JP2009092289A - Water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water heater of high convenience capable of securing sufficient capacity in reheating a bath without degrading efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: This water heater is composed of a hot water storage tank 1, a heating means 2 for heating the water of the hot water storage tank 1, a heating-up temperature deciding means 9 for deciding a heating-up temperature by the heating means 2, a bathtub 3, a bath reheating means 4, 10, 11 for reheating the bath by heat exchange between hot water in the hot water storage tank and hot water in the bathtub, a bath reheating start switch 13 operated by a user for starting the bath reheating means 4, 10, 11, a bath reheating start switch operation record storing means 14 for storing user's operation record to the bath reheating start switch 13, and a heating-up temperature correcting means 15 for correcting a heating-up temperature of the heating means by the heating-up temperature deciding means 9 on the basis of contents stored in the bath reheating start switch operation record storing means 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot water supply apparatus that stores and uses boiled hot water in a hot water tank and replenishes a bath using the heat of the hot water.

  Conventionally, this kind of hot water supply apparatus has a thing like FIG. 5, for example (for example, refer patent document 1).

FIG. 5 shows a conventional hot water supply apparatus described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the hot water tank 1, the heating means 2 for heating the water in the hot water tank 1, the bathtub 3, the hot water in the hot water tank 1 and the hot water in the bathtub 3 are exchanged for heat. A heat exchanger 4 for making water is provided in the upper part of the hot water tank 1, hot water 5 having a temperature of 85 ° C. or higher is stored in the upper part of the hot water tank 1, and hot water 6 having a medium temperature of 65 ° C. to 85 ° C. is provided therebelow. The boiling temperature of the heating means 2 is controlled so as to be stored, the hot water 5 at the upper part is used for reheating the bath, and the hot water 6 at the intermediate part of the hot water tank 1 is provided for hot water supply by providing an intermediate hot water 6. Is used.
JP 2005-42952 A

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the hot water in the upper part of the hot water tank 1 is heated at a high speed, but the hot water in the upper part of the hot water tank 1 is stored in the hot water tank in a home where there is little hot water. Just dissipating heat to the outside of the unit 1 is completely useless. In addition, when the heating means 2 is a heat pump, there is a characteristic that the efficiency increases as the boiling temperature is lower. Therefore, the production of the high temperature hot water 5 results in an operation with low efficiency, and the problem that waste also occurs here. was there.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a hot water supply device that ensures sufficient capacity when bathing as needed and has high convenience without impairing efficiency.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, a hot water supply apparatus of the present invention includes a hot water storage tank, a heating means for heating water in the hot water storage tank, and a boiling temperature determination means for determining a boiling temperature of water by the heating means. And a bath, a bath replenishing means for exchanging heat by exchanging heat between the hot water in the hot water storage tank and the hot water in the bathtub, and a bath follower for activating the bath replenishing means operated by a user A bath start switch, and a bath start switch operation history storage means for storing a user operation history for the bath start switch, based on the stored contents of the bath start switch operation history storage means, Boiling temperature correcting means for correcting the boiling temperature of water by the heating means determined by the boiling temperature determining means is provided.

In this way, the user uses the bath renewal by operating the heating means so as to ensure that the hot water of the boiling temperature is sufficient in the hot water storage tank according to the user's history of using the renewal bath. Based on the results, the hot water storage temperature is raised so that the bath reheating time can be shortened by raising the boiling temperature by heating means as necessary. By making the bath reheating time as fast as possible, and by setting the minimum boiling temperature that can cover the hot water supply load otherwise, heat dissipation from the hot water tank is suppressed, and high efficiency operation is possible when the heating means is a heat pump. It is possible to achieve both ease of use and high efficiency.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, sufficient capacity | capacitance is ensured at the time of chasing a bath as needed, and the hot water supply apparatus with high convenience can be provided, without impairing efficiency.

  The first invention includes a hot water storage tank, heating means for heating the water in the hot water tank, boiling temperature determination means for determining the boiling temperature of water by the heating means, a bathtub, and hot water in the hot water tank. Bath reheating means for exchanging heat by exchanging the hot water in the bathtub, a bath replenishing start switch for starting the bath replenishing means operated by a user, and the bath replenishing activation switch A bath reheating start switch operation history storage means for storing a user's operation history for the above, and determined by the boiling temperature determination means based on the stored contents of the bath reheating start switch operation history storage means Boiling temperature correction means for correcting the boiling temperature of water by the heating means is provided.

