Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/10—Control of fluid heaters characterised by the purpose of the control
  • F24H15/144—Measuring or calculating energy consumption
  • F24H15/148—Assessing the current energy consumption
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/10—Control of fluid heaters characterised by the purpose of the control
  • F24H15/156—Reducing the quantity of energy consumed; Increasing efficiency
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/10—Control of fluid heaters characterised by the purpose of the control
  • F24H15/174—Supplying heated water with desired temperature or desired range of temperature
  • F24H15/175—Supplying heated water with desired temperature or desired range of temperature where the difference between the measured temperature and a set temperature is kept under a predetermined value
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/20—Control of fluid heaters characterised by control inputs
  • F24H15/212—Temperature of the water
  • F24H15/223—Temperature of the water in the water storage tank
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/20—Control of fluid heaters characterised by control inputs
  • F24H15/269—Time, e.g. hour or date
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/20—Control of fluid heaters characterised by control inputs
  • F24H15/281—Input from user
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/30—Control of fluid heaters characterised by control outputs; characterised by the components to be controlled
  • F24H15/355—Control of heat-generating means in heaters
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H15/00—Control of fluid heaters
  • F24H15/40—Control of fluid heaters characterised by the type of controllers
  • F24H15/414—Control of fluid heaters characterised by the type of controllers using electronic processing, e.g. computer-based
  • F24H15/421—Control of fluid heaters characterised by the type of controllers using electronic processing, e.g. computer-based using pre-stored data
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24H—FLUID HEATERS, e.g. WATER OR AIR HEATERS, HAVING HEAT-GENERATING MEANS, e.g. HEAT PUMPS, IN GENERAL
  • F24H9/00—Details
  • F24H9/20—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
  • F24H9/2007—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices for water heaters
  • F24H9/2014—Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices for water heaters using electrical energy supply
  • F24H9/2021—Storage heaters

