JP2002147871A - Solar water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a solar water heater enabling an effective use of hot water in a hot water storage tank. SOLUTION: The solar water heater comprises a solar heat collector and a body. The solar heat collector and the body are connected with each other by two circulation paths. The body has in an interior thereof a hot water storage tank having a heat exchanger and supplies hot water to the outside. The solar water heater is further provided with an inflow water quantity detecting means for detecting the quantity of water flowing into the hot water storage tank, a stored hot water temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the hot water stored in the tank, a hot water quantity detecting means for detecting the quantity of the hot water, an available hot water supply quantity calculating means for calculating the quantity of the hot water, allowed to be supplied and an available hot water supply quantity displaying means for displaying the quantity of the hot water made available to be supplied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a solar water heater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, the configuration of a conventional solar heat collector 1 and a solar water heater 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The structure of the solar water heater is such that one or more solar heat collectors 1 are installed, a heat medium is filled in the solar heat collector 1, the circulation passage 10, and the heat exchanger 11 in the hot water storage tank 9 and circulated by the circulation pump 12. Then, the heat medium is warmed by the solar heat collector 1 and returned to the auxiliary tank 19 from the heat exchanger 11 in the hot water storage tank 9.
The water in the hot water storage tank 9 is heated by the heat exchange. In addition, as a water supply path of the main body 2, the water supply is directly connected to the water supply connection port 13 of the main body 2, filled in the hot water storage tank 9 through the water supply passage 14, and heated by solar heat, and then used by the pressure of the water supply at the time of use. The hot water is supplied from a hot water supply connection port 16 through a hot water supply passage 15. In addition, in general, a solar water heater is connected to an auxiliary heat source unit 17 provided separately, and when the temperature of hot water in the rain or the winter season when the amount of solar radiation is insufficient does not rise sufficiently, the auxiliary heat source unit 17 is used to perform auxiliary heating. Hot water is supplied to each faucet, bathtub, etc.

As shown in FIG. 5, a connection between the auxiliary heat source unit 17 and the hot water supply outlet of the auxiliary heat source unit 17
At the hot water supply outlet of the three-way switching valve 21,
There are many hot water supply pipes that can be switched. At this time, the user selects the hot water supply path by using the water path switching valve 21 and the remote controller according to the operating temperature. Further, when the auxiliary heat source unit 17 is a fully automatic water heater, particularly a device for automatically pouring water into a bathtub, when high-temperature hot water flows directly into the auxiliary heat source unit 17, the temperature becomes higher than the temperature set by the user. Since there is a risk that hot water of the temperature may be spread over the bathtub, a constant-temperature hot-water mixing valve 22 is used to mix the hot water in the hot-water storage tank 9 and the water supplied from the water supply passage 14 in advance, to lower the temperature, and then to supplement. There is also a piping method for entering water into the heat source device 17. An indicator 20 for displaying the amount of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 9 shown in FIG. 7 is known.

[0004]

However, with the display 20 shown in FIG. 7, it is not known how much hot water can be supplied later.

For this reason, the three-way switching valve 21 may be switched to the auxiliary heat source unit 17 side even though sufficient hot water is stored in the hot water storage tank 9, resulting in waste of energy. Especially when using a shower when taking a bath, the hot water may suddenly become cold due to running out of hot water in the hot water storage tank 9, and the three-way switching valve 21 may be used by switching to the auxiliary heat source unit 17 side. There is a problem that too much hot water cannot be used effectively.

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention displays how much hot water can be supplied later, thereby avoiding unnecessary switching of the three-way switching valve 21 and effectively using the hot water in the hot water storage tank 9. It is intended to provide a solar water heater.

[0007]