  As a result, the hot water storage temperature is raised so that the time for bathing can be shortened by raising the boiling temperature by the heating means as required based on the experience of the user using the bathing bath. This makes it possible to have a quick bath renewal time only when necessary, such as at home or when not using it very much. High efficiency operation can be realized when the heating means is a heat pump, and it is possible to achieve both usability and high efficiency.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, the outside air temperature detecting means is provided, and the boiling temperature correcting means corrects the boiling temperature only when the outside air temperature by the outside air temperature detecting means is equal to or lower than a preset temperature. In the summer and intermediate periods when the urgency of renewal is relatively low, priority is given to the efficiency at the time of boiling, the hot water supply load is large, and rapid heating is desired, and heat dissipation from the hot water storage tank The operating efficiency can be improved by correcting the boiling temperature only in the winter.

  In the third invention, in particular, in the first or second invention, the heating means is configured to use a heat pump cycle, and a boiling temperature as low as possible is applied as a high boiling temperature only when necessary. As a result, the characteristics of high efficiency can be maximized.

  In a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the third aspect of the invention, the heat pump cycle is a supercritical refrigerant circuit in which the operating pressure is equal to or higher than the critical pressure, and the water is heated by the refrigerant whose pressure is increased to the critical pressure or higher. However, since the boiling temperature can be increased, it is possible to increase the amount of heat that can be used and to prevent the hot water from running out.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a hot water supply apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a hot water supply apparatus is provided to detect a hot water tank 1, a heat pump unit 2 as a heating means for heating water in the hot water tank 1, and a hot water temperature in the depth direction in the hot water tank 1. The amount of hot water used is obtained from the plurality of hot water tank temperature detecting means 8 and the degree of increase or decrease of the hot water in the hot water tank 1 by the plurality of hot water tank temperature detecting means 8, and based on the stored actual amount of hot water used for a certain period in the past. And a boiling temperature determining means 9 for determining the boiling temperature of the day.

  Moreover, the hot water supply device includes a heat exchanger 4 and a first circulation pump 10 as a bath reheating means for performing heat replenishment of the bath 3 by reciprocating heat between the hot water in the bathtub 3, the hot water tank 1, and the hot water in the bathtub 3. And a second circulation pump 11.

  Further, the hot water supply apparatus is provided with a bath reheating start switch 13 that is operated by the user on the operation remote controller 12 to activate the circulation pumps 10 and 11 as bath replenishing means. The bath reheating start switch operation history storage means 14 for storing the operation history of the start switch 13 and the boiling of the heat pump unit 2 by the boiling temperature determination means 9 based on the stored contents of the bath reheating start switch operation history storage means 14. Boiling temperature correcting means 15 for correcting the raised temperature is provided. The boiling temperature determining means 9, the bath reheating start switch operation history storage means 14, and the boiling temperature correction means 15 are provided in the control device 16.

  About the hot water supply apparatus comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  As a basic operation, the hot water tank 1 is filled with a lot of low-temperature water before boiling, and when the operation is started, it is sent from the heat pump outlet 18 to the heat pump unit 2 by the circulating pump 17 for boiling. The heated hot water is returned to the hot water tank 1 from the heat pump return port 19.

  Accordingly, hot water is stored in the hot water tank 1 sequentially from above. When hot water is used after boiling, hot water in the hot water tank 1 is sent from the hot water inlet 20, and this hot water is adjusted to the hot water temperature set by the hot water and the hot water mixing valve 22 from the hot water supply pipe 21. Supplied from the hot water tap 23. Further, water corresponding to the amount of hot water used for hot water supply flows from the water supply port 24 at the lower part of the hot water tank 1 through the water supply pipe 21.

  In addition, when the bath reheating start switch 13 provided on the operation remote controller 12 is pushed by the user, the first recirculation pump 10 and the second recirculation pump 11 are activated, and the reheating bath is activated. The hot water in the hot water tank 1 and the hot water in the bathtub 3 are sent to the heat exchanger 4 through the reheating port 25, and the hot water after the heat exchange is transferred to the hot water tank 1 from the bath reheating port 26. Returned.

  Here, the boiling temperature determining means 9 grasps the amount of hot water in the past certain period from the outputs of the plurality of hot water tank temperature detecting means 8, and determines the boiling temperature by the heat pump unit 2 so as to reduce it as much as possible. ing. This realizes wasteful heat dissipation from the remaining hot water and high-efficiency operation of the heat pump unit 2. However, when the amount of hot water used at home is reduced and the boiling temperature is lowered, the temperature of the hot water sent to the heat exchanger 4 when the bath is boiled is lowered, and the bath chase is performed. It will take time to whisper. There is little inconvenience in homes that do not use bath bathing very much, but it is very inconvenient when used frequently.

