JP7261548B2 - Storage hot water heater - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hot water storage type water heater having a hot water storage tank.

A storage-type water heater that boils hot water with an electric device such as a heat pump boils a predetermined amount of hot water in a hot-water storage tank during the night time period (for example, between 23:00 and 7:00) when the electricity rate is cheaper. is made low, and a specific example thereof is described in Patent Document 1, for example. The hot water storage type water heater disclosed in Patent Document 1 determines the amount of hot water to be boiled during the nighttime based on the actual heat quantity of hot water discharged from the hot water storage tank over the past several days.

JP 2011-237149 A

By the way, in recent years, some power companies have introduced an actual amount system in which the basic rate of electricity is determined based on the time period in which the amount of power used for 30 minutes was the largest in the past year. In order to keep down the basic charge for electricity in general households that adopt such a metered system, it is important to avoid the concentration of electric appliance usage. Therefore, in households that start activities involving the use of electrical appliances before the end of the night time period, the power consumption for boiling water overlaps with the use of other electrical appliances, resulting in 30 minutes of power consumption. amount was maximum.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot water storage type water heater that prevents the maximum value of domestic power consumption from being pushed up by boiling water.

A storage-type water heater according to the present invention that meets the above object is a storage-type water heater that completes boiling in a hot water storage tank by a nighttime end time when a nighttime period ends, wherein an activity start input signifying the start of a person's activity is provided. and an activity for which the activity start input is made on a predetermined future date based on the performance of the time when the activity start input is made to the input target part. a control means for deriving an estimated start time, wherein the control means predicts that the estimated activity start time is earlier than the nighttime end time and that the boiling in the hot water storage tank is expected to be completed by the estimated activity start time. , the expected activity start time is set as the target time for completing the boiling of the water in the hot water storage tank on the predetermined day , and the activity start input is a voice input in which a specific character string is uttered .

In the hot water storage type water heater according to the present invention, the control means expects that the expected activity start time is earlier than the nighttime end time and that the boiling in the hot water storage tank cannot be completed by the expected activity start time. In this case, it is preferable to start boiling the water in the hot water storage tank from the start time of the nighttime period.

In the hot water storage type water heater according to the present invention, a reheating circuit in which hot water in the hot water storage tank circulates, a bathtub side circulation circuit in which hot water in a bathtub circulates, and the hot water circulating in the reheating circuit by heat exchange is used in the bathtub. a heat exchanger for heating the hot water circulating in the side circulation circuit to reheat the hot water in the bathtub, wherein the control means sends an activity end input signifying the end of a person's activity to the input receiving unit. It is preferable that the reheating of the hot water in the bathtub is stopped by detecting that the hot water has been reheated.

In the hot water storage type water heater according to the present invention, the heat recovery circuit in which the water in the hot water storage tank circulates, the bathtub side circulation circuit in which hot water in the bathtub circulates, and the hot water circulating in the bathtub side circulation circuit by heat exchange. a heat exchanger that heats water circulating in the heat recovery circuit to recover heat from the hot water in the bathtub, wherein the control means instructs the input unit to end activity, which means the end of a person's activity. It is preferable to start recovering heat from the hot water in the bathtub by detecting that the input has been made.

A hot water storage type water heater according to the present invention detects an input part to which an activity start input is made, and that an activity start input is made to the input part. a control means for deriving the expected activity start time at which the daily activity start input is made, the control means causing the expected activity start time to be earlier than the nighttime end time and boiling in the hot water storage tank by the activity start expected time. is expected to be completed, the estimated activity start time is set as the target time for completing the boiling of the water in the hot water storage tank on a given day. It is possible to stably complete the boiling of the hot water in the hot water storage tank until the amount of water in the hot water storage tank increases, and to prevent the maximum value of power consumption from being pushed up by the boiling of the hot water in the hot water storage tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a storage hot water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention; It is explanatory drawing which shows the connection of the control means of the hot water storage type hot-water supply machine.

Next, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings for better understanding of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the hot water storage type water heater 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention completes boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 by the end of the nighttime period when the electricity rate is cheaper. . A detailed description will be given below.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the hot water storage type water heater 10 includes a hot water storage tank 12 that stores hot water and a heat pump 11 that is an example of an electric device that heats the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 .
Hot water storage tank 12 has an upper portion to which hot water outlet pipe 13 is connected and a lower portion to which water supply pipe 14 is connected, which are connected by a water heating circuit 15 connected to heat pump 11 . The heat pump 11 has a compressor 17, a heat exchanger 18, an expansion valve 19, and a heat exchanger 20 connected to a circulation circuit 16 in which fluid circulates.

