EP3993755A1

EP3993755A1 - Thermal device and method for operating same

Info

Publication number: EP3993755A1
Application number: EP20721429.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Daniel Wirth; Flurin CABALZAR
Original assignee: Fit & Wellness Concept GmbH
Current assignee: Fit & Wellness Concept GmbH
Priority date: 2019-07-04
Filing date: 2020-03-28
Publication date: 2022-05-11
Also published as: CA3145761A1; US20230000721A1; US12303458B2; AT17118U1; AT522729A2; DE102020108925A1; WO2021001067A1

Abstract

A thermal device with a heatable and ventilatable thermal cabin (2) for at least one person is equipped with adjustable heating means (4) and with adjustable ventilation means (6) and, optionally, with a temperature sensor (8). Furthermore, detection means (10) are present for the continuous detection of the presence of persons situated in the thermal cabin, said detection means interacting with a heating control apparatus (12) for the heating means (4). As a result of a base heating power being able to be set when no one is present and a comparatively higher operational heating power being able to be set when someone is present, the power requirements when operating the thermal device can be significantly reduced.

Description

Thermal equipment and method of operating the same

Technical area

The invention relates to a thermal device according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for operating the same.

State of the art

Thermal facilities such as saunas, steam baths, etc. are used on a large scale today and form a fundamental aspect of today's leisure, hotel and sports infrastructure. The energy consumption associated with the operation of such facilities is considerable and shows a need for optimization from both an ecological and an economic point of view. In particular, there is the problem of occupancy rates that vary over the course of the day. Depending on the type of facility, the time of day, the day of the week and / or the season, some facilities may alternate between vacant times and busy periods.

DE19846678A1 relates to a generic thermal device. In particular, a commercially usable larger bathing cabin for saunas or steam bathing is described, which is operated over longer operating times with fluctuating occupancy. In order to save heating energy, the air flow rate is adapted to the occupancy density, this being done by appropriate sensors that use body weight or body contours for switching processes.

Presentation of the invention

The object of the invention is to provide an improved thermal device with which, in particular, a further reduction in energy consumption is made possible. Another object of the invention is to provide a method for operating the thermal device according to the invention. These tasks are achieved by the thermal device defined in claim 1 and by the method defined in claim 7.

The thermal device according to the invention has a heatable and ventilable thermal cabin for at least one person, the thermal cabin being equipped with adjustable heating means and with adjustable ventilation means and, if necessary, with a temperature sensor. The fact that detection means for continuously detecting the presence of people in the thermal cabin are available, which interact with a heating control device for the heating means in such a way that a basic heating output can be set in the absence of presence and a comparatively higher operational heating output can be set if there is a presence , the energy requirement can be reduced to a surprising extent, especially with fluctuating occupancy.

In accordance with the above approach, in the method according to the invention, the heating means are operated with a basic heating output when there is no presence and with a comparatively higher operational heating output when they are present.

In the present context, "thermal facility" is to be understood as a collective term for any facility in which one or more people are in an environment with increased temperature and possibly humidity for a certain time. Likewise, the term “thermal cabin” is to be understood quite generally as a defined space of the thermal facility in which the said temperature and humidity environment is created and maintained. In addition to one or, if necessary, several thermal baths, the thermal facility usually includes other rooms and areas such as the entrance area, cloakroom, sanitary facilities and relaxation / break area (s). Accordingly, the present invention is used in particular in connection with hot air baths, saunas, steam baths and infrared cabins in all of their configurations. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the heating power to be used depends largely on the size and type, but also on the design of the respective thermal facility. In certain cases, the device can be operated with a base heating power of zero, ie if there is no presence, there is no heating at all. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the device according to the invention does not necessarily have to be operated around the clock according to the method according to the invention.

In general, it should be noted that the extent to which the heating output is reduced when there is no absence in comparison to the operational heating output, and thus also the extent of the energy savings that can be achieved, depends on a number of factors. This includes in particular the size and construction of the thermal bath cabin, but also the type of thermal bath cabin or the temperature range generally considered to be acceptable.

Advantageous refinements and embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

In a simple embodiment, the detection means are only designed to determine and report the basic presence of people in the thermal bath. It is only recorded whether the thermal bath cabin is unoccupied ("missing presence") or whether at least one person is in it. According to an advantageous embodiment (claim 2), the detection means are also designed to detect the number of people in the thermal bath cabin. Based on this additional information, the heating power to be applied can be controlled in a more differentiated manner.