Definitions

• the object of this invention is a new method for the management of water maintenance temperature in a generic storage water heater controllable by electronic control.
• the preset temperature T.set at which the storage water heater is kept is much higher than said useful temperature T.u, moreover, it is capable of ensuring, through mixing with cold water, amounts of water at useful temperature T.u much larger than the storage volume.
• the methane distribution network at least in certain zones, is overloaded in certain periods, for example during room heating; as a consequence, it is not excluded that sooner or later, methane suppliers may activate rate policies aimed at encouraging the postponement of consumptions, delaying them to certain low consumption time bands, as it happens with electrical energy.
• energy supply network means without distinction both the supply of electrical energy and of methane, whereas
• heating element means without distinction both the group of electrical resistances of an electrical water heater and the combustion unit of a gas water heater.
• the method according to the invention usefully applies to both electrical and gas storage water heaters.
• the main object of the ECO method is to reduce thermal energy dispersions, being equal the temperature of water made available to the user at the time of the first expected use.
• a further object of the ECO method is to take advantage of the energy time bands at reduced rate.
• a further object of the ECO method consists in preventing overloads in the household methane or electrical energy distribution network at the beginning of the reduced rate bands, when other appliances that activate at that time are connected to the same network.
• a further object of the ECO method is to adjust the water temperature, automatically adjusting it to the actual user's requirements.
• Figure Ia shows different possible distributions of time bands ad reduced rates.
• Figure Ib shows the period of supply of the heating elements of a storage water heater, respectively without ECO method (continuous line) and with ECO method
• Figure Ic shows the thermal profile of the water contained in the storage water heater, without the ECO method (continuous line) and with the ECO method
• Figure 2 shows an operating example of the storage water heater with the ECO method, according to the "Optimisation" function.
• the ECO method allows reducing consumptions by thermal dispersion acting according to two main procedures, each envisaging multiple variants.
• the first function hereinafter called “Delay” is intended to carry out the heating of the appliance to the preset temperature T.set during the time band at reduced rate, but postponing the complete heating as much as possible, so that it may end just before the end of such time band at reduced rate (the so-called peak-off period).
• the second function hereinafter called “Optimisation”, optimises the maintenance temperature automatically reducing the preset value T.set if the water heater is not usually used at full capacity thereof, that is, if the user has set a temperature T.set unusually high for his/her actual uses.
• the ECO method may be activated/deactivated by pressing a simple key, for example located on the front of the generic storage water heater, or the Delay and Optimisation functions may be activated independently of each other, only one or both.
• the Delay function shall now be described in greater detail.
• the water heater electronic control monitors the energy supply network to identify the current rate type.
• the electronic control has the water heating speed v.r pre-stored, according to the model of water heater it is installed on; in fact, such speed is known knowing the electrical power P.w, the thermal dispersions Q.d and the thermal capacity C of the water heater model in question. It is noted, however, that such speed may be considered as valid only if a certain approximation is accepted, that is, if we set aside the fact that, according to the type of each model in operation:
• the thermal power of the heating element P.w is variable for tolerances of execution of the electrical resistances and for fluctuations, considerable as well, of the actual mains voltage beyond the nominal value, or for variations of the gas calorific power;
• the thermal capacity C is variable according to the amount of scale deposited on the electrical resistances and on the rod of the adjustment thermostat.
• the electronic control at the beginning of a band at reduced rate F.rid starts a heating step F.2 during which: - it detects the initial water temperature T.2 inside the water heater; - reads in its memory: the pre-stored water heating speed v.r, and the pre-stored time of end of the band at reduced rate F.rid;
• said heating step F.2 suitable for reaching the preset temperature T.set starting from said initial temperature T.2, is preceded by a preheating step F.1.
• the water heater is made to reach a stand-by temperature T.sb, generally much lower than the water temperature set by the user T.set and preferably equal or close to the useful temperature T.u which, for example, is equal to 45 °C.
• the electronic control records the actual time Dt.1 of preheating from the initial temperature T.1 to the stand-by temperature T.sb.
• the electronic control, the initial T.I and stand-by T.sb temperatures and the actual time Dt.1 of the first preheating step F.I being known, is capable of calculating the actual heating speed v.r of the water heater in those specific operating conditions and replacing the data optionally pre-stored with the new updated value.
• the preheating step F.I as described offers the advantages of: avoiding said possible power absorption peaks,
• the heating step F.2 for reaching the preset temperature T.set follows, exactly as already described above, wherein of course: - the initial temperature T.2 substantially coincides, except for a slight cooling for thermal dispersions, with the stand-by temperature T.sb reached at the end of the preheating step F.I, and the heating speed v.r used is that stored in the previous preheating step F.1.
• Said recalculation of the heating speed v.r may be carried out for each subsequent preheating step F.I so as to always keep its value updated.
• the Delay function allows money saving as it activates the water heater during the band at reduced rate F.rid and energy saving, thanks to the keen-witted use of times within such band.
• the electronic control may ignore the preheating step F.I if:
• the Optimisation function shall now be described in detail.
• the water temperature maintenance value T.set is normally unchanged with the time of the day and the day of the week.
• said maintenance value T.set is optimised according to the actual water usage, making it variable according to the day of the week, and optionally for each day, according to the time, so as to keep into account the different water uses that there may be on holidays and working days, or more in general, also the time and in a different manner for each day of the week.