When the pump 21 provided in the water heating circuit 15 operates, the water stored in the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 advances through the water heating circuit 15 toward the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12 . The fluid circulating in the circulation circuit 16 takes in the heat of the outside air when passing through the heat exchanger 20 , is compressed by the compressor 17 , and then passes through the heat exchanger 18 . Heat is given to the water flowing toward the upper part of the tube to turn it into hot water.

A three-way valve 22 is provided downstream of the heat exchanger 18 in the water heating circuit 15 , and the three-way valve 22 and the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 are connected by a bypass pipe 23 . The three-way valve 22 allows the water (or hot water) that has passed through the heat exchanger 18 to pass through the bypass pipe 23 to the hot water storage tank until the heat pump 11 can heat the water flowing through the water heating circuit 15 to a predetermined temperature (for example, 60° C.) or higher. The water (or hot water) below a predetermined temperature is prevented from flowing into the upper portion of the hot water storage tank 12 by sending the water to the lower portion of the hot water storage tank 12.例文帳に追加

A hot water filling pipe 25 for sending hot water to a bathtub 24 is connected to the hot water outlet pipe 13 . The hot water filling pipe 25 is provided with a mixing valve 26 for mixing water from the water supply pipe 14 with the hot water sent from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12 and sent via the hot water discharge pipe 13, and an on-off valve 27 that is opened when the bathtub 24 is filled with hot water. Also, a check valve 28 is provided to prevent backflow of hot water in the bathtub 24 .
A bathtub-side circulation circuit 30 for circulating hot water in the bathtub 24 is connected to the bathtub 24 .

A part of the bathtub-side circulation circuit 30 and a part of the hot-water filling pipe 25 are also used. A temperature sensor 32 for measuring the temperature of the hot water and a water flow sensor 33 for detecting circulation of the hot water in the bathtub-side circulation circuit 30 are provided. A heat exchanger 34 to which the bathtub side circulation circuit 30 is connected is connected to a reheating circuit 35 through which the hot water in the hot water storage tank 12 is circulated.

The hot water discharged from the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12 by the operation of the circulation pump 36 provided in the reheating circuit 35 advances through the reheating circuit 35 toward the heat exchanger 34, and passes through the heat exchanger 34 to the bathtub side. After heating the hot water of the bathtub 24 circulating in the circulation circuit 30 , it flows into the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 . Therefore, the heat exchanger 34 heats the hot water circulating in the bathtub-side circulation circuit 30 with the hot water circulating in the reheating circuit 35 to reheat the bathtub 24 .

In the present embodiment, a partial area of the reheating circuit 35 is used as a partial area of the heat recovery circuit 37 in which the water in the hot water storage tank 12 circulates. Each has a shared area and an independent area. The heat exchanger 34 and the circulation pump 36 are provided in a shared area of the heat recovery circuit 37 and the reheating circuit 35 . At one end of the common area, a three-way valve 38 is provided for switching between the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12 and the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 as the hot water supply source for the heat exchanger 34 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the three-way valve 38 is connected to a control means 39 for controlling the operations of the heat pump 11, the pump 21, the three-way valve 22, the mixing valve 26, the on-off valve 27, and the circulation pumps 31 and 36. The control means 39 can be mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer. When reheating the bath tub 24 , the three-way valve 38 is set by the control means 39 to send hot water from the top of the hot water storage tank 12 to the heat exchanger 34 via the independent region of the reheating circuit 35 .

When the three-way valve 38 is set by the control means 39 to send water from the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 to the heat exchanger 34, the circulation pump 36 operates to cause the water in the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 to flow. is sent to heat exchanger 34 via a separate area of heat recovery circuit 37 . The heat exchanger 34 heats the water in the lower part of the hot water storage tank 12 (the water circulating in the heat recovery circuit 37) sent to the heat exchanger 34 by the hot water in the bathtub 24 circulating in the bathtub-side circulation circuit 30 through heat exchange. Then, the heat of the hot water in the bathtub 24 is recovered.

