GB2565341A

GB2565341A - An electrical appliance

Info

Publication number: GB2565341A
Application number: GB1712885.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Singh Nagi Balvinder
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-08-11
Filing date: 2017-08-11
Publication date: 2019-02-13
Also published as: GB201712885D0

Abstract

An electrical appliance 1 comprises an electric cooker 5, 6 and an electric boiler 8 housed in a single unit 4, with connections arranged to be connected to one or both of a building’s hot water supply 11 or central heating system 13, so that the boiler may provide one or both of the building’s hot water supply or hot water for the building’s central heating system. This avoids the need for a separate installation of a boiler and cooker, and may avoid the need for separate electricity connections. Operation of the boiler may be restricted depending on operation of the cooker, ensuring a predetermined maximum appliance input current is not exceeded. The boiler’s primary heating circuit may normally pass through radiators, but a diverter valve (22, fig. 8) may divert the primary circuit through a heat exchanger (23, fig. 8) for heating cold water. Water may also be heated by a second boiler (24, fig. 9) within the main boiler.

Description

An Electrical Appliance

The present invention relates an electric boiler of the type used for heating hot water of a building, or forming part of a central heating system of a building, or both.

The use of electric boilers is becoming more common in smaller homes and particularly in new build homes, indeed legislation in some countries may shortly prevent or restrict the use of fossil fuel boilers in new build homes.

The increasing popularity of electric boilers is partly a result of buildings becoming more thermally efficient, so that it is now possible to use electric boilers run off a domestic supply, which may typically be 100 amps supply in the UK at 220-240V, to heat them. For example, a 12kW electric boiler will normally be able to meet the heating and/or hot water requirements of a smaller well insulated home. This, together with a desire by many people to avoid the use of individual electric heaters in rooms, has resulted in electric boilers being more commonly used, instead of the traditional gas and oil fired boilers. In addition, electric boilers are favoured by many architects and builders, for it is easier and less costly to install an electricity supply than it is to install a gas or oil supply. Also an electric boiler may avoid the requirement to provide an additional service to a building, such as gas, or to provide an oil storage tank. There is of course also no requirement for a boiler flue and many safety issues are avoided, which may otherwise have to be considered if burning fossil fuel within, or adjacent to, a building.

Essentially an electrical boiler can simply be mounted to any convenient wall and wired into a suitable electricity supply, which will be available in most homes

An object of the present invention is to provide a particularly convenient arrangement of electric boiler.

According to the present invention there is provided an electrical appliance comprising an electric cooker and an electric boiler housed in a single unit and having connections arranged to be connected to one or both of a hot water supply of a building or a central heating system of a building, so that the electric boiler may provide a hot water supply for the building or hot water for a central heating system of the building, or both.

An electrical appliance in accordance with the invention, comprising both a cooker and an electric boiler housed in a single unit avoids the need for a separate boiler installation. Instead the boiler may be installed as a single unit with the cooker, or subsequently located in the single unit, possibly on site prior to the single unit being possibly pushed back to its final resting position, for example between units in a kitchen of a building. For this reason it is particularly advantageous if the appliance is arranged to be moved as a single unit, by having wheels, casters, feet or slides on which it is arranged to be rolled or slid as a single unit.

Advantageously the appliance is approximately 600mm or 900mm wide, in order to fit in with standard kitchen units and appliances. However it can be dimensioned to approximately correspond to the standard dimensions of other appliances or units.

Preferably the electrical appliance comprises a hob on a top surface of the electrical appliance, this enabling the boiler to be housed under the hob. Alternatively the electric cover may comprise an oven openable to a front face of the appliance, whereby the electric boiler may be located behind the electric cooker. The electric cooker may include both an oven and a hob. A major advantage of the present invention is that the electric appliance may have a single electrical connection to receive a single electricity supply for both the electric boiler and the electric cooker, avoiding the need to install separate supplies to different locations within the building, or to provide separate supplies to the appliance.

