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GB2200439A - Instantaneous water heaters for showers - Google Patents

Instantaneous water heaters for showers Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2200439A
GB2200439A GB08701278A GB8701278A GB2200439A GB 2200439 A GB2200439 A GB 2200439A GB 08701278 A GB08701278 A GB 08701278A GB 8701278 A GB8701278 A GB 8701278A GB 2200439 A GB2200439 A GB 2200439A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
cold water
water
mixing valve
shower
supply
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB08701278A
Other versions
GB2200439B (en
GB8701278D0 (en
Inventor
Nicholas John Beck
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Kohler Mira Ltd
Original Assignee
Kohler Mira Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kohler Mira Ltd filed Critical Kohler Mira Ltd
Priority to GB8701278A priority Critical patent/GB2200439B/en
Publication of GB8701278D0 publication Critical patent/GB8701278D0/en
Priority to IE6588A priority patent/IE61037B1/en
Publication of GB2200439A publication Critical patent/GB2200439A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2200439B publication Critical patent/GB2200439B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24D—DOMESTIC- OR SPACE-HEATING SYSTEMS, e.g. CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEMS; DOMESTIC HOT-WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS THEREFOR
    • F24D17/00—Domestic hot-water supply systems
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24D—DOMESTIC- OR SPACE-HEATING SYSTEMS, e.g. CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEMS; DOMESTIC HOT-WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS THEREFOR
    • F24D17/00—Domestic hot-water supply systems
    • F24D17/0089—Additional heating means, e.g. electric heated buffer tanks or electric continuous flow heaters, located close to the consumer, e.g. directly before the water taps in bathrooms, in domestic hot water lines

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Domestic Hot-Water Supply Systems And Details Of Heating Systems (AREA)
  • Heat-Pump Type And Storage Water Heaters (AREA)
  • Instantaneous Water Boilers, Portable Hot-Water Supply Apparatuses, And Control Of Portable Hot-Water Supply Apparatuses (AREA)