Connected to the control means 39 are a microphone section (an example of an input section) 40 through which a person's voice is input, and an operation panel (an example of an input section) 41 through which a manual input operation is performed. When the word uttered into the microphone unit 40 is a specific character string, the control means 39 can detect the utterance of the word (that is, voice input) as a specific meaning. For example, when a person utters “reheating” into the microphone unit 40 while hot water is being poured into the bathtub 24 , the control means 39 causes the hot water in the upper part of the hot water storage tank 12 to flow through the reheating circuit 35 . The three-way valve 38 is switched to a state in which the water passes through the heat exchanger 34, and the circulation pumps 31 and 36 are operated to reheat the bathtub 24. - 特許庁Also when a predetermined input operation is performed on the operation panel 41, the control means 39 controls the three-way valve 38 and the circulation pumps 31 and 36 to reheat the bathtub 24. FIG.

Further, in this embodiment, when a person utters "good morning" into the microphone unit 40, the control means 39 detects that an activity start input indicating the start of the person's activity is input to the microphone unit 40. Then, when the person utters "good night" into the microphone unit 40, the control means 39 detects that an activity end input signifying the end of the person's activity has been input to the microphone unit 40.例文帳に追加Needless to say, words other than "good morning" and "good night" can be used as speech input for activity start input and activity end input.

Then, when a specific input operation is performed on the operation panel 41 , the control means 39 detects that an activity start input or an activity end input has been performed on the operation panel 41 . That is, the control means 39 can detect an activity start input and an activity end input by either a specific voice input to the microphone section 40 or a specific input operation to the operation panel 41 . Activity start input and activity end input are not limited to voice input or input operation. A start input or an activity end input may be detected.

The control means 39 stores the time when the activity start input is made each day, and the start time (nighttime start time) and end time (nighttime end time) of the nighttime period. When it is detected that an activity start input has been made to the board 41, the time at which the activity start input was made for today and the time at which the activity start input was made for each day of a plurality of days (for example, 6 days) up to yesterday (activity An example of the actual time at which the start input was made) is derived from the next day (an example of a predetermined day in the future (after the next day)) expected activity start time at which the activity start input is made.

When the predicted activity start time is earlier than the nighttime end time and it is expected that the boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 will be completed by the predicted activity start time, the control means 39 sets the predicted activity start time to the next day's hot water storage tank 12. As a target time for completing the boiling, the hot water storage tank 12 is heated in the night time zone so that the boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 is completed by the expected activity start time. As a result, in households that start the day's activities at a time earlier than the end of the nighttime, the power consumption for boiling the inside of the hot water storage tank 12 and the power consumption of other electric appliances overlap, resulting in an increase in total power consumption. suppress the By setting the estimated activity start time as the target time for completion of boiling, for example, compared to the case where one hour before the estimated activity start time is set as the target time for completion of boiling, hot water from the hot water storage tank 12 after boiling is reduced. The amount of heat lost from the inside of the hot water storage tank 12 due to heat dissipation can be suppressed before the hot water is put out and used.

Here, the control means 39 derives the expected activity start time at which the activity start input for the specific day of the week is performed from the actual time when the activity start input for the specific day of the week is performed (for example, the past 5 days of Monday). derived the expected start time of activity on Monday from the results of ), the expected start time of the activity is earlier than the end time of nighttime, and it is expected that the boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 can be completed by the expected start time of the activity, The expected activity start time may be set as the target time for completing the boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 on the next specific day of the week.

Then, the control means 39 is controlled when the estimated activity start time is earlier than the nighttime end time and it is expected that the boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 cannot be completed by the estimated activity start time (for example, when the estimated activity start time is 2:00 am). time), the heating in the hot water storage tank 12 is started at the nighttime start time (substantially at nighttime start time) and by the nighttime end time (usually later than the expected start time of the activity). to complete boiling. Therefore, the boiling of the hot water tank 12 is given priority over the completion of the boiling of the hot water tank 12 by the expected activity start time. If the expected start time of the activity is earlier than the nighttime end time and it is expected that the boiling of the hot water storage tank 12 will not be completed by the expected start time of the activity, the boiling of the hot water storage tank 12 will be started before the nighttime start time. You may start.

The boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 when the activity start time is earlier than the nighttime end time and it is expected that the boiling in the hot water storage tank 12 cannot be completed by the activity start time is expected to be completed. The power consumption per unit time (for example, 30 minutes) required for heating is lowered (for example, the operation level of the compressor 17 is suppressed), and the hot water storage tank 12 is boiled during the nighttime hours.

