GB2510791A

GB2510791A - Chimneys

Info

Publication number: GB2510791A
Application number: GB1003180.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tony Brett Calvert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-02-25
Filing date: 2010-02-25
Publication date: 2014-08-20
Also published as: GB201003180D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to chimneys to be mounted at a building roof. An air inlet 10, 12 is provided in the chimney stack 4 through which external airflows (e.g. wind) can enter the interior 20 of the chimney. An air outlet 14 or chimney pot 8 allows airflows to leave the chimney. A wind turbine device 16, 18 is located in the interior of the chimney between the air inlet 10 and the air outlet 14 or chimney pot 8 for generating electrical power. The wind turbine device may comprise one or more blades arranged to rotate about a substantially vertical axis. The location of the air inlets may be varied. The chimney may comprise a chimney stack, crown and a chimney pot. The chimney may be a replica chimney.

Description

TITLE

Chimneys

DESCRIPTION

S Technical Field

The present invention relates to chimneys, and in particular to chimneys that are mounted to building roofs.

Background Art

Many buildings include a chimney. The chimney can be a proper working chimney that vents hot gases and smoke from a fireplace to the outside atmosphere, or a replica chimney that is mounted to the roof for cosmetic reasons or to meet planning requirements. A replica chimney is usually made of a lightweight material such as fibreglass or glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and its external surfaces can be designed to simulate traditional building materials such as brick, render or masonry.

There is a growing desire for individuals and businesses to be able to generate electricity from renewable energy sources using wind turbines, solar voltaic panels etc. in order to reduce utility charges and take advantage of feed-in tariffs that allow any excess electricity to be supplied to the national power grid. However, it is a recognised problem that renewal energy devices cannot always be installed where they are wanted. For example, a wind turbine cannot be secured to an existing chimney stack unless it is sufficiently strong to provide adequate support. Planning regulations can also sometimes prevent wind turbines and solar voltaic panels from being installed, particularly if the property has listed status or is located in a conservation area.

Summary of the Invention

The installation problems mentioned above may be overcome by use of the present invention, which is a chimney that contains an integral wind turbine device. The chimney is designed to be mounted at a building roof and comprises: an air inlet through which external airfiows (e.g. airfiows such as wind currents that are external to the building or structure to which the chimney is mounted) can enter the interior of the chimney; an air outlet; and a wind turbine device located in the interior of the chimney between the air inlet and the air outlet for generating electrical power.

S The chimney provides a rigid structure which allows the integral wind turbine device to be mounted to a building roof in a safe and secure manner. The chimney can have any suitable overall shape and size and the exterior of the chimney can be designed to simulate traditional building materials such as brick, render or masonry to satisiS' planning regulations or to match existing chimneys. The wind turbine device is contained within the hollow interior of the chimney and is not visible at all to neighbours or passers by. This makes the chimney particular suitable for use on properties where the visual impact of a wind turbine is important (e.g. for properties with listed status or that are located in a conservation area).

The chimney can have a ridge or mono pitch design so that it can be mounted at the apex or gable of the building roof or at one of the sloping sides. The chimney can be installed by securing it to the building roof using conventional mechanical fixings (e.g. by bolting it onto the roof trusses). The chimney will often be designed as a complete chimney but in some cases it can be designed as just the upper part of a chimney which is secured to the lower part of an existing chimney stack. This means that an existing chimney stack does not need to be completely replaced if it is already properly secured to the building roof. The upper part of the existing chimney can simply be removed and the new chimney with the integral wind turbine device can be secured to the remaining lower part.

The chimney is preferably constructed from a lightweight material such as fibreglass, glass reinforced plastic (GRP) or the like.

The chimney will preferably be supplied as a fully integrated product with the wind turbine device properly mounted and fixed within the substantially hollow interior.

The wind turbine device may have any suitable construction with a turbine assembly, electrical generator and any associated power converter and auxiliary controls that enable it to be connected to the mains power supply. The turbine assembly will be connected to the rotor of the electrical generator, either directly or by means of a gearbox. The airfiows through the interior of the chimney between the air inlet and the air outlet are used to drive the wind turbine device to produce electricity.

The wind turbine device (or more particularly the turbine assembly) may include one or more turbine blades, typically arranged to rotate about a substantially vertical axis.

However, the turbine blades may be arranged to rotate about any suitable or convenient axis depending on the chimney construction.

The wind turbine device can be located in an upper portion of the interior of the chimney.

In some cases, it may be possible to locate two or more wind turbine devices within the chimney.

The air inlet can be located at any suitable location for the maximum capture of external airfiows, taking into account computer models or simulations that predict how such airfiows move past and over certain buildings. It will be readily appreciated that maximising capture of external airfiows will maximise the amount of electricity that is generated by the wind turbine device.

More than one air inlet can be provided at different locations around the chimney.

One suitable location for the air inlet might be at a lower portion of the chimney, preferably so that it is substantially at, or adjacent to, the building roof to which the chimney is mounted. This is because any external airflows hitting the side of the building or the sloping roof will be forced upwards towards the apex of the roof and should enter the interior of the chimney through the suitably located air inlet. The air inlet can also be located at an upper portion of the chimney that is substantially at, or adjacent to, the turbine assembly.

The air inlet can be permanently open or be capable of being selectively opened and closed (e.g. by shutters or louvers) to control the external airfiows entering the chimney. For example, if the external airfiows reach a level were the wind turbine device might be damaged then the air inlet might be fully or partially closed. The means for opening and closing the air inlet can be controlled automatically with reference to the external conditions andlor the real-time operating conditions of the wind turbine generator.

