the figures, an embodiment of the invention discloses a climate chamber 10. The climate chamber 10 is made up from a top panel 12, bottom panel 14, back panel 16 and a pair of side panels 18, 20. Each panel is formed from an outer oriented strand board layer, an intermediate vapour barrier, and an internal layer of insulating foam. FIG. 4 illustrates a side panel 18 where the oriented strand board outer layer is depicted by reference 18a, the intermediate vapour barrier is depicted by reference 18b, and the internal layer of insulating foam is depicted by reference 18c. The insulating panel 18c may comprise a centre fold line to enable the insulating panel 18c to be folded when not in use.

The oriented strand board layer outer layer of each panel is preferably 18mm thick. The internal insulating layer of each panel is preferably 100mm thick. Each of the side panels 18, 20 has dimensions of 1040mm x 1020mm. The back panel 16 has dimensions of 1000mm x 1000mm. The bottom panel has dimensions of 1000mm x 1020mm. The internal volume of the climate chamber is thus nominally 0.764m(w) x 0.922m(I) x 0.784m(w), i.e., 0.552m3. The internal volume of the climate chamber 10 may vary depending on the thickness of the intermediate vapour layer. Each panel of the climate chamber 10 is attached using a fastener 24 for holding adjacent panels together. In one embodiment, the fastener 24 takes the form of adjustable toggle clamp. The bottom panel 14 is provided with at least four wheels to raise the bottom panel 14 off of a ground surface and to enable ease of movement of the climate chamber between locations on site. The side panels 18, 20 comprise aluminium dowels 25 on their bottom and rear edges that engage with dowel holes in the bottom panel 14 and back panel 16. The top panel 12 comprises aluminium dowels 25 on its bottom surface that engage with dowel holes in the top edges of the side panels 18, 20 The front face 22 of the climate chamber 10 is bounded by an elongate sealing member 26. The elongate sealing member 26 provides a sealing interface between the climate chamber and a wall section of a building envelope. An example of elongate sealing member is a length of pipe insulation or aerogel thermal seal. It has been determined that a 28mm NMC PE pipe insulation is optimal in most situations. In situations where a more efficient seal between the climate chamber 10 and the wall section is required, a second length of pipe insulation may be adhered to the 28mm diameter pipe insulation. The second length of pipe insulation is optimally of 19mm diameter. For further improved insulation aerogel thermal seals will be considered of 20mm,30mm,40mm or thicker depths depending on the surface of the construction.

The climate chamber 10 comprises a heating element 28. The heating element optimally consists of a pair of 20-watt heating pads or in some cases a single larger heating pad. The heating elements 28 maintain a constant temperature within the climate chamber and heat the wall section of the building envelope which the climate chamber abuts. The temperature within the climate chamber is monitored by a first temperature sensor 30. The humidity within the climate chamber is monitored by a first humidity sensor (not shown). The temperature within the climate chamber is also regulated by a cooling element 32 that acts as a heat sink (not shown). The heating element 28 may be powered via a mains power supply 34 or rechargeable power supply 38. Where supplied, the cooling element 32 may be powered via the mains power supply 34 or rechargeable battery cell 38. Both the heating element 30 and cooling element 32 may be fixed to one or more panels of the climate chamber 10. In one embodiment, the heating element 30 and cooling element are both fixed to the back panel 16 of the climate chamber 10. External to the back panel 16 of the climate chamber 10, a control panel 36 is provided which is used to set the desired temperature of the climate chamber 10, receive temperature data from the temperature sensor 30 and control the heating element 28 and cooling element 32 accordingly to reach and maintain the desired temperature within the climate chamber 10. A battery cell 38 may also be incorporated into the back panel 16 of the climate chamber 10 for ease of removal/replacement. The mains power supply 34 may be built into the bottom panel of the climate chamber 10.

Once the wall section has been heated for a first time period, i.e., 3 days, thermal imaging apparatus is used to verify efficient thermal transfer from the inside of the wall section to the outside of the wall section. The wall section is then heated for a second time period. During the second time period the temperature and humidity is monitored at three locations: i) within the climate chamber 10; in the room in which the climate chamber 10 is situated; and Hi) at the external surface of the wall section. The data captured from each of the temperature sensors and humidity sensors is amalgamated and used to determine the thermal transmittance of the wall section being tested. The temperature and humidity data is transferred wirelessly from each of the temperature and humidity sensors to a data logging application.

The above embodiments are exemplary only, and other possibilities and alternatives within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A climate chamber comprising: a body defined by a top panel, back panel, bottom panel, and a pair of side panels, the body further comprising an open front face; a sealing member forming an interface between a perimeter of the open front face and wall section of a building envelope to be tested; a heating element configured to heat the climate chamber and the wall section of the building envelope to be tested; at least one temperature sensor situated within the climate chamber, wherein, the body is modular and each panel comprises at least one dowel or dowel hole for engaging with a dowel or dowel hole of an adjacent panel, and the base panel is provided with at least 3 wheels.
2. A climate chamber according to claim 1, wherein the internal volume of the climate chamber is between 0.3-5m3.
3. A climate chamber according to claim 2, wherein the internal volume of the climate chamber is between 0-3.-0.83.
4. A climate chamber according to of claims 1 to 3, wherein each panel of the body comprises an outer rigid layer, an intermediate vapour barrier, and an internal insulating layer.
5. A climate chamber according to claim 4, wherein the outer rigid layer is formed from oriented strand board.
6. A climate chamber according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate vapour barrier is formed from aluminium bubble insulation.
7. A climate chamber according to claim 6, wherein the internal insulating layer is formed from insulating foam.
8. A climate chamber according to any preceding claim, wherein the sealing member is formed from lengths of pipe insulation or aerogel Thermal Seal.
9. A climate chamber according to claim 8, wherein the sealing member is formed from a first length of pipe insulation having a first diameter and a second length of pipe insulation having a second diameter less than the first diameter or an aerogel thermal Seal.
10.A climate chamber according to any preceding claim, wherein each panel of the body is held together by a fastener in the form of adjustable toggle clamps.
11.A climate chamber according to any preceding claim further comprising at least one humidity sensor positioned within the body.
12.A system for monitoring thermal transmittance, the system comprising a climate chamber according to any of claims 1-11, a room temperature sensor, and an outside surface temperature sensor.
13.A system for monitoring thermal transmittance further comprising a room humidity sensor and an outside humidity sensor.
14.A system for monitoring thermal transmittance further comprising a data logging platform.
15.A method of calculating thermal transmittance of a building envelope, the method comprising: i) heating/cooling a section of the building envelope via a climate chamber abutting an internal wall of the building envelope for a first time period; ii) upon expiry of the first time period measuring heat transference from the internal wall of the building envelope to an outside wall of the building envelope; iii) heating/cooling the section of the building envelope via the climate chamber for a second time period; iv) continually monitoring the temperature within the climate chamber, inside the building envelope, and at the external wall of the building envelope; v) determining thermal transmittance of the building envelope as a function of the temperatures within the climate chamber, inside the building envelope, and at the external wall of the building envelope.