On the other hand, when the expected activity start time is the same as or later than the nighttime end time, the control means 39 sets the nighttime end time as the target time for completing the boiling of the hot water tank 12 on the next day. Boil the water.

Further, when the control means 39 detects that an activity end input has been made to the microphone section 40 or the operation panel 41 while the hot water in the bathtub 24 is being reheated, the control means 39 controls the bathtub 24 that is being reheated. Stop reheating the hot water inside. This can prevent unnecessary reheating.
Then, the control means 39 starts heat recovery of hot water in the bathtub 24 when it detects that an activity end input is made to the microphone section 40 or the operation panel 41 . As a result, the thermal energy of the hot water in the bathtub 24 can be stably recovered in the hot water storage tank 12 . When there is no hot water in the bathtub 24 or when the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub 24 is lower than a predetermined temperature, even if an activity end input is made to the microphone unit 40 or the operation panel 41, the water in the bathtub 24 Needless to say, the heat recovery of the hot water is not performed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications of conditions that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are within the scope of the present invention.
For example, only the microphone section may be provided as the input receiving section.
Also, the function of stopping reheating of the hot water in the bathtub and starting heat recovery of the hot water in the bathtub by detecting that an activity end input has been made can be deleted.
The electric device that boils the inside of the hot water tank by consuming electric power is not limited to a heat pump, and may be an electric heater, for example.

10: hot water storage type water heater, 11: heat pump, 12: hot water storage tank, 13: hot water discharge pipe, 14: water supply pipe, 15: water heating circuit, 16: circulation circuit, 17: compressor, 18: heat exchanger, 19: expansion valve, 20: heat exchanger, 21: pump, 22: three-way valve, 23: bypass pipe, 24: bathtub, 25: hot water filling pipe, 26: mixing valve, 27: on-off valve, 28: check valve, 30: Bathtub-side circulation circuit, 31: circulation pump, 32: temperature sensor, 33: water flow sensor, 34: heat exchanger, 35: reheating circuit, 36: circulation pump, 37: heat recovery circuit, 38: three-way valve, 39: control means, 40: microphone section, 41: operation panel

Claims (4)

In a hot water storage type water heater that completes boiling in the hot water storage tank by the end of the night time when the nighttime period ends,
an input receiving part for receiving an activity start input indicating the start of a person's activity;
Control means for detecting that the activity start input has been made to the input receiving part, and deriving an expected activity start time at which the activity start input will be made on a predetermined future date from the record of the time at which the activity start input has been made. and
When the predicted activity start time is earlier than the nighttime end time and it is expected that the boiling of the hot water storage tank will be completed by the predicted activity start time, the control means sets the predicted activity start time to the predetermined time. A target time to complete boiling in the hot water storage tank on the day ,
The hot water storage type hot water heater , wherein the activity start input is a voice input in which a specific character string is uttered . 2. The storage-type water heater according to claim 1, wherein said control means anticipates that said activity start time is earlier than said nighttime end time, and that heating in said hot water storage tank cannot be completed by said activity start time. A hot water storage type water heater characterized in that, on certain occasions, the heating of the water in the hot water storage tank is started from the start time of the nighttime period. 3. The hot water storage type water heater according to claim 1 , wherein a reheating circuit in which hot water in the hot water storage tank circulates, a bathtub-side circulation circuit in which hot water in a bathtub circulates, and hot water circulating in the reheating circuit by heat exchange. and a heat exchanger for heating the hot water circulating in the bathtub-side circulation circuit to reheat the hot water in the bathtub, and the control means means the end of the person's activity with respect to the input-receiving part. A hot water storage type water heater characterized by detecting that an activity end input has been made and stopping the reheating of hot water in the bathtub which is being performed. 3. The storage-type water heater according to claim 1 , wherein a heat recovery circuit in which water in the hot water storage tank circulates, a bathtub-side circulation circuit in which hot water in a bathtub circulates, and heat exchange circulates in the bathtub-side circulation circuit. a heat exchanger that heats water circulating in the heat recovery circuit with hot water to recover heat from the hot water in the bathtub; A hot water storage type water heater, characterized in that it detects that an activity end input has been made to start recovery of heat from hot water in said bathtub.

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