Although the presence-dependent control of the heating means provided according to the invention allows a considerable reduction in the energy requirement, it is advantageous (claim 3) if the detection means additionally interact with a ventilation control device for the ventilation means in such a way that a basic air flow rate is set in the absence of presence and a comparatively higher operational air flow rate is set in the presence of the latter. Accordingly (claim 14) the ventilation means are advantageously operated with a basic air flow rate when there is no presence and with a comparatively higher operational air flow rate when there is a presence.

Devices for detecting the presence or the number of people in a defined room are basically known and can also be used accordingly within the scope of the present invention, provided that the sensors used for this purpose are compatible with the temperature and humidity conditions prevailing in the thermal bath. To increase the reliability, it can be useful to use several sensors, in particular several types of sensors. According to an advantageous embodiment (claim 4), the detection means comprise at least one infrared sensor and a door contact device.

The thermal device according to the invention can be implemented in a wide variety of configurations, with various types of heating means being possible in particular. In one embodiment (claim 5) the adjustable heating medium is designed as a sauna heater. As is well known, this is a stove covered with stones or the like, which acts as a heat store to a certain extent.

In a further embodiment (claim 6), the adjustable heating means are designed as a steam generator as they are used in particular in steam baths, Turkish baths, hamams and the like. Furthermore, for example, infrared emitters can also be used as heating means.

The mentioned heating means are depending on the type with electricity, gas, oil or Geothermal energy (heat pump) supplied.

In one embodiment of the method (claim 8), the basic heating power is essentially constant. As already mentioned at the beginning, the base heating power can be zero (claim 9), in other cases it is kept at a base value to be determined in advance. Alternatively (claim 10) the basic heating output is regulated in such a way that a predefined basic temperature range is maintained in the thermal bath cabin. These measures ensure that the temperature in the thermal bath cabin does not drop too much, even during longer periods of vacancy. In the latter case, if a person enters after a long period of vacancy, an undesirable waiting time until the planned cabin temperature is reached would have to be accepted.

In one embodiment (claim 11), the operational heating power, which is used when people are present in the thermal bath, is essentially constant. In a further embodiment (claim 12), the operational heating output is set according to the number of people present in the thermal cabin. This embodiment does not necessarily require that a different operational heating output is set for each number of people. Particularly in the case of larger thermal facilities, it can be useful to set the operational heating output according to a step-by-step criterion such as "1 to 2 people", "3 to 5 people" and "more than 5 people". According to another embodiment (claim 13), the operational heating power is regulated in such a way that a predefined effective temperature range is maintained in the thermal cabin. In this case, too, it is basically determined in accordance with the invention whether or not a person is present in the thermal bath room, and only in the case of presence is the comparatively higher operational heating output generally switched to. The latter is now finely regulated with the help of a temperature sensor provided for this purpose. Brief description of the drawings

Embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below with reference to the drawings, showing:

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of an inventive Ther mal device, in a perspective view;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary operating diagram when using the method according to the invention, and FIG

3 each shows an exemplary operating diagram in use

a) a process according to the state of the art;

b) the method according to the invention in winter operation;

c) of the method according to the invention in summer operation.

Ways of Carrying Out the Invention

The thermal device shown in Fig. 1 has a heatable and Belüftba Ren thermal cabin 2, which is equipped with adjustable heating means 4 in the form of a sauna heater. In addition, the thermal facility includes all-in-one ventilation means designated as 6 and two temperature sensors 8. In addition, there are overall detection means designated as 10 for the continuous detection of the presence of people in the thermal cabin, which together with a heating control device 12 for the heating means 4. work. With the configuration shown, a basic meat output can be set in the absence of presence, i.e. if the thermal bath cabin is empty, and a comparatively higher operative meat output can be set if the room is present.

In the example shown, the detection means 10 are additionally connected to a ventilation control device 14 for the ventilation means 6. This allows for If there is no presence, set a basic air flow rate and, if there is someone present, set a comparatively higher operational air flow rate.

In the example shown, the detection means 10 comprise two infrared sensors 16 positioned above the entrance area and a door contact device 18 which is connected to the car door 20.

As also shown schematically in FIG. 1, the Heizsteuerungsein direction 12 can be implemented as a central control unit 22, which are in contact with the various sensors and control elements via corresponding lines. These can be wired connections as well as wireless connections.

The ventilation means 6 comprise a fan assembly 24 connected to the control unit 22, an air supply line 26, an exhaust air line 28 and here also an additional post-drying line 30, which are equipped with controllable flaps 32.

