Patent Application
20220163234
The present disclosure relates, in general, to a water heater and, more specifically relates, to a water heating element of the water heater.
Water heaters are used to heat and store a quantity of water in a tank thereof for subsequent on-demand delivery for residential and commercial use. Water heaters typically utilize one or more electric resistance heating elements to transfer heat to the water contained in the tank under control of thermostat device that monitors temperature of the water in the tank.
Generally, it is beneficial to maintain a uniform temperature of water within the tank. However, the temperature of the water tends to be cooler at a bottom of the tank and rises as the level of water approaches a top of the tank. In other words, as a result of thermal currents within the tank, thermal energy is driven towards the top of the tank. Such thermal currents may impact the energy efficiency of the water heater and may reduce a first-hour rating of the water heater, which is a measure of a volume of hot water the water heater can supply in the first hour of operation. The first-hour rating is an industry-wide indicator used to establish thermal efficiency of the water heater and hence water heater manufacturers continually strive to increase the first-hour rating.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a water heating system is disclosed. The water heating system includes a tank having a wall. The water heating system further includes a water inlet and a water outlet, both defined through the wall, and respectively configured to allow ingress of water into the tank and egress of water from the tank. The water heating system also includes a first heating element disposed in a first portion of the tank. The first heating element has a substantially elongate shape and is inclined at a first predefined angle with respect to a base of the tank. In an embodiment, the first predefined angle is in a range of about 15 degrees to about 45 degrees. In another embodiment, the first predefined angle is in a range of about 25 degrees to about 35 degrees. In yet another embodiment, the first predefined angle is approximately 30 degrees.
The water heating system further includes a first coupling disposed through the wall of the tank and configured to removably receive the first heating element. In an embodiment, the first coupling defines an aperture, where an axis of the aperture is inclined at the first predefined angle with respect to the base of the tank. The water heating system further includes a first thermostat configured to sense temperature of the water in the first portion of the tank. In an embodiment, the water heating system includes a second heating element disposed in a second portion of the tank, where the second portion is defined proximate the base of the tank. The second heating element is inclined at a second predefined angle with respect to the base of the tank. In an embodiment, the second predefined angle is in a range of zero degree to about 45 degrees. The water heating element further includes a second coupling disposed through the wall of the tank and configured to removably receive the second heating element. Additionally, the water heating system includes a second thermostat configured to sense temperature of the water in the second portion of the tank. In an embodiment, the water heating system also includes an actuator coupled to the first heating element. The actuator is configured to adjust an inclination of the first heating element with respect to the base of the tank based on a user input.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a water heating system is disclosed. The water heating system includes a tank having a wall. The water heating system further includes a water inlet and a water outlet, both defined through the wall, and respectively configured to allow ingress of water into the tank and egress of water from the tank. The water heating system also includes a first heating element disposed in a first portion of the tank and configured to heat the water present at least in the first portion of the tank. The first heating element has a substantially elongate shape and is inclined at a first predefined angle with respect to a base of the tank. The water heating system also includes a second heating element disposed in a second portion of the tank defined proximate the base of the tank and configured to heat the water present at least in the second portion of the tank. The second heating element is inclined at a second predefined angle with respect to the base of the tank. In an embodiment, the first predefined angle is in a range of about 15 degrees to about 45 degrees and the second predefined angle is in a range of zero degree to about 45 degrees.
These and other aspects and features of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific non-limiting embodiments of the disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A better understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure (including alternatives and/or variations thereof) may be obtained with reference to the detailed description of the embodiments along with the following drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to specific embodiments or features, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, corresponding or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or corresponding parts. Moreover, references to various elements described herein, are made collectively or individually when there may be more than one element of the same type. However, such references are merely exemplary in nature. It may be noted that any reference to elements in the singular may also be construed to relate to the plural and vice-versa without limiting the scope of the disclosure to the exact number or type of such elements unless set forth explicitly in the appended claims.
