Heating and hot water supply system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10697648-B2
Application number	US-201415302259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2014
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

A hot water supply system that can reduce energy consumption is provided. The hot water supply system includes a liquid heater for heating a liquid, a liquid-water heat exchanger, a water-heating circuit in which the liquid is circulated between the liquid heater and the liquid-water heat exchanger, a lower outward path for leading water from a lower part of a hot water storage tank to the liquid-water heat exchanger, the upper return path for leading the water from the liquid-water heat exchanger to an upper part of the hot water storage tank, a middle outward path for leading the water from a middle part of the hot water storage tank to the liquid-water heat exchanger, a middle return path for leading the water from the liquid-water heat exchanger to a middle part of the hot water storage tank.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hot water supply system comprising: a hot water storage tank; a liquid heater configured to heat a liquid; a liquid-water heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the liquid and water; a liquid pump configured to pump the liquid; a water pump configured to pump the water; a water-heating circuit configured to circulate the liquid between the liquid heater and the liquid-water heat exchanger; a lower outward path configured to lead the water from a lower part of the hot water storage tank to the liquid-water heat exchanger; an upper return path configured to lead the water from the liquid-water heat exchanger to an upper part of the hot water storage tank; a middle outward path configured to lead the water from a middle part of the hot water storage tank to the liquid-water heat exchanger via a connection port, the middle part being above the lower part and below the upper part; a middle return path configured to lead the water from the liquid-water heat exchanger to the middle part of the hot water storage tank via the connection port; a room heater; and a controller configured to control a medium-temperature heat accumulating operation configured to accumulate heat in the hot water storage tank by circulating the liquid of the water-heating circuit and making the water flow through the lower outward path and the middle return path; and a high-temperature heat accumulating operation configured to accumulate heat in the hot water storage tank by making the water flow through the middle outward path and the upper return path of the water heating circuit, wherein the medium-temperature heat accumulating operation is of a circulation heating type in which the water in the hot water storage tank is circulated a plurality of times to the liquid-water heat exchanger, the high-temperature heat accumulating operation is a once-through heating type in which the water in the hot water storage tank passes through the liquid-water heat exchanger only once, the medium temperature heat accumulating operation increases a volume of medium temperature water at the lower part of the hot water storage tank by heating water from the lower part of the tank and delivering the heated water to the middle part of the hot water storage tank, the high-temperature heat accumulating operation increases a volume of high-temperature water at the upper part of the hot water storage tank by heating water from the middle part of the hot water storage tank and delivering the heated water to the upper part of the hot water storage tank; and the medium temperature heat accumulating operation is an operation that does not supply heat to the room heater.

2. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a middle hot water supply pipe connected to the middle part of the hot water storage tank, wherein a position where the middle hot water supply pipe and the hot water storage tank are connected is located above a position where the middle return path and the hot water storage tank are connected.

3. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a detector configured to detect an upper-water temperature which is a water temperature of the upper part of the hot water storage tank; and
a detector configured to detect a middle-water temperature which is a water temperature of the middle part of the hot water storage tank,
wherein the controller is configured to:
select the high-temperature heat accumulating operation when the upper-water temperature is lower than a first set temperature; and
select the medium-temperature heat accumulating operation when the middle-water temperature is lower than a second set temperature lower than the first set temperature.

4. The hot water supply system according to claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to:
store hot water supply set temperatures of a plurality of hot water supply ends; and
determine the first set temperature based on a highest temperature in the hot water supply set temperature.

5. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a detector configured to detect an upper-return-water temperature, which is a water temperature of the upper return path, wherein the controller is configured to:
control an operating speed of the water pump so that the upper-return-water temperature becomes a set temperature or above in the high-temperature heat accumulating operation; and
make the operating speed of the water pump constant in the medium-temperature heat accumulating operation.

6. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a room heater configured to heat a room using heat of the liquid;
a room-heating circuit configured to circulate the liquid between the liquid heater and the room heater; and
a first valve configured to switch between the water-heating circuit and the room-heating circuit, wherein
the controller is configured to control a room-heating operation configured to heat the room by circulating the liquid of the room-heating circuit; and
control performed by the controller to the liquid heater in the medium-temperature heat accumulating operation, control performed by the controller to the liquid heater in the high-temperature heat accumulating operation, and control performed by the controller to the liquid heater in the room-heating operation are the same.

7. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , wherein, when the liquid heater, the liquid pump, and the water pump are started, the controller is configured to start the liquid pump before starting the liquid heater and is configured to start the water pump after starting the liquid heater.

8. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , further comprising a detector configured to detect a temperature difference between the liquid flowing out of the liquid heater and the liquid flowing into the liquid heater, wherein the controller is configured to start the water pump after the temperature difference reaches a threshold value.

9. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , wherein after the liquid pump and the water pump are started, the controller is configured to set an operating speed of the water pump lower than an operating speed of the liquid pump.

10. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , wherein
the liquid heater comprises a refrigerant circuit including a compressor configured to compress refrigerant, a refrigerant-liquid heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant and the liquid, a refrigerant-air heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant and air, and a switching valve configured to switch a destination of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor between the refrigerant-liquid heat exchanger and the refrigerant-air heat exchanger, and
the hot water supply system further comprises:
a second valve configured to switch between the lower outward path and the middle outward path;
a third valve configured to switch between the upper return path and the middle return path; and
a controller configured to control the second valve and the third valve so that the lower outward path and the middle return path are selected in a defrosting operation in which the destination of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor is the refrigerant-air heat exchanger.

11. The hot water supply system according to claim 1 , wherein
the liquid heater comprises a refrigerant circuit including a compressor configured to compress refrigerant, a refrigerant-liquid heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant and the liquid, a refrigerant-air heat exchanger configured to exchange heat b

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Tamaki Shogo
• Minamisako Hirokazu
• Suzuki Kazutaka

Classifications

• F24D2240/26

  Vertically distributed at fixed positions, e.g. multiple sensors distributed over the height of a tank, or a vertical inlet distribution pipe having a plurality of orifices · CPC title

• F24D2220/04

  Sensors · CPC title

• Y02E60/14

  Thermal energy storage · CPC title

• F24D17/02

  using heat pumps · CPC title

• F28F27/00

  Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus (control arrangements in general G05) · CPC title