  In the hot water supply apparatus of the present embodiment, the bath renewal start switch operation history storage means 14 stores the presence / absence of the history of pressing the bath renewal start switch 13 of the operation remote controller 12 by the user during the past week, If there is such a history, the boiling temperature correction means 15 changes the boiling temperature by the boiling temperature determination means 9.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the operation.

The boiling temperature determining means 9 sequentially detects the remaining hot water amount using the outputs of the plurality of hot water tank temperature detecting means 8, and stores the minimum remaining hot water amount for the day (step 01). When it ’s time to start boiling (
In step 02), the minimum remaining hot water amount is compared with preset hot water amounts a and b. If the amount is not less than a (step 03), the boiling temperature is lowered by 5 ° C. from the previous day (step 04). When the minimum amount of remaining hot water is not less than b and less than a (step 05), the boiling temperature remains the same as the previous day (step 06), and if less than b (step 07), the boiling temperature is raised by 5 ° C. above the previous day's boiling temperature (step 08). ).

  With respect to the boiling temperature determined by the boiling temperature determination means 9 in this way, the boiling temperature correction means 15 refers to the stored contents of the bath reheating start switch operation history storage means 14 and takes a bath for the past seven days. If there is a history that the reheating start switch has been pressed (step 09) and the boiling temperature is lower than 75 ° C. (step 10), the boiling temperature is corrected to 75 ° C.

  As described above, when the hot water temperature is adjusted according to the hot water supply amount and control is performed so that excess or shortage does not occur, the hot water temperature decreases with a small amount of hot water supply. For homes that use reheating, ensure the necessary hot water storage temperature so as not to impair the convenience, and for homes with low use of reheating baths, a low boiling temperature that enables high efficiency operation By making it, it is possible to achieve both convenience and energy saving.

  The refrigeration cycle of the heat pump unit 2 preferably uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant and is operated at a pressure exceeding the critical pressure. Since the boiling temperature can be increased by using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant, it is possible to increase the amount of heat that can be used and to prevent the hot water from running out.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the hot water supply apparatus in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The difference from the first embodiment is that the boiling temperature correction means 15 is provided with the outside air temperature detection means 27, and the operation of the hot water supply apparatus configured in this way will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The difference from the operation of the first embodiment is that after the boiling temperature is determined (step 01 to step 08), the boiling temperature correction means 15 refers to the output of the outside air temperature detection means 27, which is equal to or higher than Ta. If this is the case (step 12), the boiling temperature determined by the boiling temperature determination means 9 is not corrected regardless of the contents of the bath reheating start switch operation history storage means 14.

  In this way, when the outside air temperature is high, the degree of demand for the time required for bathing is relatively small compared to the case where the outside air temperature is low.

  As described above, since the hot water supply apparatus according to the present invention can realize a control system that achieves both high efficiency and convenience, it can be applied to a hot water storage tank of a domestic hot water supply apparatus as described above, and a heat source and a hot water storage tank. It can also be applied to large-scale applications such as for business use in a system having a high level of convenience for facility managers.

Configuration diagram of hot water supply apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Flow chart showing the same operation The block diagram of the hot-water supply apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention Flow chart showing the same operation Configuration diagram of conventional hot water supply equipment

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot water storage tank 2 Heat pump unit as a heating means 3 Bathtub 4 Heat exchanger as a bath reheating means 9 Boiling temperature determination means 10 First circulation pump as a bath reheating means 11 Second as a bath retreating means Circulation pump 13 Bath reheating start switch 14 Bath reheating start switch operation history storage means 15 Boiling temperature correction means 27 Outside air temperature detection means

Claims (4)

Hot water storage tank, heating means for heating water in the hot water storage tank, boiling temperature determination means for determining the boiling temperature of water by the heating means, bathtub, hot water in the hot water tank and hot water in the bathtub Bath bathing means for exchanging the bath by exchanging, a bath chasing start switch for starting the bath chasing means operated by the user, and a user operation history for the bath chasing start switch Bath heating start switch operation history storage means for storing water, and boiling of water by the heating means determined by the boiling temperature determination means based on the stored contents of the bath follow-up start switch operation history storage means A hot water supply apparatus having a boiling temperature correction means for correcting a raised temperature. 2. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an outside air temperature detecting means is provided, and the boiling temperature correcting means corrects the boiling temperature only when the outside air temperature by the outside air temperature detecting means is equal to or lower than a preset temperature. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating means is configured to use a heat pump cycle. The hot water supply apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the heat pump cycle is a supercritical refrigerant circuit in which an operating pressure is equal to or higher than a critical pressure, and water is heated by a refrigerant whose pressure is increased to be higher than the critical pressure.

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