The air inlet can be covered by a suitable mesh or screen to prevent debris from entering the interior of the chimney.

The air outlet can be located at an upper portion of the chimney.

The chimney may include a chimney stack, a crown (or capping) and a chimney pot.

In this case, the air inlet can be formed at a suitable location in the chimney stack.

The air outlet can be defined by the chimney pot and/or formed in the chimney crown (i.e. the top part of the chimney which caps the chimney stack and supports the chimney pot).

The chimney can be a replica chimney for cosmetic purposes and not designed to be a working chimney. However, the chimney can also be a working chimney that includes a flue. In this case it is generally preferred that the flue is constructed so that the hot gases and smoke are vented to the outside atmosphere and do not come into contact with the wind turbine device. In one particular arrangement the flue can be adapted so that it does not vent hot gases and smoke from a fireplace but instead its lower end is routed to an external wall of the building. In this case the air inlet for the chimney can be defined by the flue. In other words, the flue can be used to channel external airfiows to the interior of the chimney.

Drawings Figure 1 is a front view of a chimney according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the chimney of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the chimney of Figure 2.

A replica chimney includes a flashing detail and plinth 2, a chimney stack 4, a crown 6 and a chimney pot 8. The exterior surface of the chimney stack 4 can be designed to simulate traditional materials such as brick or masonry to satisfj planning requirements. The overall shape and size of the chimney, number of chimney pots etc. can all be designed to meet specific requirements.

Air inlets 10 are formed at a lower portion of the chimney stack 4 on the sides that will face the sloping roof of the building. Additional air inlets 12 are provided at an upper portion of the chimney stack 4. It will be readily appreciated that the inlets 10, 12 are located to try and maximise the capture of wind currents that are blowing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the apex of the roof. This is because any wind currents that blow against the side of the building or the roof will be channelled upwardly along the roof towards the chimney stack 4. Additional inlets I 2a may be provided on the other two sides of the chimney stack to try and capture any wind currents that are blowing in a direction substantially parallel to the apex of the roof.

The chimney pot 8 defines an air outlet and additional air outlets 14 are provided in the crown 6.

A wind turbine device is mounted inside the hollow interior 20 of the chimney. The wind turbine device includes a turbine assembly 16 with a plurality of blades and a generator 18. The wind turbine device is shown mounted at an upper portion of the chimney stack because it is common for this part of the chimney stack to be slightly wider than the base. This means that a larger turbine assembly can be usefully accommodated. However, it will be readily appreciated that the wind turbine device can be mounted at any suitable position inside the chimney as long as it is located between an air inlet and an air outlet. The wind turbine device can be secured by radial support members (not shown) which extend between a mounting part of the device and the chimney.

Although not shown, additional structures can be provided inside the chimney to control and channel the airfiows through the chimney, and in particular in the vicinity of the turbine assembly 16. The external airfiows entering the chimney are unlikely to be constant or steady. The additional structures could try to reduce or eliminate the problem of turbulent airfiows within the interior of the chimney and make the airfiows as steady as possible as they pass the wind turbine device for efficient electricity generation. The ability to provide such additional structures is one advantage over conventional wind turbine devices. There is also no need for the wind turbine device to rotate into the wind and its design can be simplified to allow it to be fixedly mounted within the chimney. Typically, the turbine assembly 16 of the wind turbine device will be configured to rotate about a vertical axis.

Figure 3 shows the chimney secured to the roof structure 22. External airfiows can enter the interior of the chimney through the inlets 10 at the lower portion of the chimney stack and through the additional inlets 12, 1 2a in the vicinity of the turbine assembly 16. The external airfiows pass upwardly through the hollow interior 20 of the chimney and out through the chimney pot 8 and the air outlets 14 that are provided in the chimney crown 6. The airfiows may pass through the annular space between the generator 18 and the inner surface of the chimney pot 8. As the airfiows move past the wind turbine device they act on the turbine blades of the turbine assembly 16 and cause it to rotate. This in turn results in the generation of electricity by the generator 18.

The airfiows into and out of the chimney are represented in Figure 3 by the bold arrows.

The chimney is designed as a finished commercial product with the wind turbine device being fixedly mounted iii the hollow interior and forming an integral part of the product.

Claims

CLAIMSI. A chimney to be mounted at a building roof; the chimney comprising: an air inlet through which external airfiows can enter the interior of the chimney; an air outlet; and a wind turbine device located in the interior of the chimney between the air inlet and the air outlet for generating electrical power.
2. A chimney according to claim I, wherein the wind turbine device includes one or more turbine blades arranged to rotate about a substantially vertical axis.
3. A chimney according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the wind turbine device is located in an upper portion of the interior of the chimney.
4. A chimney according to any preceding claim, wherein the air inlet is located at a lower portion of the chimney that is substantially at or adjacent to the building roof to which the chimney is mounted.
5. A chimney according to any preceding claim, wherein the wind turbine device includes a turbine assembly and the air inlet is located at an upper portion of the chimney that is substantially at or adjacent to the turbine assembly.
6. A chimney according to any preceding claim, wherein the air outlet is located at an upper portion of the chimney.
7. A chimney according to any preceding claim, further comprising a chimney stack, a crown and a chimney pot.
8. A chimney according to claim 7, wherein the air inlet is formed in the chimney stack.
9. A chimney according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the air outlet is defined by the chimney pot and/or formed in the chimney crown.
10. A chimney according to any preceding claim, further comprising a flue.
11. A chimney according to claim 10, wherein the air inlet is defined by the flue.
12. A chimney according to any preceding claim, being in the form of a replica chimney.
13. A chimney substantially as described herein and with reference to the drawings.