Referring to
The system 100 further includes a first heating element 120 disposed in a first portion 122 of the tank 102. As used herein, the phrase ‘first portion’ may be understood as a portion of the tank 102 extending between an inner surface 118 at the top end 116 and the first heating element 120. Specifically, with the aid of a first coupling 124 of the system 100, the first heating element 120 is disposed inclined at a first predefined angle ‘H1’ with respect to a base 126 of the tank 102. In an example, the first heating element 120 includes a substantially elongate shape. The term ‘substantially elongate’ may include a straight portion and a bend portion extending inclined from the straight portion, where a length of bend portion is greater than the straight portion. In one embodiment, the lengths of the straight portion and the bend portion of the first heating element 120 may vary in a range of about 10 percent to about 15 percent. In another embodiment, the lengths of the straight portion and the bend portion of the first heating element 120 may vary in a range of about one percent to about 5 percent. For the purpose of depicting the first predefined angle ‘H1’, a horizontal line ‘B’ is illustrated in
The first coupling 124 is disposed through the wall 104 of the tank 102 and is configured to removably receive the first heating element 120. In the illustrated embodiment, the first coupling 124 is integral to the wall 104 of the tank 102. Electric current supply to the first heating element 120 may be routed through the wall 104 and the first coupling 124, as known to a person skilled in the art. The system 100 further includes a first thermostat 128 configured to sense temperature of water in the first portion 122 of the tank 102. Preferably, the first thermostat 128 is located adjacent to the first coupling 124 as shown in
The system 100 also includes a second heating element 130 disposed in a second portion 132 of the tank 102 defined proximate the base 126 of the tank 102. As used herein, the phrase ‘second portion’ may be understood to include volume of the bottom portion of the tank 102. Further, the phrases ‘first portion’ and ‘second portion’ are used herein for the purpose of clarity in description of aspects relating to heating of the water by the heating elements and should not be considered as limiting.
The second heating element 130 extends parallel to the base 126. Due to constant presence of the water in the second portion 132 of the tank 102, the base 126 may develop scales depending on hardness of the water. Therefore, the second heating element 130 is located at a predetermined height from the base 126 of the tank 102 to prevent being subjected to scaling or prevent any influence of such scaling on operation of the second heating element 130. The system 100 further includes a second coupling 134 disposed through the wall 104 of the tank 102 and configured to removably receive the second heating element 130. Additionally, a second thermostat 136 is located in the second portion 132 and configured to sense temperature of the water in the second portion 132 of the tank 102.
During operation, water is supplied into the tank 102 through the water inlet 106. The supplied water fills the second portion 132 of the tank 102 and gradually fills the entire tank 102. In an embodiment, sensors (not shown) may be located on the inner surface 118 of the tank 102 to sense level of water in the tank 102. Accordingly, based on the water level, each of the second heating element 130 and the first heating element 120 may be operated to heat the water. While the second heating element 130 heats the water in the second portion 132 of the tank 102, the first heating element 120 heats the water present in the first portion 122 of the tank 102 and portions in the vicinity of the first heating element 120. Once the temperature of the water heated in the tank 102, sensed by the first thermostat 128 and the second thermostat 136, reaches a predetermined value, the water is drawn from the tank 102. Since the first heating element 120 is inclined at the first predefined angle ‘H1’, a large volume of water is under the influence of heat transfer from the first heating element 120 and is hence heated. In the inclined configuration, the first heating element 120 is configured to achieve a first-hour rating (FHR) up to 30 percent greater than an FHR of parallel configuration where the first heating element 120 is disposed parallel to the base 126 of the tank 102.
The components of the system 100 shown in
Referring to
Additionally, periphery of the aperture 208 includes threads 210 configured to engage with threads (not shown) of the first heating element 120. In order to achieve the sub-assembly 200, the first heating element 120 is inserted through the aperture 208 and threadably coupled with the first coupling 124. As used herein, the phrase ‘threadably coupled’ may be understood as a coupling formed between the threads 210 on the periphery of the aperture 208 and the threads (not shown) of the first heating element 120 to form the sub-assembly 200. Such a configuration of the first coupling 124 allows the first heating element 120 to be conveniently and removably disposed into the tank 102 in an inclined manner. Advantageously, requirement of additional components to retain the first heating element 120 at the first predefined angle ‘H1’ is eliminated.
