Two-Piece Blower Housing for Non-Dilution Water Heaters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art water heater blower apparatuses are costly due to complex housing designs and powerful motors needed to handle hot exhaust gases, leading to increased energy consumption and reduced efficiency, while also restricting the number of coils that can be used for heat transfer.
Innovation Solution
A non-dilution blower apparatus with a simplified, two-piece sheet metal housing that redirects exhaust gas flow to minimize vertical height and reduce standby losses, featuring a winding path within the housing to cool gases efficiently and reduce energy usage, allowing for retrofitting between existing heater exhaust openings and flue pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a blower apparatus is added to increase heat transfer efficiency, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blower housing is divided into two separate parts: a first part that attaches to the water heater and a second part that attaches to the flue pipe. This segmentation allows for simpler manufacturing of each individual part while maintaining the overall functionality of the blower apparatus, directly addressing the contradiction between improved heat transfer efficiency and reduced device complexity.
2Reliability
If a more powerful motor is used to handle high exhaust gas temperatures, then reliability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
A heat exchanger is introduced as an intermediary component between the exhaust gas flow and the blower motor. The heat exchanger pre-cools the high-temperature exhaust gas before it enters the blower motor, allowing the use of a less powerful, more energy-efficient motor while maintaining reliability. This mediator protects the motor from direct exposure to extreme temperatures.
3Temperature
If dilution air is mixed with exhaust gas to cool it, then temperature is reduced, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling function is extracted from the blower housing design and implemented separately through the heat exchanger component. This allows the blower housing to maintain a simple, cost-effective design while the exhaust gas is cooled independently before reaching the motor, eliminating the need for complex dilution air mixing mechanisms within the housing.
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
The solution results in a cost-effective, energy-efficient blower apparatus that reduces standby losses and meets energy efficiency standards by using a smaller, more efficient motor and minimizing heat loss, while enabling increased heat transfer without the need for dilution air, thus enhancing the overall efficiency of the water heater.
Implementation Method 1
a blower apparatus that would draw the combustion gas through the coils of the water heater and to the flue pipe exhausting the gas
Implementation Method 2
The water typically travels through a series of coils in the water heater. Combustion of the fuel in the combustion chamber produces hot combustion exhaust gas that passes through the series of coils and heats the water passing through the coils
Implementation Method 3
only the draft effect of the flue pipe or chimney moves the exhaust gas up through the flue pipe or chimney
Data Source
AI summary
A blower housing of novel two-piece construction is comprised of first and second housing parts of stamped or drawn sheet metal that are attached together. The two-piece construction provides the housing with two interior portions separated by an interior wall. The interior wall has an opening that is spaced from the aligned exhaust opening of the heater and the output opening of the housing. This creates a winding exhaust gas flow path through the blower housing. The interior wall is also provided with a recessed cavity that receives a portion of a fan rotated by a motor supported by the blower housing. Positioning of at least a portion of the fan in the cavity reduces the overall height dimension of the blower housing and facilitates the retrofitting of the blower housing between an existing exhaust opening of a heater and an axially aligned flue pipe.