Preferably the electrical appliance is arranged to monitor the electricity consumption of the building in which it is installed and adjust the operation of the electric boiler in dependence thereon. In this manner operation of the boiler may be restricted at times of peak demand on the domestic supply, to ensure a maximum rating of the domestic supply is not exceeded. This may be possible, for example, where the boiler is heating the water of the central heating system, where the heating of that water may be temporally stopped or take place at a reduced rate.

Alternatively the electric appliance may be arranged to restrict the operation of the electric boiler in dependence on the operation of the electric cooker, to ensure a predetermined maximum input current for the appliance is not exceeded. This will not only make it possible to have a lower maximum rating for the appliance than would otherwise be possible, but it may also ensure that the maximum supply to a dwelling in which it is installed is not exceeded.

Advantageously the electric boiler comprises an electrically heated liquid filled primary circuit and a heat exchanger in the primary circuit. In this manner the electric boiler may be arranged to function in the same manner as a traditionally combination (“combi”) boiler, whereby heated water in a primary circuit may be used for the primary purpose, such as for heating water and the central heating system, but the primary fluid may be diverted through the heat exchanger to perform some other task, such as heating hot water for a hot water supply of the building, which task may be performed “on demand”.

It may be preferable that the appliance further comprises a diverter valve for selectively diverting liquid of the primary circuit through the heat exchanger.

The electrical appliance may comprise connections arranged to be connected to a feed and return of a central heating system of a building, wherein the diverter valve is arranged to divert a flow of liquid in the primary circuit to either the central heating system or the heat exchanger. Alternatively the heat exchanger may be connected to the central heating system, wherein the diverter valve is arranged to control a flow of liquid in the primary circuit so that it may selectively heat a liquid in the heat exchanger forming a secondary circuit flowing through the central heating system.

The electrical appliance may comprise a cold water inlet fluidly connected to the heat exchanger, the cold water inlet being arranged to be connected to a cold water supply; and a hot water outlet fluidly connected to the heat exchanger, which hot water outlet is arranged to be connected to a hot water supply of a building, to permit the cold water from the inlet to be heated by the heat exchanger. This will permit the electric boiler to function as a standard combination boiler, heating both water for a central heating system and water for a hot water supply.

The electrical appliance may comprise a cold water inlet fluidly connected to the heat exchanger, the cold water inlet being arranged to be connected to a cold water supply; a hot water reservoir fluidly connected to the heat exchanger to receive cold water received at the cold water inlet once it has been heated in the heat exchanger; and a hot water outlet fluidly connected to the hot water reservoir to fluidly connect the hot water reservoir to a hot water supply of a building. In this manner the electric boiler may heat water for a hot water reservoir, the purpose of this being that the reservoir will supply a reserve of preheated water which will, for a short period of time, for example when a bath is being drawn, permit water to be drawn from the reservoir at a greater rate than the boiler can replenish that water to the same temperature. With such an arrangement it is preferable that the electric appliance further comprises an electric immersion heater in the hot water storage reservoir, the immersion heater being arranged to maintain heated water received from the heat exchanger at a desired temperature. In this way it is not necessary for a return loop of a primary circuit of the boiler to be provided through the reservoir, but instead water being supplied to the reservoir may be heated directly and then the reservoir maintained at a desired temperature by the immersion heater, which for example may be a 2kw immersion heater.

The electric boiler may comprise: a main boiler having a main electric heating element, which main boiler is arranged to be connected to one or more of a hot water supply of a building and a central heating system of a building; and a secondary boiler housed within the main boiler and having a second electrical heating element separate to the main heating element of the main boiler, wherein the appliance further comprises: a cold water inlet fluidly connected to the secondary boiler, the cold water inlet being arranged to be connected to a cold water supply; and a boiling or near boiling water outlet or tap fluidly connected to the secondary boiler, wherein water in the secondary boiler is heated by water in the main boiler to a first temperature and wherein, on demand for water from the boiling or near boiling water outlet or tap, the secondary boiler heats water in the secondary boiler to boiling or near boiling, to provide boiling or near boiling water to the boiling or near boiling water outlet or tap.