Abstract

The water supplied to an instantaneous electric water heater 7 is preheated by mixing cold water with hot water from a cylinder 1. The pre-heat apparatus 8 comprises a mixing valve 16 having separate inlets connected via respective non-return valves 19,20 to supplies of hot and cold water and an outlet connected via an on/ off solenoid valve 21 to a supply pipe 12 to the electric water heater 7. The pre-heat apparatus 8 further includes a cold water branch pipe 23 by-passing the mixing valve 16 and connected via an on/off solenoid valve 24 to the supply pipe 12. The on/off solenoid valves 21,24 are selectively operable by switching means for controlling flow through either the mixing valve 16 or the branch pipe 23 as required. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SHOWERS This invention concerns improvements in or relating to showers and in particular to showers in which an instantaneous electric water heater is used to provide a source of hot water on demand by heating a supply of cold water flowing continuously through a heat exchanger containing one or more electric heating elements.
In such heaters the final temperature of the hot water is controlled by adjusting the flow rate of the supply for any given power input to the heat exchanger.
A disadvantage of this type of heater is that using mains cold water the required final temperature of the hot water can often only be obtained at low flow rates even when using the maximum power input and this can lead to an unsatisfactory spray pattern.
It is an object of this present invention to provide a solution to the above disadvantage.
According to the present invention we provide in or for a shower having an instantaneous electric water heater to provide a source of hot water on demand by heating a supply of cold water flowing continuously through a heat exchanger containing one or more electric heating elements, means for pre-heating the cold water supply to the heat exchanger.
By the present invention pre-heating the cold water supply to the heat exchanger enables a higher flow rate to be used for a given power input to the heat exchanger to obtain the required final water temperature.
Any suitable means for pre-heating the cold water supply may be used but where there is a source of stored hot water available, for example in a domestic hot water system having a hot water storage cylinder, the pre-heat means conveniently comprises a mixing valve for mixing the cold water with hot water from the storage cylinder.
The mixing valve may comprise a non-compensating blender unit or a thermostatic control valve and is preferably pre-set to raise the cold water temperature to a predetermined temperature.
The mixing valve and electric water heater may be combined in a single unit but more preferably they are separate from one another and connected by a single supply pipe. In this way the amount of pipework is reduced and the mixing valve can be located close to the storage cylinder. In addition, an existing shower using an instantaneous electric water heater can be modified by the addition of pre-heat means according to the invention.
Advantageously the pre-heat means includes a cold water branch pipe by-passing the mixing valve and separate on/off valves for controlling flow through the mixing valve and the branch pipe. In this way the user can select whether or not to use the stored hot water to pre-heat the cold water supply.
For some applications, for example in an unpressurized hot water system, the pre-heat means preferably includes a pump to boost the pressure of the water delivered to the electric water heater.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single figure shows the installation of a shower according to the present invention in a vented domestic hot water system.
Referring to the accompanying drawing, a shower according to the present invention is shown installed in a vented domestic hot water system including a hot water storage cylinder 1 having a thermostatically controlled electric immersion heater (not shown) for heating water in the cylinder 1 to a pre-set temperature, typically 650C.
The cylinder 1 has an inlet at the lower end connected by a pipe 2 to a cold water feed tank 3 connected to the mains cold water supply by a ball float valve 4 for controlling the water level in the feed tank 3.
In use, hot water is drawn off from the cylinder I via a pipe 5 connected to an outlet at the upper end of the cylinder 1 and is replaced by cold water from the feed tank 3. Expansion of water in the cylinder 1 is accommodated by a vent pipe 6 extending from the pipe 5 and terminating above the feed tank 3.
The shower includes an instantaneous electric water heater 7 and apparatus 8 for pre-heating the cold water supply to the heater 7.
The heater 7 comprises a casing 9 housing a heat exchanger 10 having an inlet connected through a flow control valve 11 to a pipe 12 from the pre-heat apparatus 8 and an outlet connected to a shower head 13 by a flexible pipe 14.
The heat'exchanger 10 contains two 4.2 kilowatt electric heating elements (not shown) for heating water delivered from the pre-heat apparatus 8 and the casing 9 mounts respective manually operable control knobs (not shown) for selecting a power input to the heat exchanger of 0 kilowatts, 4.2 kilowatts or 8.4 kilowatts and for adjusting the flow control valve 11 to provide the required flow rate through the heat exchanger 10 to obtain the desired final water temperature for the selected power input.
The pre-heat apparatus 8 comprises a casing 15 housing a mixing valve 16 having separate inlets connected to hot and cold water supply pipes 17 and 18 respectively through respective non-return valves 19,20 and an outlet connected to the pipe 12 through an on/off solenoid valve 21 for controlling flow of water through the mixing valve 16 and a pump 22 for boosting the pressure of water delivered to the heater 7.
The mixing valve 16 which may be a non-compensating blender unit or a thermostatic control valve is pre-set on installation to mix the hot and cold water in the relative proportions required to heat the cold water to any desired temperature, for example 0 25 C as compared with a typical mains cold water temperature of l20C.
In addition, the pre-heat apparatus 8 includes a branch pipe 23 by-passing the mixing valve 16 between the cold water inlet at one end and the outlet at the other end where the branch pipe 23 is connected between the solenoid valve 21 and the pump 22.
For controlling flow of water through the branch pipe-, there is provided an on/off solenoid valve 24 similar to the valve 21 and both valves are controlled by a switch (not shown) mounted on the casing 9 of the electric heater which enables the user to actuate selectively the valves to direct the flow of cold water through either the mixing valve 16 or the branch pipe 23. In this way the user can decide whether or not to use the hot water from the storage cylinder 1 to pre-heat the cold water supply to the electric heater 7.
In operation of the shower above-described, with a 0 typical cold water temperature of 12 C, then using a power input to the heat exchanger of 8.4 kilowatts and no pre-heat of the cold water supply, a final water temperature of 400C can be obtained with a flow rate of 4.4 litres per minute. However, by pre-heating the 0 cold water supply to 25 C by mixing with hot water from the storage cylinder, the same final water temperature can be obtained with a flow rate of 8 litres per minute.
As will now be appreciated the present invention enables an increase in the flow rate and hence an improved spray pattern to be obtained for a given final water temperature using an instantaneous electric heater without increasing the power input simply by pre-heating the cold water supply.
This is particularly beneficial where a large volume of stored hot water is available at low cost, for example when using Economy 7 electricity to heat the water in the storage cylinder.
Additionally, as the hot water is only used to pre-heat the cold water supply, the consumption of stored hot water is relatively low. Thus, in the above example, the increased flow rate obtained by preheating the cold water supply only consumes hot water at the rate of 2 litres per minute.
Accordingly by providing a large volume storage cylinder and heating by low cost electricity, high flow rate showers can be obtained using an instaneous electric heater relatively economically.
The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, for example the heat exchanger could have any combination of one or more heating elements to provide any desired heat input.
The pre-heat apparatus may be combined with the electric heater in a single unit but is preferably a separate unit having the appropriate fittings for connection to the hot and cold water supplies and to the instantaneous electric heater for plumbing in both as original equipment and as an addition to an existing shower.
The shower may be installed in a pressurised hot water system in which case the pump may be omitted and a flow regulator fitted to regulate the flow irrespective of supply pressure changes.
Additionally the hot water system may utilise any suitable means for heating water in the storage cylinder, for example gas, oil or solid fuel boilers.
Finally, although the invention has been particularly described with reference to the use of stored hot water as the means for pre-heating the cold water supply, it will be appreciated that other preheat means may be used, for example waste or reject heat or low cost recovered heat.