• the storage temperature value T.acc and the maintenance value T.set are checked, for the same period of time of the same day of the next week, and such maintenance value T.set is changed or kept unchanged according to the storage temperature T.acc found. More precisely, the maintenance value T.set is: increased if a storage temperature T.acc found is below the useful temperature T.u by a negative amount ⁇ T.dif,
• the procedure described above may be performed in various more or less accurate manners.
• said consecutive periods of time Pt consist in a single period of 24 hours. That is, the storage temperature T.acc is monitored at the time of usage end h.set of each day, wherein "h.set” means the time when the water heater daily use ends.
• Such usage end time h.set may be pre-stored in the electronic control and usually, it is a late evening time.
• a time monitoring is useful: when only a slight temperature drop due to thermal dispersions is sensed from one hour to the next one, this means that no hot water was used within that time range.
• the time monitoring allows detecting the profile of daily uses, as a general rule different every day of the week, and thus store the actual usage end time h.set of each day as the last time of the day after which no temperature drops are sensed if not due to thermal dispersions.
• the actual usage end time h.set of each day is then stored in place of the previous values.
• the storage temperature T.acc is higher than the useful temperature T.u by a positive amount ⁇ T.ecc, this means that the preset temperature T.set may be reduced by the same positive amount ⁇ T.ecc, without absolutely affecting the user requirements.
• T.set must be increased at least by the same negative amount ⁇ T.dif, even if this is not necessarily sufficient to meet the user requirements.
• the electronic control has stored, for each day of the week from 1 to 7, a value of the preset temperature T.set and of the usage end time h.set; by a number of days GG equal to seven, the storage temperature T.acc is controlled at the specific usage end time h.set of each day; if for each day of the consecutive GG days the storage temperature T.acc is higher than the useful temperature T.u by a positive amount ⁇ T.ecc, the preset temperature T.set is reduced by an amount equal to the positive amount ⁇ T.ecc or by a predetermined amount ⁇ T;
• the storage temperature T.acc is less than the useful temperature T.u by a negative amount ⁇ T.dif
• the preset temperature T.set of that day is increased by an amount at least equal to the negative amount ⁇ T.dif or by a predetermined amount ⁇ T.
• Said procedure may be carried out periodically for even consecutive sequences of days, in order to check any changes in the user's habits.
• the storage temperature value T.acc considered is that resulting from the mobile average of samplings made in the last SS weeks, where for example the number of weeks SS is equal to two.
• the Optimisation function may envisage the following simplified procedure, at least as regards the methods for changing the preset temperature T.set.
• the Optimisation function does not change the temperature set T.set if at the usage end time h.set, the storage temperature T.acc is comprised within two minimum T.s.min and maximum
• said minimum predetermined threshold T.s.min is equal for example to 35 °C
• said maximum predetermined threshold T.s.max is equal for example to 45 °C
• said decrease or increase of the preset temperature T.set is equal for example to 10 0 C.
• Another simplifying version may relate to the definition of the usage end time h.set which, instead of being preset for every day of the week or being calculated by studying the profile of daily usage, may consist in the time of start of the time band at reduced rate.
• a further version may consist in the fact that in order to optimise the maintenance temperature automatically varying the preset value T.set, the electronic control performs a monitoring of the storage temperature T.acc at multiple times of each day rather than only at the usage end time h.set of each day, at which the daily use of the water heater ends, as already described in detail.
• Said last version of the monitoring therefore allows measuring a more detailed profile of daily uses, as it is capable of controlling the storage temperature T.acc every "H" hours within a day, for example every hour or every 4/6 hours, and consequently proceeding to the variation of the preset temperature T.set for each period Pt expiring at the H-teenth hour.
• the electronic control proceeds to a reduction of the preset temperature T.set if the storage temperature T.acc is higher than a maximum predetermined threshold T.s.max, whereas it proceeds to an increase of the preset temperature T.set if the storage temperature T.acc is less than a minimum predetermined threshold T.s.min. On the contrary, it keeps the temperature T.set unchanged if such storage temperature T.acc is comprised between said minimum threshold T.s.min and maximum threshold T.s.max.
• said reduction or increase of the preset temperature T.set is equal to 1-2 °C
• said minimum predetermined threshold T.s.min is still equal to 35 0 C
• said maximum predetermined threshold T.s.max is still equal to 45 °C.
• the Optimisation function as described is capable of building a different profile of the preset water maintenance temperature T. set for each day of the week.
• sampling days GG rather than being 7 or a multiple of 7 are only one or a generic number M of days.
• the number of sampling days is equal to GG or a multiple
• the number of sampling days GG or M.GG may be predetermined by the manufacturer or it may be set by the user. However, nothing prevents a very simplified version wherein the sampling days GG, rather than being 7 or a multiple of 7 are 1 or "a multiple of 1", or still the sampling may be performed not in days but hours, meaning that no difference is made between days of the week, and any consecutive sampling days are only used to sense the average value or the minimum value of storage temperatures T.acc. In general, therefore, the number of sampling days is equal to GG or a multiple

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Heat-Pump Type And Storage Water Heaters (AREA)

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• 2007
  • 2007-04-27 IT IT000026A patent/ITAN20070026A1/it unknown
• 2008
  • 2008-04-21 ES ES08737500.2T patent/ES2523490T3/es active Active
  • 2008-04-21 WO PCT/IB2008/000970 patent/WO2008132570A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-04-21 WO PCT/IB2008/000979 patent/WO2008132573A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-04-21 RU RU2009135062/06A patent/RU2464502C2/ru active
  • 2008-04-21 PL PL08737500T patent/PL2140209T3/pl unknown
  • 2008-04-21 EP EP08737500.2A patent/EP2140209B1/de active Active

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