Methods and systems and apparatus to support reduced energy and water usage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions, such as heat pumps, are unsuitable for replacing gas-fired boilers in smaller domestic premises due to size, cost, and complexity issues, and they require significant electrical demand and a storage tank, making them impractical for retrofitting in small properties.
Innovation Solution
A method and installation that control the temperature and flow of hot water using a system controller, energy storage with phase change materials, and a heat pump, allowing for efficient management of hot water supply by detecting demand and adjusting temperature and flow rates at individual outlets, thereby reducing energy and water consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If heat pumps are used to replace gas-fired boilers, then renewable energy usage increases, but device size and complexity increase making them unsuitable for smaller properties
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into modular components: a heat pump unit, a phase change material storage unit, and a hot water cylinder. This segmentation allows the renewable energy system to be implemented in a distributed, manageable way that suits smaller properties while maintaining high renewable energy usage.
Solution Approach 2:
Phase change materials are introduced as an intermediary energy storage medium between the heat pump and the hot water system. This intermediary allows the system to decouple the timing of energy generation from energy usage, enabling efficient renewable energy utilization without requiring a large, complex heat pump system to run continuously.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If heat pumps are installed in smaller properties, then carbon emissions decrease, but installation cost and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The phase change material storage unit is nested within or integrated with the existing hot water cylinder structure. This nesting approach allows the energy storage functionality to be added without requiring separate external space, enabling carbon emission reductions in smaller properties with limited installation space.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses phase change materials that undergo parameter changes (phase transitions) at specific temperatures to store and release thermal energy. This allows efficient energy storage in a compact form factor, reducing the volume required for the installation while maintaining effectiveness in lowering carbon emissions.
3Speed
If traditional hot water systems are used, then immediate hot water supply is available, but energy and water consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The phase change materials are pre-charged with thermal energy during off-peak hours or when renewable energy generation is high. This preliminary action ensures that energy is stored in advance, allowing immediate hot water supply when needed while avoiding the energy waste associated with continuous heating in traditional systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system exploits phase transitions of the phase change materials (melting and freezing) to store and release thermal energy rapidly. When hot water is demanded, the phase change material undergoes a phase transition that releases stored energy quickly, maintaining immediate hot water supply while dramatically reducing overall energy consumption.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If gas boilers are replaced with alternative heat sources, then fossil fuel dependency decreases, but system cost and electrical demand requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pump operates periodically rather than continuously, charging the phase change material storage during periods of low electrical demand or high renewable generation. This periodic operation reduces peak electrical demand requirements while still achieving fossil fuel independence through accumulated energy storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The phase change materials provide a high energy density storage mechanism that allows the system to store large amounts of thermal energy with minimal electrical input during charging. This efficient energy storage reduces the overall electrical demand required to replace fossil fuel boilers, making the transition more feasible.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables efficient and cost-effective reduction in energy and water usage by optimizing hot water supply in smaller properties, eliminating the need for storage tanks and minimizing the size of the energy shortfall, while ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.
Implementation Method 1
energy storage with phase change materials
Implementation Method 2
a heat pump, allowing for efficient management of hot water supply
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method of controlling a supply of heated water from a source including a heating appliance (301) to a plurality of water outlets (302, 303) remote from the heating appliance, the method comprising: detecting a demand for water from a first water outlet (302), identifying the demand as likely to be associated with the first water outlet (302) and setting to a first target water temperature value, associated with the first outlet, a target water temperature for the temperature at which water is supplied; detecting a demand for water from a second water outlet (303), identifying the demand as likely to be associated with the second water outlet, and resetting to a second target water temperature value, associated with the second outlet, the target water temperature at which water is supplied; wherein the demand is associated with an outlet based on a detected flow characteristic. Also provided is a hot-water supply installation having a plurality of controllable outlets, the installation including: a source of hot-water with an outlet having a controllable outflow temperature; a flow measurement device to provide data on water flow between the source and the plurality of controllable outlets; a temperature sensor to detect the outflow temperature; a memory storing parameters linking flow data to outlet identity, and associating each of the plurality of controllable outlets with a respective target temperature; a processor operatively connected to the memory, the flow measurement device, and the first temperature sensor; the processor being configured: in the event that one of the plurality of controllable outlets is opened, to determine based on a detected flow characteristic which of the plurality of controllable outlets has been opened, and then based on that determination to control the outflow temperature of the source, in accordance with stored parameters for the determined one of the controllable outlets; and in the event that another of the plurality of controllable outlets is opened, to determine which another of the plurality of controllable outlets has been opened, and then based on that determination to control the outflow temperature of the source, in accordance with stored parameters for the determined another of the controllable outlets.