JP2013238364A - Monitor system in water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitor system in a water heater 2 capable of performing a hot water supply operation for supplying hot water to a hot water part 4 other than a bathtub 3 in a bath room and performing a hot water filling operation for supplying hot water to the bathtub 3, which can display whether shower bathing is more energy-saving as compared to bathing by hot water filling to a user in an easily understandable way upon the shower bathing.SOLUTION: A monitor system in a water heater includes: a reference consumption amount storing means 52 for storing an energy amount consumed in a hot water filling operation as a reference consumption amount; a consumption amount recognizing means 53 for recognizing a consumption energy amount at each point of time when being consumed during the hot water filling operation; a hot water consumption amount storing means 54 for storing a hot water consumption amount being a value obtained by integrating consumption energy amount recognized in the consumption amount recognizing means 53; a calculation means 55 for calculating a remaining time required until the hot water consumption amount reaches the reference consumption amount when performing a hot water supplying operation with a consumption energy amount at the present point of time which is recognized by the consumption amount recognizing means 53; and a display means 6 for displaying the remaining time calculated by the calculation means 55.

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitor system in a water heater capable of performing a hot water supply operation for supplying hot water to a hot water supply unit other than a bathtub in a bathroom and a hot water filling operation for supplying hot water to a bathtub.

  Conventionally, as a monitoring system in a water heater, when the actual hot water supply amount by the water heater is compared with a preset reference hot water amount and the actual hot water amount exceeds the reference hot water amount, It is known that the information display mode is changed to notify the user that hot water has been used excessively, so that the user is conscious of energy saving (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, when taking a bath, whether to save in a shower or to fill with hot water depends on the amount of water in the shower, temperature, shower time, number of people taking a bath, etc., and cannot be uniquely determined. Therefore, it is very convenient for users with high energy-saving consciousness if it can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner to the user whether or not the shower bathing is more energy-saving than bathing in a hot water bath. A monitor system has not yet been developed.

JP 2006-258338 A

  In view of the above points, the present invention provides a monitor system for a water heater that can easily display to a user whether or not a shower bath is more energy-saving than a hot water bath. It is said.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first invention of the present application is a monitor system in a water heater capable of performing a hot water supply operation for supplying hot water to a hot water supply unit other than a bathtub in a bathroom and a hot water filling operation for supplying hot water to a bathtub. Standard consumption storage means that stores the amount of energy consumed in tension operation as reference consumption, consumption grasp means that grasps the amount of energy consumed per unit time at each point of time consumed in hot water supply operation, and consumption grasp Hot water consumption storage means for storing hot water consumption, which is the sum of the energy consumption per unit time ascertained by means, and hot water supply operation at the current energy consumption per unit time ascertained by the means for grasping consumption And a display means for displaying the remaining time calculated by the computing means, and a calculating means for calculating the remaining time until the hot water consumption reaches the reference consumption. To.

  Further, the second invention of the present application is a monitor system in a water heater capable of performing a hot water supply operation for supplying hot water to a portion other than the bathtub in the bathroom and a hot water operation for supplying hot water to the bathtub, and energy consumed in the hot water operation. The standard consumption storage means that stores the total value of the amount converted to the amount of water and the amount converted to the amount of water as the reference consumption, the energy consumption per unit time and the consumption per unit time at each point of time consumed in the hot water operation Water consumption consumption, which is the sum of the consumption amount grasping means for grasping the amount of water, and the sum of the converted value of the amount of energy consumed per unit time and the converted value of the amount of water consumed per unit time grasped by the means for grasping consumption When the hot water supply operation is performed with the current consumption energy amount per unit time and the consumption water amount per unit time as grasped by the consumption amount grasping means, Characterized in that it comprises calculating means for calculating the remaining according to reach the amount time, and display means for displaying the remaining time calculated by the calculating means.

  According to the first invention, when taking a shower, the difference between the amount of energy consumed in the hot water operation (reference consumption) and the amount of energy consumed so far in the hot water operation (hot water consumption) is Since the amount of time remaining until the consumption reaches the standard consumption can be displayed, it is easy for the user to understand whether shower bathing is more energy-saving than bathing in hot water, and has a strong psychological impact. You can report it. Furthermore, because the remaining time changes due to changes in the hot water supply operation (changes in the amount of energy consumed at this time) such as changes in the amount of water and temperature in the shower, the user who is taking a shower is encouraged to make efforts to save energy in real time. Can do.

