GB2281380A - Electric instantaneous water heater - Google Patents
Electric instantaneous water heater Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2281380A GB2281380A GB9317640A GB9317640A GB2281380A GB 2281380 A GB2281380 A GB 2281380A GB 9317640 A GB9317640 A GB 9317640A GB 9317640 A GB9317640 A GB 9317640A GB 2281380 A GB2281380 A GB 2281380A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- water
- temperature
- control valve
- flow
- flow control
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims abstract description 52
- 239000002775 capsule Substances 0.000 abstract description 2
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000008236 heating water Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001932 seasonal effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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
- 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
- F24H9/2028—Continuous-flow 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
- F24H15/20—Control of fluid heaters characterised by control inputs
- F24H15/212—Temperature of the water
- F24H15/215—Temperature of the water before heating
-
- 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
- F24H15/395—Information to users, e.g. alarms
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D23/00—Control of temperature
- G05D23/19—Control of temperature characterised by the use of electric means
- G05D23/1906—Control of temperature characterised by the use of electric means using an analogue comparing device
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D23/00—Control of temperature
- G05D23/19—Control of temperature characterised by the use of electric means
- G05D23/20—Control of temperature characterised by the use of electric means with sensing elements having variation of electric or magnetic properties with change of temperature
Landscapes
- 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)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
- Temperature-Responsive Valves (AREA)
Abstract
An electric instantaneous water heater, especially for a shower, comprises a manually settable flow control valve 1 for controlling the flow of water from an inlet 2 to a heat exchanger 3, and compensating means which may be electrical or thermostatic for enabling adjustment of the flow control valve 1 to compensate for changes in input water temperature. As shown, a compensator 6 in response to a position encoder 5 sensing the setting of the valve 1 and to a temperature sensing thermistor 7, determines and indicates the amount of compensation necessary to be applied manually to the valve 1. In an alternative embodiment, the valve 1 includes a wax capsule operative to adjust the valve member in response to the water temperature. <IMAGE>
Description
Water Heaters
This invention relates to water heaters and more specifically to so-called instantaneous electric water heaters, especially for electric showers.
Existing instantaneous water heaters for electric showers comprise a heat exchanger which includes one or more electric heater elements, the heat exchanger being supplied with a flow of cold water which is heated in the heat exchanger, the hot water being supplied to a shower head. The temperature of the water at the outlet of the heat exchanger is dependent upon the rate of flow of water through it and the electrical power input to the heat exchanger.
In existing instantaneous water heaters fine control of the outlet water temperature is achieved by adjusting a flow control valve which controls the water flow through the heat exchanger.
Commonly the water flow control valve has an indicator, either analogue or digital, to indicate the position of the valve relative to the flow rate and the user would use this indicator to set the water heater to give approximately the same flow rate and therefore water temperature at each time of use.
However, changes in the ambient temperature of the incoming water supply which occur due to weather or due to seasonal variations, and which are not immediately apparent to a user, will result in a variation in outlet water temperature requiring additional adjustment to the flow control valve to achieve the desired temperature. Such additional adjustments to cater for changing inlet water temperatures are undesirable and it would be preferable for a user to be able to use the same water flow setting each time of use regardless of the weather conditions, time of year, etc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electric instantaneous water heater especially suitable for a shower which substantially achieves this.
According to the present invention there is provided an electric instantaneous water heater comprising an electrically energisable heat exchanger, a manually settable flow control valve for controlling the flow of water to said heat exchanger, temperature sensing means for sensing the water temperature input to said heat exchanger, and compensating means operable in conjunction with said flow control valve for controlling water flow in dependence upon the output of said temperature sensing means.
In one arrangement for carrying out the invention, the compensating means comprises position sensing means for determining the setting of said flow control valve, and a compensating control responsive to said position sensing means and the output of said temperature sensing means for compensating for changes in said input water temperature.
In another arrangement for carrying out the invention, said compensating means comprises a temperature responsive element in said flow control valve and operable for automatically adjusting the flow thereof to compensate for changes in input water temperature.
Some exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 depicts diagrammatically part of an electric instantaneous water heater in accordance with the present invention; and
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of an alternative form of flow control valve for use in the water heater of Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1 of the drawings there is shown a manually adjustable flow control valve 1 for controlling water flow from an inlet 2 to a heat exchanger 3.
The heat exchanger 3 is electrically energised, by means not shown, for heating water flowing through it and output to an outlet 4.