The present invention is characterized by the following. (1) A hot water storage tank comprising a solar heat collector and a main body, wherein the solar heat collector and the main body are connected by two circulation passages for circulating a heat medium, and a hot water storage tank having a heat exchanger inside the main body. Provided, in a solar water heater that supplies hot water to the outside, a hot water storage amount detecting means for detecting a water input amount to the hot water storage tank and a hot water storage temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank,
A solar water heater comprising a hot water amount detecting means for detecting a hot water amount, a hot water available amount calculating means for calculating a hot water available amount, and a hot water available amount display means for displaying the hot water available amount. (2) The hot water amount detecting means calculates the hot water storage amount of the hot water storage tank from the outputs of the temperature detecting means arranged at a plurality of positions in the vertical direction of the hot water storage tank, and hot water can be supplied from the hot water storage amount of the hot water storage tank and the water input amount to the hot water storage tank. The solar water heater according to (1), wherein the available amount of hot water is calculated by the amount calculating means. (3) The main body includes a water supply connection port for supplying water to the main body, a hot water tank water supply passage branched from the water supply connection port and communicating with the water supply port of the hot water storage tank, and a mixing valve water supply passage communicating with the water inlet of the hot water mixing valve. A water supply temperature detecting means provided in the water supply connection port, the hot water storage tank water supply passage or the mixing valve water supply passage, a mixing valve hot water passage connecting an outlet of the hot water storage tank and a hot water inlet of the hot water mixing valve, A hot water supply connection port connected to an outlet for supplying hot water from the main body to the outside, and a water input amount detecting means determines a mixing ratio of hot water and a hot water usage amount based on a set temperature of the hot water mixing valve and an output of the hot water temperature detecting means. The solar water heater according to (2), wherein the amount of water entering the tank is calculated. (4) Hot water supply temperature setting means and control means for controlling the hot water mixing valve so that the hot water temperature becomes the set value of the hot water temperature setting means, and the hot water supply possible amount at the set value of the hot water temperature setting means is displayed (3). The solar water heater according to (1).

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a heat medium can be used as long as heat energy can be transferred from a solar heat collector to a heat exchanger in a main body. In particular, water and an aqueous solution of propylene glycol are preferred.

The water entering amount detecting means can be appropriately used as long as it can detect the water entering amount. In particular, a blade provided in a water channel rotates by a water flow, and a water amount sensor that detects the rotation of a magnet provided on the blade by a Hall IC, or a method of calculating the amount of water input from the temperature of water and hot water and the temperature after mixing. Is preferred.

The hot water storage temperature detecting means can be appropriately used as long as it can detect the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank. In particular, a thermistor is preferable. Further, it is not necessary to provide the inside of the hot water storage tank for directly detecting the hot water temperature, and a method of contacting the outside of the hot water storage tank, particularly, the outside of the hot water storage tank is preferable.

The hot water amount detecting means does not need to directly detect the hot water amount and can be used as appropriate. In particular, a method in which the volume calculated from the output of the hot water storage temperature detecting means and the arrangement in the hot water storage tank is preferably used.

The hot water supply amount display means can be appropriately used as long as the hot water supply amount can be displayed, irrespective of the method of transmitting signals to and from the main body. In particular, it is preferably provided in a wired remote controller.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the hot water storage tank 9, a circulation passage 10 connected to the solar heat collector 1 and a heat exchanger 11 are provided. At this time, the circulation passage 1
The propylene glycol aqueous solution filled in 0 serves as a heat medium to heat the water in the hot water storage tank 9. In this embodiment, an auxiliary tank 19 is provided in the circulation passage 10 to fill the heat medium.

Water is supplied to the hot water storage tank 9 through a water supply connection port 13.
The hot water is supplied through a water supply passage 14 provided with the water entering amount detecting means 7, and the hot water from the hot water storage tank 9 is supplied through a hot water supply passage 15. On the way, the water supply passage 14 is divided into a passage for supplying water to the hot water storage tank 9 and a water / water mixing valve water supply passage 24 for supplying water to the constant temperature water / water mixing valve 22. The hot water supply passage 15 is connected to a constant temperature hot water mixing valve 22. The water supply connection port 13 is provided with an incoming water temperature thermistor 23 for detecting the incoming water temperature. The hot water storage tank 9 is provided with three thermistors for measuring the temperature of the stored hot water: a lower thermistor 18a, a central thermistor 18b, and an upper thermistor 18c. A controller 3 for calculating and controlling the detection results of the thermistor, the water entering amount detecting means 7 and the like is provided inside the main body.
And a remote controller 29 for remote operation is connected to the controller 3. The water heated by the heat collecting operation is stored in the hot water storage tank 9. At this time, if the temperature of the lower thermistor 18a and the temperature of the upper thermistor 18c are substantially the same, the upper part of the lower thermistor 18a is filled with hot water at least at the temperature detected by the lower thermistor 18a. Here, the amount of hot water can be calculated from the place where the lower thermistor 18a is arranged. Constant temperature hot water mixing valve 22
The temperature of the water is detected by the incoming water temperature thermistor 23, the temperature of the hot water is detected by the upper thermistor 18c, and the outlet temperature of the constant temperature hot water mixing valve 22 is determined by the temperature and amount of the hot water.
Since it is determined by the temperature and amount of water, the hot water supply amount at the set temperature of the constant temperature hot water mixing valve 22 can be calculated. The calculation result is displayed on the hot water supply amount display means 28 provided on the remote controller 29. At the time of hot water supply operation, the incoming water amount detecting means 7 detects the amount of water entering the hot water storage tank 9, that is, the amount of decrease in the amount of stored hot water, and calculates the amount of hot water to calculate the available hot water supply amount. As the constant temperature hot water mixing valve 22, the electric hot water mixing valve 4 whose example is shown in FIG. 4 may be used. The valve element 31 is driven up and down by a motor, and the mixing ratio of hot water and water is adjusted according to the degree of opening and closing of the valve element 31. FIG. 4 (a) shows a view in which the hot water side is in a fully closed state, and FIG. 4 (b) shows a view in which the water side is in a fully closed state. Provided. In this case, the electric hot water mixing valve 4
The controller 3 controls the temperature to be the set temperature. At this time, the incoming water temperature thermistor 23 and the upper thermistor 18
Feedforward control is performed with the output of c, and control for correcting using the tapping temperature thermistor 25 can be performed.

Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Water is supplied to the hot water storage tank 9 from a water supply connection port 13 through a water supply passage 14.
The hot water is supplied from the hot water storage tank 9 through the hot water supply passage 1.
5 is performed. In the middle of the water supply passage 4,
It is divided into a passage for supplying water to the hot water storage tank 9 via the water input amount detection means and an electric hot water mixing valve 5 for an auxiliary heat source. The hot water supply passage 15 is connected to the electric hot water mixing valve 4 and the electric hot water mixing valve 5 for the auxiliary heat source in the middle thereof. The outlet of the electric hot water mixing valve 5 for the auxiliary heat source is connected to the three-way switching valve 21 via the auxiliary heat source hot water supply connection port 8 and the auxiliary heat source device 17. On the other hand, the outlet of the electric hot water mixing valve 4 is connected to the three-way switching valve 2 through the hot water supply connection port 16.
Connect to 1. The outlet of the three-way switching valve 21 is connected to a faucet (not shown) which is a final hot water supply destination. That is, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 9 is mixed with water by the electric hot water mixing valve 4 and supplied to the three-way switching valve 21, and the hot water in the hot water storage tank 9 is mixed with the water by the auxiliary hot source electric hot water mixing valve 5. After being mixed and adjusted to an appropriate temperature and constant temperature, the mixture is reheated by the auxiliary heat source unit 17 and then the three-way switching valve 21
The hot water supply route is provided. The role of the three-way switching valve 21 is to switch the path.

Next, the switching control will be described. The water that has entered through the water supply connection port 13 is warmed by exchanging solar heat energy from the heat medium in the hot water storage tank 9 with the heat exchanger 11, and the temperature thereof is set to a desired value. When the temperature is equal to or higher than the desired temperature, the temperature is adjusted to the desired temperature by the electric hot / water mixing valve 4, and then the hot water is supplied to the faucet via the hot water supply connection port 16 and the three-way switching valve 21. If the desired temperature has not been reached in the hot water storage tank 9, the three-way switching valve 21 is switched to the auxiliary heat source unit 17 side,
That is, the path from the electric hot water mixing valve 4 is closed, the temperature is adjusted to an appropriate temperature with the electric hot water mixing valve 5 for auxiliary heat source, and then the heat is supplied to the auxiliary heat source device 17 through the auxiliary heat source hot water supply connection port 8, Then, the water is supplied to the faucet via the three-way switching valve 21.

The electric hot water mixing valve 4 and the three-way switching valve 21 are controlled by a thermistor 18 a installed at the outlet of the hot water storage tank 9.
Outputs from b and c are transmitted to the controller 3, and the temperature is adjusted and switched by a command of the controller 3. The temperature to be adjusted is determined by the user inputting a desired temperature into the controller 3 as appropriate. The input is performed via a remote controller 29 connected to the controller 3. That is,
The desired temperature, the electric hot water mixing valve 4 and the three-way switching valve 21
The temperature supplied by the hot water will be the same. Also,
The electric hot water mixing valve 5 for the auxiliary heat source is necessary when the auxiliary heat source device 17 has a temperature setting function, or is necessary for the auxiliary heat source device 17 having an upper limit on the incoming water temperature. When the water is warmed, it is mixed with water at the auxiliary heat source electric hot / water mixing valve 5 to make the temperature equal to or lower than the set temperature and flow into the auxiliary heat source unit 17.
Even if the temperature is equal to or lower than the temperature setting of 7, when the input water temperature exceeds the upper limit, water is mixed with water by the auxiliary heat source electric hot water mixing valve 5, and the water supply to the auxiliary heat source device 17 is reduced to the upper limit or less. I have.