  In addition, according to the second invention, whether or not the shower bathing is more energy-saving and economical than the hot water bathing based on the consumption amount in which the consumption water amount is added to the consumption energy amount. Can be notified. In addition, the amount of energy and the amount of water cannot be simply added because the units are different, but by treating the amount of energy converted to the amount of water and the amount of water converted to the amount of water consumed, the amount of energy consumed should be treated as the amount consumed. Can do.

  In the present invention (the first and second inventions), the reference consumption used for the calculation in the calculation means is a value obtained by dividing the reference consumption stored in the reference consumption storage means by the number of people taking a bath. It is desirable. According to this, even when there are a plurality of bathers, it is possible to calculate and notify whether or not the shower bathing is more energy-saving than the hot water bathing based on the consumption per person.

  Note that the reference consumption stored in the reference consumption storage means is a value calculated based on the setting parameters of the hot water operation including the hot water setting water amount and the hot water setting temperature, and when the hot water operation is performed. Any of the actual measurement values may be used.

The schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the monitor system of embodiment of this invention. The control block diagram of the monitor system of FIG. The graph which shows an example of the relationship between reference | standard consumption, hot water supply consumption, and remaining time.

  Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a bathroom in a house, and 2 denotes a water heater. The bathroom 1 is provided with a bathtub 3 and a hot water supply section 4 other than the bathtub 3 composed of a shower and a currant. Although not shown, the water heater 2 includes a heat exchanger heated by a gas burner, and includes a hot water operation for supplying hot water to the bathtub 3 via the hot water circuit 2a and a hot water operation for supplying hot water to the hot water supply unit 4. Is possible.

  The water heater 2 further includes a controller 5 for controlling the operation thereof, and a remote controller 6 as display means connected to the controller 5 so as to be capable of bidirectional communication is disposed in the bathroom 1. The remote controller 6 includes information input means for inputting parameters such as a hot water supply temperature that is a setting parameter for hot water supply operation, a hot water setting water amount that is a setting parameter for hot water operation, a hot water setting temperature and a heat retention time, and the number of bathers. ing. And the parameter input into the remote control 6 is memorize | stored in the parameter memory | storage means 51 provided in the controller 5 (refer FIG. 2), and the water heater 2 is controlled based on these parameters.

  The controller 5 further displays the amount of energy (gas amount) consumed in one hot water operation as shown in FIG. 2 in order to display whether or not the shower bath is more energy-saving than the hot water bath. ) As the reference consumption, the consumption grasping means 53 for grasping the energy consumption per unit time at each point of time consumed in the hot water supply operation, and the consumption grasping means 53 When the hot water supply operation is performed with the current consumption energy amount per unit time grasped by the consumption amount grasping means 53 and the hot water consumption amount storage means 54 for storing the hot water consumption amount that is a value obtained by integrating the amount of energy consumption per unit time And calculating means 55 for calculating the remaining time until the hot water consumption amount reaches the reference consumption amount, and display control means 56 for displaying the remaining time calculated by the calculating means 55 on the remote controller 6. Eteiru.

  The reference consumption amount stored in the reference consumption amount storage means 52 is a value calculated based on the setting parameters for the hot water operation including the hot water setting water amount and the hot water setting temperature stored in the parameter storage means 51, and the actual consumption amount. It may be any of the actually measured values when the hot water filling operation is performed. In addition, when making standard consumption into a measured value, it is desirable to make the average value of the measured value of several hot water filling operation into a reference consumption. Further, the reference consumption amount may be a sum of the energy amount consumed by the hot water operation and the energy amount consumed by the additional hot water.

  The water heater 2 includes a gas proportional valve that controls the amount of gas supplied to the burner to increase or decrease in accordance with the hot water supply load, and the consumption grasping means 53 is a unit at each time point from the proportional valve current that is energized to the gas proportional valve. The amount of gas consumed per hour, that is, the amount of energy consumed is grasped, the amount of energy consumed per unit time is sequentially integrated, and the integrated value is stored in the hot water supply consumption storage means 54 as the hot water consumption.