The above arrangement may enable the appliance to directly comprise a tap mounted on it which may enable boiling water to be drawn instantaneously for use in a saucepan, for example, avoiding the need to wait for a saucepan to come to the boil prior to inserting food to be cooked within the saucepan. Alternatively a tap may be located remote from the electric appliance, but connected to the electrical appliance. The location of the secondary boiler in the main boiler means that water in the secondary boiler may be maintained at the temperature of water in the main boiler, which may have a maximum value in the range of 70 to 80 degrees Celsius, to enable the water in the secondary boiler to, on demand, be rapidly heated to boiling or near boiling to a temperature greater than 90 degrees Celsius. A significant feature of an appliance as described in many of the above variations is that a single cold water supply may be provided to the appliance, which may then be used for different purposes including topping up any primary circuit within the boiler.

According to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided a building comprising an electrical appliance as described above located between kitchen cupboards or below a kitchen work top of the building, the electrical appliance being connected to services of the building by means only of flexible hoses and wires. This enables the appliance, as a single unit, to be connected to the services and then pushed back under a work top or between cupboards in the same way that a dishwasher, washing machine or other similar electrical appliance may be connected to appropriate services, before being pushed back into position between units, or under a work top.

Two examples of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying Figures of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of first electrical appliance in according with the present invention, housed between two kitchen units;

Figure 2 shows how the appliance of Figure 1 may be assembled prior to being pushed back into position between the units;

Figure 3 shows how the appliance of Figures 1 and 2 may alternatively be assembled in position between the units;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the electrical appliance of Figures 1 to 3, illustrating schematically the various connections to the appliance;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second appliance in accordance with the present invention showing how this may be assembled prior to being housed between two kitchen units;

Figure 6 shows how the electrical appliance of Figure 5 may be assembled in position between the kitchen units;

Figure 7 is an exploded view of the electrical appliance of Figures 5 and 6, showing the schematically the connection to various services;

Figures 8 a shows one possible configuration of a primary circuit of the appliance of Figures 1 to 4;

Figures 9 a shows the primary circuit of Figure 8, but with a secondary boiler included in the main boiler to provide boiling or near boiling water; and

Figure 10 shows one possible configuration of the boiler of the electrical appliance of Figures 5 to 7.

Referring to Figure 1 an electrical appliance, indicated generally as 1, in accordance with the present invention, is shown located between two kitchen units 2 and 3. The electrical appliance 1 comprises a housing 4 with an electric oven 5 opening to a front face of the housing 4 and with an electric hob 6 mounted to the top of the housing 4.

Referring to Figure 2 this shows the electrical appliance 1 pulled out from between kitchen units 2 and 3, 600mm apart, on rollers 7. In Figure 2 the various components of the electrical appliance are shown removed from the housing 4 and these are seen to comprise the electric oven 5, electric hob 6 and an electric boiler 8.

As can be seen from Figure 2 the electric oven 5, electric boiler 8 and electric hob 6 can be assembled in the housing 4 prior to this being slid back into position between the kitchen units 2 and 3. Although not shown, a wiring loom is provided to electrically connect both the electric hob 6 and electric oven 5 to the electric boiler 8, which in turn is connected to a mains water supply, a feed and return of a central heating system and a single electricity supply for the appliance. All the connections are by way of flexible hoses, or a flexible electrical cable, to enable the connections to be made to the electric boiler 8 prior to the housing 4 being slid back in place as a single unit, housing the electric oven 5, electric hob 6 and an electric boiler 8.

The electric boiler 8 monitors operation of the electric hob 6 and electric oven 5 and restricts is own operation, so that a maximum rated current for the electrical appliance 1 is not exceeded.

Referring to Figure 3, this substantially corresponds to Figure 2 but in this arrangement the electrical boiler 8 and electrical oven 5 are assembled in situ in the housing 4, or alternatively they may be assembled in the housing 4 remotely and the housing 4, and then pushed back into position as a single unit. In either case, in this embodiment, the electric hob 6 is mounted via an additional mounting plate 9 to the kitchen units 2 and 3, over the electrical appliance 1.