The operation of a thermal device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 2 using the example of a sauna. The profile called "temperature" actually consists of three curves, namely the measured values from two temperature sensors and the mean value thereof. The two measurement curves are practically congruent, and so are their mean values.

During the day there was mostly one person, at times two people or no person in the sauna room. The operational heating output was provided as a pulse operation with 7 kW peak output each; A continuous feed of 1 kW was used as the basic heating output.

In the initial phase up to about 10.15 h, the cabin temperature was increased after the night break. The sauna cabin was open from around 1:45 p.m. to around 3:15 p.m. empty. In this absence phase, the heating output was reduced considerably, whereas the ventilation rate was not changed. In this example, the heating power was despite lowering takes only a very small temperature decrease of approximately 5 ^Q C that do not Festge of a subsequently occurring person would provide.

Another example of the operation of a thermal device according to the invention in comparison with a conventional thermal device is shown in FIG.

As in the previous example, the profile referred to as “temperature” actually consists of three curves, namely the measured values from two temperature sensors and the mean value thereof. The two measurement curves are practically congruent, and accordingly their mean value as well.

In the comparative example of FIG. 3 a, a conventional thermal device was operated with a heating power that operated in pulse mode but was essentially constant and in particular was independent of the number of people in the sauna room. As expected, was maintained at the temperature after warming up fänglichen largely constant in the range of about 87 and 91 ^Q C. Incidentally, the same behavior would be expected with the thermal device according to the invention if it were operated in the empty state. The heating energy averaged over the entire measurement period shown was 30.72 KWh.

In the example of FIG. 3b, the thermal device according to the invention was operated in accordance with a scenario that is typical for winter times or a comparatively high frequency of use. The target temperature was set to 90 ^° C. and the minimum temperature to 50 ^° C. As can be seen from the curves, the heating output was regulated depending on the current number of people.

The cabin temperature was good after the initial warm-up phase acceptable range between approx. 73 and 90 ^ºC . The heating energy averaged over the entire measurement period shown was 28.55 KWh, which means a saving of at least approx. 8% compared with the comparative example in FIG. 3a.

In the example of FIG. 3c, the thermal device according to the invention was operated in accordance with a scenario typical for summer times or a comparatively low usage frequency. The target temperature was again set to 90 ^° C. and the minimum temperature to 50 ^° C. As can be seen from the curves, the heating output was again regulated depending on the current number of people. The cabin temperature could wärmphase in an acceptable range between about 50 and 90 ^Q C to be kept on after the initial. The heating energy averaged over the entire measurement period shown was only 10.76 KWh, which means a very considerable saving of approx. 65 compared to the comparative example in FIG. 3a.

Claims

1. Thermal facility, with a heatable and ventilated thermal cabin (2) for at least one person, the thermal cabin being equipped with adjustable heating means (4) and with adjustable ventilation means (6) and possibly with a temperature sensor (8),

characterized,

that detection means (10) for the continuous detection of the presence of people in the thermal cabin are available, which cooperate with a heating control device (12) for the heating means (4) in such a way that if there is no presence, a basic heating output and if there is a presence a comparatively higher operational heating output is set.

2. Thermal device according to claim 1, wherein the detection means are additionally designed to detect the number of people in the thermal bath cabin.

3. Thermal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection means additionally with a ventilation control device (14) for the ventilation means

(6) Interaction in such a way that a basic air flow rate is set in the absence of presence and a comparatively higher operational air flow rate is set in the presence of a person.

4. Thermal device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the Erfas

means (10) comprise at least one infrared sensor (16) and a door contact device (18).

5. Thermal device according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the adjustable heating means (4) are designed as a sauna heater.

6. Thermal device according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the einstellba Ren heating means (4) are designed as a steam generator or as an infrared radiator.

7. A method for operating a thermal device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating means are operated in the absence of presence with a base heating power and in the presence of a comparatively higher operational heating power.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the base heating power is substantially constant.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the base heating power is zero.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the base heating power is regulated in such a way that a predefined base temperature range is maintained in the thermal cabin.

1 1. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the Operativ-Heizlei stung is substantially constant.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operational heating power is adjusted according to the number of people present in the thermal bath.

13. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the Operativ-Heizlei stung is regulated such that a predefined effective temperature range is maintained in the thermal cabin.

14. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 13, wherein the ventilation means in the absence of presence with a basic air throughput and when there is Presence can be operated with a comparatively higher operational air throughput.