Influence of Cold Water Inlets and Obstacles on the Energy Efficiency of the Hot Water Production Process in a Hot Water Storage Tank

Agnieszka Malec, Tomasz Cholewa and Alicja Siuta-Olcha
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Agnieszka Malec: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Tomasz Cholewa: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Alicja Siuta-Olcha: Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Nadbystrzycka 40B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-26

Abstract: Domestic hot water preparation is one of the main sources of energy consumption in households. One of the most important elements of domestic hot water (DHW) preparation installation is the storage tank. Its design can significantly affect the efficiency of the system and energy consumption for hot water preparation. This paper presents the results of an experimental study to examine seven different designs of the cold water inlet to the storage tank and the use of two types of obstacles inside this tank placed at three different heights. The number of stratification and the energy efficiency of the system for each variant were examined. Additionally, tests were carried out for different profiles of hot water consumption in order to examine the temperature changes in the DHW tank. A system with an inlet, as an elbow facing down with a single plate, turned out to be the most advantageous variant (3–8% increase in energy efficiency compared to the basic inlet variant). An analogous analysis of the use of obstacles inside the tank showed that the most optimal solution is to place the partition, which allows the water flow on the sides of the tank, in its lower parts (energy efficiency higher by up to 15% compared to the variant without a partition). These solutions showed the highest energy efficiency for DHW production and the lowest energy demand for hot water heating in the tank among all analyzed variants.

Keywords: domestic hot water tank; tank cold water inlet; tank obstacles; thermal stratification; DHW; energy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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