Referring now to Figure 4, this shows schematically the electrical appliance 1 as an exploded view and indicates how the electric boiler 8 may be connected to a cold water supply 10, a hot water supply 11 of a house for receiving water from the electric boiler 8, a boiling water tap or near boiling water tap 12 for receiving water from the electric boiler 8 and a radiator 13 of a central heating system connected by a feed and returned to the electric boiler 8.

Referring now to Figure 5, this shows a second appliance is accordance with the present invention for locating between two kitchen units 2 and 3, which this time are spaced further apart to provide a 900mm wide gap there between.

This appliance, indicated generally as 14, has a 900mm wide housing 15 in which the electric oven 5 is located with a wider electric hob mounted over the electrical appliance 14, similar to the arrangement previously described with reference to Figure 3.

Referring again to Figure 5, the housing 14 additionally comprises a hot water reservoir 17, which may be preinstalled within the housing 14 prior to the housing 14 being pushed back into position between the kitchen units 2 and 3, as illustrated in Figure 6, prior to the electric hob 16 being mounted above the electrical appliance 14.

Referring to Figure 7, this again shows how the electric boiler 8 may be connected to a cold water supply of a house 10, to a near boiling water tap 12 and to the radiator 13 of a central heating system, in the same manner as previously described. However with the electrical appliance 14, a hot water outlet 18 from the electric boiler is connected to an inlet of the reservoir 17 for receiving hot water from the boiler 8. The hot water supply 11 of the house is in this case connected to the hot water reservoir 17, permitting hot water to be drawn at a rate faster than can be supplied by the boiler 8.

As can be seen from Figure 10 the hot water reservoir 17 has a 2kw hour immersion heater 19 for maintaining hot water in the reservoir 17 at a predetermined temperature ready for use.

As previously described the electric boiler 8 monitors operation of both the electric cooker 15 and electric hob 16, to make sure a maximum current rating of the electrical appliance 14 is not exceeded, by restricting operation of the electric boiler at times of peak demand by the electric hob 16 and electric oven 15.

Referring now to Figure 8, this shows schematically various components within the electric boiler 8. This comprises an electric heating element 20 within a primary heating circuit 21 of the electric boiler 8, which heats water of the primary circuit 21. This primary circuit will normally pass through a plurality of radiators 13 of a central heating system of a house but, on request detected by a flow in the hot water supply 11, the electric boiler 8 operates diverter valve 22 to divert the primary circuit through heat exchanger 23, to heat cold water from the cold water supply 10 in order to provide the hot water supply 11.

Figure 9 substantially corresponds to Figure 8, but in this case the boiler 20 is a main boiler that provides the hot water for the building and the hot water for the central heating 13 of the building, as in Figure 8, but in the embodiment of Figure 9 the main boiler has within it a secondary boiler 24, which is connected to the boiling water tap or near boiling water tap 12 of Figure 4.

Water in the secondary boiler 24 is maintained at the temperature of the main boiler 20, by the secondary boiler being located in the main boiler 20, with the water in the secondary boiler 24 being in thermal contact with the water in the main boiler 20. Water being drawn through the secondary boiler is detected by a flow sensor (not shown) and the secondary boiler is energised (on demand) to bring the temperature of the water within it, typically at about 70 degrees Celsius, up to boiling or nearly boiling for supply to the boiling water tap or near boiling water tap 12.

Referring now to Figure 10, an arrangement is shown here where a heat exchanger 25 is this time used to supply hot water to the hot water reservoir 17. Again here the diverter valve 22 diverts the primary circuit through the heat exchanger 25 to heat cold water from the cold water supply 10, before it passes to the hot water reservoir 17, diverter valve 22 being operated in response to detecting flow of water to the hot water supply 11. In this manner water will normally be provided to heat the reservoir at between 45° and 55° and maintained at this temperature by the immersion heater 19. However, if demand from the hot water supply 11 exceeds the rate at which the water can be heated to between 45° and 50° the water to the reservoir 17 will be provided at a lower temperature and this will subsequently brought back to the desired temperature by the immersion heater 19. This arrangement permits hot water to be drawn at a rate which removes energy from the system at a rate faster rate than energy can be provided to the system by the heating element 20.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, by way of example, it will be appreciated that many alternative arrangements and modifications are possible which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electrical appliance comprising an electric cooker and an electric boiler housed in a single unit and having connections arranged to be connected to one or more of a hot water supply of a building and a central heating system of a building, so that the electric boiler may provide one or more of a hot water supply for the building and hot water for a central heating system of the building.