Claims (6)

Claims:
1. In or for a shower comprising an instantaneous electric water heater for heating a supply of cold water to provide a source of hot water, apparatus for pre-heating the cold water supply.
2. In or for a shower, apparatus according to Claim 1 comprising a mixing valve having separate inlets for connection to the cold water supply and to a supply of hot water and a common outlet for connection to the electric water heater.
3. In or for a shower, apparatus according to Claim 2 further comprising a cold water branch pipe by-passing the mixing valve and separate on/off valves for controlling flow through the mixing valve and the branch pipe.
4. In or for a shower, apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the on/off valves are solenoid valves controlled by switch means.
5. In or for a shower, apparatus according to any one of Claims 2 to 4 including a pump positioned between the mixing valve and the electric water heater.
6. In or for a shower comprising an instantaneous electric water heater for heating a supply of cold water to provide a source of hot water, apparatus for pre-heating the cold water supply substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
GB8701278A 1987-01-21 1987-01-21 Improvements in or relating to showers Expired - Fee Related GB2200439B (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8701278A GB2200439B (en) 1987-01-21 1987-01-21 Improvements in or relating to showers
IE6588A IE61037B1 (en) 1987-01-21 1988-01-11 Improvements in or relating to showers

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8701278A GB2200439B (en) 1987-01-21 1987-01-21 Improvements in or relating to showers

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB8701278D0 GB8701278D0 (en) 1987-02-25
GB2200439A true GB2200439A (en) 1988-08-03
GB2200439B GB2200439B (en) 1991-01-02

Family

ID=10610987

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB8701278A Expired - Fee Related GB2200439B (en) 1987-01-21 1987-01-21 Improvements in or relating to showers

Country Status (2)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2200439B (en)
IE (1) IE61037B1 (en)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2253684A (en) * 1991-03-04 1992-09-16 Triton Plc Instantaneous water heater
GB2298480A (en) * 1995-02-11 1996-09-04 Neville Ian Benson Shower using stored hot water and instantaneous heating
GB2321098A (en) * 1997-01-14 1998-07-15 Saxelby Roberts Eric Shower using main and supplementary electric heaters
GB2290601B (en) * 1994-04-07 1998-11-11 Wardtec Ltd Hot water system
GB2345744A (en) * 1999-01-12 2000-07-19 Peter Frederick Wailing Water supply system
US20090090310A1 (en) * 2005-11-01 2009-04-09 Zenex Technologies Limited Heating System
GB2509327A (en) * 2012-12-28 2014-07-02 Zenex Technologies Ltd System and method for heating fluids such as domestic hot water and an adapter for fitting a replacement boiler
WO2016149786A1 (en) * 2015-03-25 2016-09-29 Dominique Boivin Water heating assembly for providing hot water in a reduced time to a point of use, and related kit, use and method
CN107062375A (en) * 2017-03-23 2017-08-18 南宁远卓新能源科技有限公司 Hot water supply system
CN110513866A (en) * 2019-09-09 2019-11-29 王志鹏 A kind of energy-saving quick heating type water heater
NL2026436B1 (en) * 2020-09-10 2022-05-09 Eneco B V Warm water supply arrangement