The flow control valve 1 is provided with a position encoder 5 for sensing its setting, and the output of the position encoder is applied to a compensating control 6 along with the output of a temperature sensor 7, e.g. a thermistor, which senses the inlet water temperature. The compensating control 6 is also provided with a valve position indicator 8 which indicates digitally the setting of the flow control valve 1. The compensating control 6 is responsive to the output from the position encoder 5 and the output of the temperature sensor 7 and, by means of, for example, a "look-up" table or some other means, determines the amount of compensation necessary to be applied to the flow control valve corresponding to the actual inlet water temperature and adjusts the valve position indicator 8 accordingly.
In this way the flow control valve position indicated by the valve position indicator 8 varies with the temperature of the inlet water and enables any changes in inlet water temperature to be compensated for by adjusting the flow control valve until the desired setting as indicated by the valve position indicator 8 is achieved.
An alternative way of compensating for possible changes in inlet water temperature is to use a thermostatically controlled flow control valve as depicted in Fig. 2 for controlling the flow of water from the water inlet 2 to the heat exchanger 3 of Fig. 1. The thermostatically controlled flow control valve of Fig.
2 has a rotary control flow disc 10 which is rotatable by means of a knob (not shown) for controlling the axial position of a valve member 11 relative to a valve seat 12 to determine the water flow through the valve, and a thermostatic element 13, e.g. a wax capsule, which senses the temperature of water flowing through it and adjusts the position of the valve member 11 in dependence upon the sensed temperature. In this way the need for the position encoder 5, compensating control 6 and temperature sensor 7 of Fig. 1 is obviated.
It should be appreciated that other ways may be used for compensating for changes in inlet water temperature.
Claims (4)
1. An electric instantaneous water heater comprising an electrically energisable heat exchanger, a manually settable flow control valve for controlling the flow of water to said heat exchanger, temperature sensing means for sensing the water temperature input to said heat exchanger, and compensating means operable in conjunction with said flow control valve for controlling water flow in dependence upon the output of said temperature sensing means.
2. A water heater as claimed in claim 1, in which the compensating means comprises position sensing means for determining the setting of said flow control valve, and a compensating control responsive to said position sensing means and the output of said temperature sensing means for compensating for changes in said input water temperature.
3. A water heater as claimed in claim 1, in which said compensating means comprises a temperature responsive element in said flow control valve and operable for automatically adjusting the flow thereof to compensate for changes in input water temperature.
4. An electric instantaneous water heater substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9317640A GB2281380B (en) | 1993-08-25 | 1993-08-25 | Water heaters |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9317640A GB2281380B (en) | 1993-08-25 | 1993-08-25 | Water heaters |
Publications (3)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9317640D0 GB9317640D0 (en) | 1993-10-13 |
| GB2281380A true GB2281380A (en) | 1995-03-01 |
| GB2281380B GB2281380B (en) | 1997-03-19 |
Family
ID=10740988
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9317640A Expired - Lifetime GB2281380B (en) | 1993-08-25 | 1993-08-25 | Water heaters |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2281380B (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE19704424A1 (en) * | 1997-02-06 | 1998-08-13 | Walther Gmbh | Releasable connector allowing sterilisation of branch pipe without interrupting flow in main pipe |
| EP0957419A1 (en) * | 1998-05-12 | 1999-11-17 | Alpha Therm Ltd. | Improvements in or relating to a water heating arrangement |
| EP1225395A1 (en) * | 2001-01-17 | 2002-07-24 | Immergas S.p.A. | Method for limiting the flow rate of sanitary hot water in combined boiler of the instantaneous type or with semi-accumulation, and seasonal limiting valve |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN108106016A (en) * | 2018-01-16 | 2018-06-01 | 广州菲仕乐科技有限公司 | A kind of constant temperature system with flow cavitation result |
-
1993
- 1993-08-25 GB GB9317640A patent/GB2281380B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE19704424A1 (en) * | 1997-02-06 | 1998-08-13 | Walther Gmbh | Releasable connector allowing sterilisation of branch pipe without interrupting flow in main pipe |
| DE19704424C2 (en) * | 1997-02-06 | 2000-09-14 | Walther Gmbh | Connection device for releasably connecting a branch line to a fluid-carrying main line |
| EP0957419A1 (en) * | 1998-05-12 | 1999-11-17 | Alpha Therm Ltd. | Improvements in or relating to a water heating arrangement |
| GB2337320A (en) * | 1998-05-12 | 1999-11-17 | Alpha Therm Limited | Water heater with thermostatic control of flow rate |
| EP1225395A1 (en) * | 2001-01-17 | 2002-07-24 | Immergas S.p.A. | Method for limiting the flow rate of sanitary hot water in combined boiler of the instantaneous type or with semi-accumulation, and seasonal limiting valve |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2281380B (en) | 1997-03-19 |
| GB9317640D0 (en) | 1993-10-13 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE20 | Patent expired after termination of 20 years |
Expiry date: 20130824 |