Ventilation system for a household appliance

Abstract

A range hood for an appliance. The appliance being located within an environment. The range hood has a suction source, a ventilator, and a duct. The suction source is in fluid communication with the appliance. The ventilator is one of a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV), an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV), or a biological ventilator. The duct fluidly couples the suction source to the ventilator.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A range hood for an appliance provided within an interior of an environment, the stovetop range configured to generate an exhaust fluid when used, the range hood comprising:
 a suction source configured to be in fluid communication with the appliance and configured to draw in the exhaust fluid into the ventilation system;   a ventilator located within the environment, the ventilator being one of a Heat Recovery Ventilator, a biological ventilator, or an Energy Recover Ventilator (ERV); and   a duct directly fluidly coupling the suction source to the ventilator, the ventilator being located downstream of the suction source.   
     
     
         2 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the stovetop is configured to generate a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) defining at least a portion of the exhaust fluid when in use. 
     
     
         3 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the ventilator is the biological ventilator defined by a biowall provided within the interior or along an exterior of the environment. 
     
     
         4 . The range hood of  claim 3 , wherein the biowall includes a connection with the range hood, which transfers the VOCs from stovetop range to the biowall, the connection defining an inlet to the biowall. 
     
     
         5 . The range hood of  claim 4 , wherein the biowall is configured to separate the VOCs from the exhaust fluid. 
     
     
         6 . The range hood of  claim 5 , wherein an outlet of the biowall is defined by an exhaust fluid containing no VOCs. 
     
     
         7 . The range hood of  claim 3 , wherein the biowall includes at least one of soil, moss, plants, or fungi. 
     
     
         8 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the ventilator includes the HRV, the HRV comprising an inlet fluidly coupled to an atmosphere comprising an external air source with respect to the interior of the environment, the inlet defining an inlet fluid flow. 
     
     
         9 . The range hood of  claim 8 , wherein the HRV comprises a ground heat exchanger directly fluidly coupled to the inlet configured to exchange heat between the inlet fluid flow and the ground beneath or surrounding the environment. 
     
     
         10 . The range hood of  claim 9 , wherein the HRV comprises a heat exchanger comprising:
 a first inlet in fluid communication with the ground heat exchanger and the inlet fluid flow; and   a first outlet in fluid communication with the interior of the environment.   
     
     
         11 . The range hood of  claim 10 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises:
 a second inlet in fluid communication with the ventilator and the exhaust fluid; and   a second outlet in fluid communication with the atmosphere.   
     
     
         12 . The range hood of  claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger is configured to heat the inlet fluid flow by transferring heat from the exhaust fluid to the inlet fluid flow. 
     
     
         13 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the appliance is at least one of a stovetop range, a dishwasher, a dryer, or a microwave. 
     
     
         14 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the ventilator is an existing ventilator within the environment. 
     
     
         15 . The range hood of  claim 14 , wherein the appliance is a stovetop range. 
     
     
         16 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the duct is a portion of the existing ventilator. 
     
     
         17 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the environment is a household. 
     
     
         18 . The range hood of  claim 1 , wherein the ventilator is the ERV configured to transfer sensible heat and latent heat. 
     
     
         19 . The range hood of  claim 1 , further comprising a filter. 
     
     
         20 . The range hood of  claim 19 . wherein the filter is located upstream of the suction source.