Drinking Water Supply System Sensor-Based Pressure and Quality Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Complex drinking water supply systems in large buildings face challenges in maintaining consistent water quality and energy efficiency due to the complexity of the systems, which can lead to unnoticed component failures and disruptions in water supply.
Innovation Solution
A drinking water supply system equipped with sensors to monitor various parameters such as pressure, temperature, and water quality, and a central control device that evaluates these measurements to prevent issues like pressure drops, contamination, and energy inefficiencies by controlling flushing units and circulation lines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automatic flushing and circulation are continuously activated to maintain water quality, then water quality is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic flushing and circulation operations based on measured water quality parameters rather than continuous operation. The control device receives measurements from sensors (temperature, pressure, flow rate) and activates flushing or circulation only when parameters indicate degradation, thereby maintaining water quality while minimizing unnecessary energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a feedback mechanism where sensors continuously monitor water quality parameters (temperature, pressure, flow rate) and transmit data to the control device. Based on this feedback, the control device dynamically adjusts flushing and circulation operations, activating them only when measurements indicate water quality degradation, thus optimizing the balance between water quality maintenance and energy efficiency.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are deployed throughout the system to monitor all parameters, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a centralized control device that handles multiple functions: receiving data from various sensor types (temperature, pressure, flow rate), evaluating water quality parameters, controlling flushing operations, and managing circulation. This multi-functional approach consolidates complexity into a single control unit rather than distributing it across multiple specialized devices, maintaining measurement precision while managing system complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a drinking water supply system (2) with a drinking water line system (4), comprising multiple drinking water removal points (18, 20, 22, 22', 22", 170) connected to the drinking water line system (4), at least one sensor (24, 26, 28, 30, 88, 118, 158, 168), which is designed to determine measurement values, and a central controller (40), which is designed to receive and evaluate the measurement values determined by the at least one sensor (24, 26, 28, 30, 88, 118, 158, 168). The central controller (40) is designed to control the control elements (70, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86, 86', 104, 106, 108, 130, 150, 160, 172, 176) depending on the received measurement values, wherein the drinking water line system (2) has a drinking water line section (14, 16) for supplying drinking water to multiple drinking water removal points (18, 20, 22, 22', 22", 170), a volumetric flow rate sensor (24, 26, 30) is provided in order to measure the volumetric flow rate of the water in the drinking water line section (14, 16) and/or a pressure sensor (24, 26) is provided in order to measure the water pressure in the drinking water line section (14, 16), and the controller (40) is designed to carry out a measure. The invention additionally relates to a method for controlling such a drinking water supply system (2) and to a computer program having commands which are executed on at least one processor so as to carry out the method.