2. An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein the appliance is arranged to be moved as a single unit, by having wheels castors, feet or skids on which it is arranged to roll or slide as a single unit.

3. An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 2 wherein the appliance is approximately 600mm or 900mm wide.

4. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electric cooker comprises a hob on a top surface of the electrical appliance.

5. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electric cooker comprises an oven openable to a front face of the appliance.

6. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim having a single electrical connection for a single electricity supply for both the electric boiler and the electric cooker.

7. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electrical appliance is arranged to monitor the electricity consumption of the building in which it is installed and adjust the operation of the electric boiler in dependence thereon.

8. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electrical appliance is arranged to restrict the operation of the electric boiler in dependence on the operation of the electric cooker, to ensure a predetermined maximum input current for the appliance is not exceeded.

9. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electric boiler comprises an electrically heated liquid filled primary circuit and a heat exchanger in the primary circuit.

10. An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 9 wherein the appliance further comprising a diverter valve for selectively diverting liquid of the primary circuit through the heat exchanger.

11. An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 10 comprising connections arranged to be connected to a feed and return of a central heating system of a building and wherein the diverter valve is arranged to divert a flow of liquid in the primary circuit to either the central heating system or the heat exchanger.

12. An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 10 comprising connections arranged to be connected to a feed and return of a central heating system of a building to which connections the heat exchanger is fluidly connected, wherein the diverter valve is arranged to control a flow of liquid in the primary circuit so that it may selectively heat a liquid in the heat exchanger forming a secondary circuit flowing through the central heating system.

13. An electrical appliance as claimed in claims 9, 10, or 11 comprising: a cold water inlet fluidly connected to the heat exchanger, the cold water inlet being arranged to be connected to a cold water supply; and a hot water outlet fluidly connected to the heat exchanger, which hot water outlet is arranged to be connected to a hot water supply of a building, to permit the cold water from the inlet to be heated by the heat exchanger.

14. An electrical appliance as claimed in claims 9, 10, or 11 comprising: a cold water inlet fluidly connected to the heat exchanger, the cold water inlet being arranged to be connected to a cold water supply; a hot water reservoir fluidly connected to the heat exchanger to receive cold water received at the cold water inlet once it has been heated in the heat exchanger; and a hot water outlet fluidly connected to the hot water reservoir to fluidly connect the hot water reservoir to a hot water supply of a building.

15. An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 14 further comprising an electric immersion heater in the hot water storage reservoir, the immersion heater being arranged to maintain at a desired temperature heated water received from the heat exchanger.

16. An electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the electric boiler comprises: a main boiler having a main electric heating element, which main boiler is arranged to be connected to one or more of a hot water supply of a building and a central heating system of a building; and a secondary boiler housed within the main boiler and having a second electrical heating element separate to the main heating element of the main boiler, wherein the appliance further comprises: a cold water inlet fluidly connected to the secondary boiler, the cold water inlet being arranged to be connected to a cold water supply; and a boiling or near boiling water outlet or tap fluidly connected to the secondary boiler, wherein water in the secondary boiler is heated by water in the main boiler to a first temperature and wherein on demand for water from the boiling or near boiling water outlet or tap the secondary boiler heats water in the secondary boiler to boiling or near boiling to provide boiling or near boiling water to the boiling or near boiling water outlet or tap.

17. A building comprising an electrical appliance as claimed in any preceding claim located between kitchen cupboards or below a kitchen worktop of the building, the electrical appliance being connected to services of the building by means only of flexible hoses and wires.