At the present time when the calculation means 55 grasps the reference consumption amount stored in the reference consumption amount storage means 52 by GN, the hot water supply consumption amount currently stored in the hot water consumption consumption storage 54 by GS, and the consumption amount grasping means 53 at the present time. Where the amount of energy consumed per unit time is dG and the remaining time T is expressed by the following equation (1):
T = (GN−GS) / dG (1)
Calculate with In order to suppress the remaining time T from fluctuating with a slight change in the amount of energy consumed per unit time, dG used in the equation (1) is the amount of energy consumed per unit time for the most recent predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). It is desirable to average the values. In addition, dG = 0 when hot water supply is stopped, and the remaining time T obtained by equation (1) becomes infinite. Therefore, it is assumed that the remaining time T during the hot water supply stop is equal to the remaining time calculated immediately before the hot water supply stop.

  The display control means 56 causes the remote controller 6 to display the remaining time T calculated by the calculating means 55 when the bather taking a shower bath instructs the remote controller 6 to display the comparison with the hot water bathing.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of bathers, a criterion used for calculation in the calculation means 55 so that it can be calculated on the basis of consumption per person whether shower bathing is more energy-saving than hot water bathing. The consumption amount GN is a value obtained by dividing the reference consumption amount stored in the reference consumption amount storage means 52 by the number of people taking a bath. In addition, in order to prevent the second and subsequent bathers from taking a shower, the remaining time T countdown starts from the remaining time calculated by the bather's shower bath before that time. The hot water consumption amount GS stored in the hot water consumption amount storage means 54 is reset to zero each time when the exit of the hot water is detected by a sensor (not shown).

  However, it may be required to compare the total consumption of hot water and the reference consumption when a plurality of bathers take a shower. In this case, even if the bather leaves the bathroom 1, the hot water consumption GS stored in the hot water consumption storage means 54 is not reset to zero, and the reference consumption stored in the reference consumption storage 52 is used. The amount may be used as the reference consumption amount GN used for calculation in the calculation means 55 as it is.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the relationship between the reference consumption GN, the hot water consumption GS, and the remaining time T. In the example shown in FIG. 3, as is apparent from the slope of the line representing the hot water supply consumption GS, the hot water supply operation is performed in a state where the consumed energy amount dG per unit time is increased during the period from t1 to t2. During the period, the hot water supply operation is stopped, and during the period from t3 to t4, the hot water supply operation is performed in a state in which the amount of energy consumed per unit time dG is relatively small by reducing the amount of water in the shower or lowering the hot water supply temperature. The hot water supply operation is performed in a state where the energy consumption amount dG per unit time is further reduced, and the hot water supply operation is performed in the state where the consumption energy amount dG is increased in the period after t5. At time t6, the hot water supply consumption GS reaches the reference consumption GN, and the remaining time T is zero.

  According to the present embodiment, when taking a shower, the difference between the amount of energy consumed in the hot water operation (reference consumption) and the amount of energy consumed so far in the hot water operation (hot water consumption) is calculated thereafter. It can be displayed as the time remaining until the consumption reaches the reference consumption. Therefore, it is easy for the user to know whether shower bathing is more energy-saving than hot water bathing, and can be reported with a strong psychological impact. Furthermore, because the remaining time changes due to changes in the hot water supply operation (changes in the amount of energy consumed at this time) such as changes in the amount of water and temperature in the shower, the user who is taking a shower is encouraged to make efforts to save energy in real time. Can do.

  By the way, in the said embodiment, although reference | standard consumption and hot water supply consumption are calculated | required only from the amount of consumed energy, you may obtain | require reference consumption and hot water supply consumption considering the amount of consumed water to the amount of consumed energy.

  In this case, the reference consumption amount storage means 52 calculates the amount of energy (consumed gas amount × gas unit price) converted from the amount of energy consumed in one hot water filling operation and the amount of water converted (consumed water amount × unit price of water). The total value is configured to be stored as the reference consumption amount GN ′. In addition, the amount of energy and the amount of water cannot be simply added because the units are different, but by treating the amount of energy converted to the amount of water and the amount of water converted to the amount of water consumed, the amount of energy consumed should be treated as the amount consumed. Can do.

