Air handling chamber
An air chamber for the housing of air handling components including an interior shell surrounded by an exterior shell, the shells being separated by materials of relatively low thermal conductivity. The interior shell is peripherally mounted on an interior base. The interior base is disposed within an exterior base that supports the exterior shell. A structural thermal insulation material is disposed interstitially between the interior and exterior bases and the interior base and interior shell are thermally isolated from the exterior base and exterior shell.
1. A thermally broken air handling chamber comprising:
a weight bearing exterior base having a pair of spaced apart exterior base side members and a plurality of spaced apart exterior base cross members extending transversely between said exterior base side members, said exterior base presenting a lower, grounding plane of said air handling chamber;
a weight bearing interior base having a pair of spaced apart interior base side members, a plurality of spaced apart interior base cross members having a lower portion and an upper portion, said interior base cross members extending transversely between said interior base side members, and a floor plate in contact with said upper portion of said interior base cross members, said interior base supported by said exterior base with each of said plurality of exterior base cross members being aligned with a respective one of said plurality of interior base cross members in load bearing relationship, said floor plate oriented in spaced apart relationship from said grounding plane;
a structural load bearing thermal insulation material disposed interstitially between said lower portions of respective aligned ones of said interior base cross members and said exterior base cross members, such that said interior base is supported by said exterior base cross members in load bearing, thermally isolated relationship;
a second thermal insulation material disposed between said floor plate and said grounding plane;
an interior shell supported in load bearing relationship by said interior base said interior shell and said interior base cooperating to define an interior chamber;
an exterior shell supported in load bearing relationship by said exterior base said exterior shell being spaced apart from and substantially surrounding said interior shell,
said air handling chamber being clear of structural load bearing coupling that bridges said exterior base and said interior base other than through said load bearing, thermally isolated relationship of said interior base and said exterior base cross members.
2. The air handling chamber of claim 1 further comprising structure that defines at least one air passage that passes from one of said exterior shell and said exterior base to said interior chamber.
3. The air handling chamber of claim 1 wherein said interior shell comprises a sidewall portion and a ceiling portion, said ceiling portion being supported by said sidewall portion of said interior shell.
4. The air handling chamber of claim 1 wherein the thermal conductivity of said first and second thermal insulation materials is less than 1 watt per meter per Kelvin.
5. The air handling chamber of claim 1 wherein the thermal conductivity of said second thermal insulation material is less than 0.05 watt per meter per Kelvin.
6. The air handling chamber of claim 1 further comprising a feed through having a thermal insulative coupling that penetrates said interior base or said interior shell, wherein the thermal conductivity of said thermal insulative coupling is less than 1 watt per meter per Kelvin.
7. The air handling chamber of claim 1 wherein
said interior shell is comprised of a plurality of interior wall panels, said plurality of interior wall panels including rib portions that are adjoined to define a plurality of interior seams,
said exterior shell is comprised of a plurality of exterior wall panels, said plurality of exterior wall panels including rib portions that are adjoined to define a plurality of exterior seams,
said second thermal insulation material being disposed between said interior shell and said exterior shell such that air that leaks between adjoined ribs of said interior seams and between adjoined ribs of said exterior seams also passes through said second thermal insulation material.
8. The air handling chamber of claim 7 wherein at least one of said plurality of interior seams are aligned approximately midway between an adjacent pair of said exterior seams in a staggered arrangement.