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2048466A (en) * 1979-04-13 1980-12-10 Diffracto Ltd Optically controlled plumbing apparatus
GB2052698A (en) * 1979-03-21 1981-01-28 Burns L Domestic Hot Water Supply
US4398308A (en) * 1980-05-07 1983-08-16 Berg Charles A Energy conservation in shower bathing
GB2160628A (en) * 1984-06-23 1985-12-24 Triton Aquatherm Improvement in or relating to shower heaters

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2052698A (en) * 1979-03-21 1981-01-28 Burns L Domestic Hot Water Supply
GB2048466A (en) * 1979-04-13 1980-12-10 Diffracto Ltd Optically controlled plumbing apparatus
US4398308A (en) * 1980-05-07 1983-08-16 Berg Charles A Energy conservation in shower bathing
GB2160628A (en) * 1984-06-23 1985-12-24 Triton Aquatherm Improvement in or relating to shower heaters

Cited By (18)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2253684B (en) * 1991-03-04 1994-12-14 Triton Plc Improvements to instantaneous water heaters
GB2253684A (en) * 1991-03-04 1992-09-16 Triton Plc Instantaneous water heater
GB2290601B (en) * 1994-04-07 1998-11-11 Wardtec Ltd Hot water system
GB2298480A (en) * 1995-02-11 1996-09-04 Neville Ian Benson Shower using stored hot water and instantaneous heating
GB2321098A (en) * 1997-01-14 1998-07-15 Saxelby Roberts Eric Shower using main and supplementary electric heaters
GB2345744A (en) * 1999-01-12 2000-07-19 Peter Frederick Wailing Water supply system
GB2345744B (en) * 1999-01-12 2002-03-20 Peter Frederick Wailing A water supply system
US8910880B2 (en) * 2005-11-01 2014-12-16 Zenex Technologies Limited Heating system
US20090090310A1 (en) * 2005-11-01 2009-04-09 Zenex Technologies Limited Heating System
GB2509327A (en) * 2012-12-28 2014-07-02 Zenex Technologies Ltd System and method for heating fluids such as domestic hot water and an adapter for fitting a replacement boiler
EP2749819A3 (en) * 2012-12-28 2014-08-27 Zenex Technologies Limited A system and method for heating fluids, and an adapter for use with a boiler
GB2509327B (en) * 2012-12-28 2016-08-31 Zenex Tech Ltd A system and method for heating fluids, and an adaptor for use with a boiler
WO2016149786A1 (en) * 2015-03-25 2016-09-29 Dominique Boivin Water heating assembly for providing hot water in a reduced time to a point of use, and related kit, use and method
US10443859B2 (en) 2015-03-25 2019-10-15 Dominique Boivin Water heating assembly for providing hot water in a reduced time to a point of use, and related kit, use and method
CN107062375A (en) * 2017-03-23 2017-08-18 南宁远卓新能源科技有限公司 Hot water supply system
CN110513866A (en) * 2019-09-09 2019-11-29 王志鹏 A kind of energy-saving quick heating type water heater
CN110513866B (en) * 2019-09-09 2020-11-10 山东龙普太阳能股份有限公司 Energy-saving quick-heating water heater
NL2026436B1 (en) * 2020-09-10 2022-05-09 Eneco B V Warm water supply arrangement

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2200439B (en) 1991-01-02
IE61037B1 (en) 1994-09-07
IE880065L (en) 1988-07-21
GB8701278D0 (en) 1987-02-25

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20020121