  In addition, the consumption amount grasping means 53 grasps the amount of energy consumed per unit time at each point of time consumed in the hot water supply operation from the proportional valve current, and detects the amount of water flowing into the water heater 2 as in the above embodiment. Based on a signal from a water amount sensor (not shown), the water consumption amount per unit time at each time point consumed in the hot water supply operation is grasped. Then, the hot water supply consumption GS ′, which is a value obtained by integrating the sum of the amount converted value of the amount of energy consumed per unit time and the amount converted value of the amount of water consumed per unit time grasped by the consumption amount grasping means 53, is stored in the hot water consumption amount. The data is stored in the means 54.

The calculation means 55 sets dG ′ as the total value of the current amount converted value of the consumed energy amount per unit time and the converted amount value of the consumed water amount per unit time, which is grasped by the consumption amount grasping means 53, and sets the remaining time T as follows: (2) Formula,
T = (GN′−GS ′) / dG ′ (2)
Calculate with

  If the remaining time T is displayed on the remote controller 6, not only can the shower bath be informed of whether it is more energy-saving than the hot water bathing, but also whether it is economical or not can be reported. Convenient for users.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the water heater 2 of the above embodiment uses gas as an energy source, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where a water heater using electricity or oil as an energy source is used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bathroom 2 ... Hot-water heater 3 ... Bathtub 4 ... Hot-water supply part 5 ... Controller 52 ... Standard consumption storage means 53 ... Consumption grasping means 54 ... Hot water consumption consumption storage means 55 ... Calculation means 6: Remote control (display means).

Claims (5)

A monitoring system in a water heater capable of performing a hot water supply operation for supplying hot water to a hot water supply unit other than a bathtub in a bathroom and a hot water operation for supplying water to a bathtub,
A reference consumption storage means for storing the amount of energy consumed in hot water operation as a reference consumption;
Consumption grasping means for grasping the amount of energy consumed per unit time at each point of time consumed in hot water operation;
Hot water consumption storage means for storing hot water consumption, which is a value obtained by integrating the amount of energy consumed per unit time grasped by the consumption grasping means;
When the hot water supply operation is performed with the current consumption energy amount per unit time ascertained by the consumption amount grasping means, calculation means for calculating the remaining time until the hot water consumption amount reaches the reference consumption amount,
A monitor system for a water heater, comprising: display means for displaying the remaining time calculated by the computing means. A monitor system in a water heater capable of performing a hot water supply operation for supplying water to a part other than a bathtub in a bathroom and a hot water operation for supplying water to a bathtub,
A reference consumption storage means for storing the total value of the amount converted to the amount of energy consumed in the hot water operation and the amount converted to the amount of water as a reference consumption;
A consumption grasping means for grasping the amount of energy consumed per unit time and the amount of water consumed per unit time at each point of time consumed in the hot water supply operation;
Hot water consumption storage means for storing hot water consumption, which is a value obtained by integrating the sum of the amount converted value of the energy consumption per unit time grasped by the consumption amount grasping means and the amount converted value of the amount of water consumed per unit time;
Calculation means for calculating the remaining time required for hot water consumption to reach the standard consumption when the hot water supply operation is performed with the current energy consumption per unit time and water consumption per unit time as grasped by the consumption grasping means. When,
A monitor system for a water heater, comprising: display means for displaying the remaining time calculated by the computing means.   The hot water supply according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reference consumption used for the calculation in the calculation means is a value obtained by dividing the reference consumption stored in the reference consumption storage means by the number of people taking a bath. Monitoring system in a container.   2. The reference consumption amount stored in the reference consumption amount storage means is a value calculated based on setting parameters for a hot water operation including a hot water setting water amount and a hot water setting temperature. The monitoring system in the hot water heater of any one of -3.   The monitoring system for a hot water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reference consumption amount stored in the reference consumption amount storage means is an actual measurement value when a hot water filling operation is performed. .

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