Referring to
In the inclined configuration, where the first heating element 120 is inclined with respect to the base 126 of the tank 102, a large volume of water, particularly the water in the first portion 122 of the tank 102, is influenced by the heat transfer from the first heating element 120. As described earlier, the volume of the first portion 122 of the tank 102 increases with the increase in the distance between the first coupling 124 and the top end 116 of the tank 102. As a result, the large volume of the water is heated during a predefined heating process, for example a first-hour rating (FHR) test. Here, it is assumed that water is not drawn from the tank during the predefined heating process. By the virtue of water circulation effect and rise of heated water caused due to natural heat convection within the first portion 122 of the tank 102, heated water flows (see velocity contours in
In the horizontal configuration, where the first heating element 120 is disposed parallel to the base 126 of the tank 102, as can be noticed from
Since the volume of water heated by the first heating element 120 in the horizontal configuration is less than the volume of water heated by the first heating element 120 in the inclined configuration, the horizontal configuration is associated with a lower FHR compared to the FHR of the inclined configuration. Therefore, with the inclined configuration of the first heating element 120, the system 100 achieves a higher FHR.
Referring to
In an embodiment, the second coupling 134 may be configured similar to the first coupling 124, to allow the second heating element 130 to be disposed in an inclined manner. It is ensured that a distal end 138 of the second heating element 130 lies sufficiently above the base 126 of the tank 102 to prevent scaling of the second heating element 130 or any influence of the scaling on the operation of the second heating element 130. Further, with the inclined configuration of the second heating element 130, volume of water influenced by heat transfer from the second heating element 130 is greater compared to a corresponding horizontal configuration (shown in
In an embodiment, for residential water heating systems, an input power supplied to each of the first heating element 120 and the second heating element 130 is in a range of about 1000 W to about 6000 W. However, commercial water heating systems may require a higher input power supply. It will be understood that the FHR may be varied by varying the input power supply to the heating elements, however subjected to a power rating of the heating elements.
In some embodiments, the inclination of the first heating element 120 and the second heating element 130 may be varied to address a demand for hot water within a short time interval.
In an embodiment, the rotatable member 606 defines an opening 614 to threadably receive a holder 616 and includes a shaft 618 located diagonally opposite to the opening 614 thereof, where the shaft 618 extends from an outer surface of the rotatable member 606. In such arrangement, movement of the shaft 618 causes corresponding rotational movement of the rotatable member 606 in the housing 604. The holder 616 is configured to couple with the first heating element 120. As such, the rotational movement of the rotatable member 606 causes angular movement of the first heating element 120. Although the first heating element 120 is shown including a single heating arm, it is anticipated that the first heating element 120 may be embodied to include two heating arms, a cup-type heating element, or be replaced with any other electric heating element know to the person skilled in the art.
For the purpose of applying force on the shaft 618, the system 100 includes an actuator 620 coupled to the shaft 618 of the unit 602. The actuator 620 is configured to adjust the inclination of the first heating element 120 with respect to the base 126 of the tank 102 based on the user input. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the actuator 620 may be embodied as an electrical device, a mechanical device, a pneumatic device, a hydraulic device, or as a combination of two or more such devices capable of causing movement of the shaft 618 of the unit 602. In an embodiment, the system 100 may also include a controller 622 coupled to the actuator 620 and configured to operate the actuator 620. The controller 622 may be embodied as a control module that is constituted by a single processing unit or a number of processing units. Further, the control module may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, digital signal processors, central processing units (CPUs), logic circuitries, and/or any device that manipulates signals based on operational instructions. The functions of control module may be provided using dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software.
In an embodiment, a user device 624 may be communicably coupled with the controller 622. In an example, the user device 624 may be a smartphone or any graphic user interface capable of communicating inputs to the controller 622. The user may indicate a demand for hot water in form of the user input that is communicated to the controller 622 from the user device 624. Based on the user input, the controller 622 may be configured to operate the actuator 620 to adjust the inclination of the first heating element 120 in the tank 102 to achieve an inclined position 626 as shown in
In another embodiment, the system 100 may include another unit (not shown) and another actuator (not shown) configured to adjust the inclination of the second heating element 130 based on the user input.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
