ComparingtheEnergyRequirements

Comparing
the Energy Requirements
ofHotWaterCirculationSystem
ControlStrategies:
Preliminary Results
PreliminaryResults
InternationalEmergingTechnologySymposium
te at o a
e g g ec o ogy Sy pos u
April2324,2014
GaryKlein
l
AffiliatedInternationalManagement,LLC.
Tel:9165497080
Tel:
916 549 7080
Email:gary@aim4sustainability.com
Copyright2014,GaryKlein

LearningObjectives
1. Understandthecontrolstrategiesforhotwatercirculation
systems
2 Learnaboutatestsetupthatisbeingusedtocomparethe
2.
L
b t t t t th t i b i
dt
th
water,energyandtimeperformanceofthecontrol
strategies.
3. Examinethepatternsinthedatacomingfromthistest.
4. Beginthecomparisonoftheenergyperformanceofseveral
ofthecontrolstrategies.
f h
l
i

TheTestHouse 2story,3,200sf

WaterHeater,
Circulation
Pump and
Pumpand
Controls
asinstalled
i t ll d

CirculationPumpandControls asInstalled

WaterHeater,
Water
Heater
CirculationPump
andControls
as of April 2014
asofApril2014

TestStandfor
Test
Stand for
Circulation
Pumpsand
d
Control
Strategies

The Theory
TheTheory

HotWaterCirculationSystems
Therearesixtypesofcirculationsystems:

Thermosyphon (gravityconvectionwithnopump),
Continuously pumped systems
Continuouslypumpedsystems,
Timercontrolled,
Temperaturecontrolled,
Ti
Timeandtemperaturecontrolled,and
dt
t
t ll d d
Demandcontrolled.
Giventhesameplumbinglayout,
allofthesesystemswillwastethesameamount
ofwateratthebeginningofahotwaterevent.
g
g
Thedifferenceinthesesystems
is in the energy ittakestokeepthetrunkline
isintheenergy
it takes to keep the trunk line
primedwithhotwater.

OperatingCostsofCirculationLoops
Pump
Heatlossintheloop
Maintenance
a te a ce
Failureofthepump
Incorrectcontrolsettings
Incorrect control settings
Pipeleaks

What
Whatpercentoftheenergycostsaredue
percent of the energy costs are due
tothepump?Tothelossesintheloop?

DeterminationofHeatLossinCirculation
Loops
You
Youcouldmeasurethepipelengths,
could measure the pipe lengths
diameters,insulationandenvironmental
conditions and calculate the heat loss if you
conditionsandcalculatetheheatloss,ifyou
cangettoallofit!
Oryoucouldmeasureflowrateandthe
difference in temperature between the water
differenceintemperaturebetweenthewater
leavingfrom,andreturningtothewater
heater.

HeatLossinCirculationLoops
C l l ti f L
CalculationforLoopLossesOnly
L
O l
SampleCalculation:1gpmand1oFtemperaturedrop
Energy=m*cp*(ThotTreturn)=Btu
1gpm*8.33poundspergallon*1*60minutesperhour*1oF=
500Btu/hour/
500
tu/ ou /oF

NaturalGasWaterHeater
500 0.75efficiency=667Btu/hour/oF
667 100,000Btu/Therm=0.00667Therm/hour/oF
0.00667*$1.00/Therm=$0.00667/hour/oF

Electric Water Heater

ElectricWaterHeater
500 0.98efficiency=510Btu/hour/oF
510 3,412Btu/kWh=0.15kWh/hour/oF
0.15*$0.10/kWh=$0.015/hour/oF

AnnualEnergyUse foraCirculationSystem
A
AttachedtoaGasWaterHeater(Therms)
h d
G W
H
(Th
)
Continuous Pumping at 1 Gallon Per Minute
Temperature Drop in oF
Days
1
5
10
1
0.16
0.80
1.60
30
5
24
48
365
58
292
584
Pump Flow Rate in Gallons Per Minute
1
58
292
584
5
292
1 460
1,460
2 920
2,920
10
584
2,920
5,840
Steady state heat transfer efficiency is assumed to be 75%.
Electricalenergytooperatethepumpisadditional

20
3.20
96
1,168

1,168
5,840
840
11,680

AnnualEnergyUse foraCirculation
SystemAttachedtoanElectricWaterHeater
y
(kWh)
Continuous Pumping at 1 Gallon Per Minute
Temperature Drop in oF
Days
1
5
10
1
3.60
18.00
36.00
30
105
525
1,050
365
1,278
6,388
12,775
Pump Flow Rate in Gallons Per Minute
1
1,278
6,388
12,775
5
6 388
6,388
31 938
31,938
63 875
63,875
10
12,775
63,875
127,750
Steady state heat transfer efficiency is assumed to be 98%.
Electricalenergytooperatethepumpisadditional

20
72.00
2,100
25,550

25,550
127 750
127,750
255,500

WhenDoYouNotWanttoOperateaHotWater
C cu at o u p
CirculationPump?
Whenyoudontneedhotwater
y
Whenyouarentthere
Whenyouaresleepingordoingsomethingelse

Whenyouareusinghotwater
Theonlytimeyouwanttooperatethepumpisjust
beforeyouneedhotwater.
UseDemandControlledCirculation
Thepumpwillrunlessthanhourperday
The pump will run less than hour per day
Themostenergyefficientoption.

EnergytoOperateaCirculationLoop
Recirculation

Demand
Controlled
Priming

Daily Hours of Operation

24

12

Loop Heat Losses

Natural Gas (therms)
292
Electric (kWh) 6,388
Pump Energy(kWh)
438

146
3,194
219

97
2,129
146

73
1,597
110

49
1,065
73

24
532
37

Loopisassumedtobe100feetlong.
50feetsupply,50feetreturn
Recirculation:
Flowrateis1gpm
Temperaturedropis5F
50wattpump
Demand Controlled Priming:
DemandControlledPriming:
85wattpump

0.25
3
67
8

The Practice
ThePractice

ControlStrategiesBeingTested
Theintentistodeterminetheenergyittakesto
p
providehotwaterquicklyanywhere,anytime,
q
y y
, y
,
regardlessofchangingschedules
ContinuousCirculation
Continuous Circulation
Aquastat Low,MediumandHighSpeed
85105F,105115F
85 105F 105 115F
IntermittentPulsedTimer
DemandControlled
Other Aquastat andTimer,Memory
and Timer, Memory
Other

ContinuousCirculation:LowSpeed

ContinuousCirculation:LowSpeed

ContinuousCirculation:MediumSpeed

ContinuousCirculation:MediumSpeed

IntermittentPulsedTimer

IntermittentPulsedTimer

Aquastat:85105F,MediumSpeed

Aquastat:85105F,MediumSpeed

Aquastat:85105F,HighSpeed

Aquastat:85105F,HighSpeed

Aquastat:105115F,MediumSpeed

Aquastat:105115F,MediumSpeed

Aquastat:105115F,HighSpeed

Aquastat:105115F,HighSpeed

Givenhumannature,
Gi
h
t
itisourjob
toprovidetheinfrastructure
th t
thatsupportsefficientbehaviors.
t ffi i t b h i

ThankYou!
GaryKlein
Tel:9165497080