The remote controller 29 shown in FIG. 3 displays the amount of hot water that can be supplied on the display unit 28, and changes the display on the set temperature display unit 26 by using a switch 30 that raises and lowers the water, thereby setting the hot water temperature. In addition, the operation changeover switch 27 can be used to automatically switch between the electric hot water mixing valve 4 and the three-way switching valve 21 as described above, and can be forcibly switched to either the solar water heater or the auxiliary heat source unit 17, The lighting section 31 is lit to indicate the state. Thereby, the switching of the electric hot and cold water mixing valve 4 and the three-way switching valve 21 can be remotely controlled.

Here, when auxiliary heat source unit 17 is provided with hot water supply path 6 to a bath tub (not shown) and is operated, water is supplied into hot water storage tank 9 regardless of the state of the solar water heater. . In this case, the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank can be calculated in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, but the amount of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 9 decreases because there is water flow outside the control of the solar water heater. However, in this embodiment, since the water amount detecting means is provided at the inlet of the hot water storage tank 9, the amount of water supply to the hot water storage tank 9, that is, the amount of decrease in the hot water storage amount can be detected. It can be calculated and displayed.

[0020]

According to the present invention, the user can operate the auxiliary heat source unit 17 unnecessarily by displaying how much hot water of a desired temperature can be supplied by the user with the above-described configuration. Can be suppressed, and a solar water heater with high energy saving effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a remote controller used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view for explaining an electric hot / water mixing valve used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a display used in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Solar heat collector 2. Main body 3. Controller 4. Electric hot and cold water mixing valve 5. 5. Electric hot water mixing valve for auxiliary heat source Pouring route 7. Water entering amount detection means 8. 8. Auxiliary heat source connection port Hot water storage tank 10. Circulation path 11. Heat exchanger 12. Circulation pump 13. Water supply connection port 14. Water supply passage 15. Hot water supply passage 16. Hot water supply connection port 17. Auxiliary heat source unit 18a. Lower thermistor 18b. Central thermistor 18c. Upper thermistor 19. Auxiliary tank 20. Display 21. Three-way switching valve 22. Constant temperature hot water mixing valve 23. Inlet water temperature thermistor 24. Hot water mixing valve water supply passage 25. Hot water temperature thermistor 26. Set temperature display section 27. Operation switch 28. Hot water supply amount display section 29. Remote control 30. Switch to raise / lower Lighting section 32. Valve body

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Ichinei 1250 Shimoedori, Shimodate-shi, Ibaraki Pref.Hitachi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A solar heat collector and a main body, wherein the solar heat collector and the main body are connected by two circulation passages for circulating a heat medium, and a heat exchanger is provided inside the main body. In a solar water heater that is provided with a hot water storage tank and supplies hot water to the outside, a water input amount detecting means for detecting an amount of water entering the hot water storage tank, a hot water storage temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank, and a hot water quantity for detecting the hot water amount A solar water heater comprising a detecting means, a hot water supply possible amount calculating means for calculating a hot water available amount, and a hot water available amount display means for displaying the hot water available amount. 2. A hot water storage means calculates an amount of hot water stored in a hot water storage tank from outputs of temperature detection means arranged at a plurality of positions in a vertical direction of the hot water storage tank, and calculates the amount of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank and the amount of water input into the hot water storage tank. The solar water heater according to claim 1, wherein the hot water supply amount calculating means calculates the hot water supply amount. 3. A water supply connection port for supplying water to the main body, a hot water tank water supply passage branched from the water supply connection port and communicating with a water supply port of the hot water storage tank, and a mixing valve water supply communicating with a water inlet of the hot water mixing valve. A passage, a water supply temperature detecting means provided in the water supply connection port, the water storage tank water supply passage or the mixing valve water supply passage, and a mixing valve hot water supply passage communicating between an outlet of the hot water storage tank and a hot water inlet of the hot water mixing valve. A hot water supply connection port that is connected to an outlet of the valve and supplies hot water from the main body to the outside, and a water input amount detection unit uses a set temperature of the hot water mixing valve and an output of the water supply temperature detection unit and a mixing ratio of hot water and a usage amount of hot water, That is, the solar water heater according to claim 2, wherein the amount of water entering the hot water storage tank is calculated. 4. A hot water supply temperature setting means, and a control means for controlling a hot water mixing valve so that the hot water temperature becomes equal to the set value of the hot water temperature setting means, and displays a hot water supply possible amount at the set value of the hot water temperature setting means. The solar water heater according to claim 3.