JP7736643B2 - Storage-type hot water heater - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hot water storage type water heater that can arbitrarily set the time period during which heating operation, which heats up hot water in a hot water storage tank, is performed.

Conventionally, hot water storage type water heaters that work in conjunction with solar power generation systems are known to use the electricity generated by the solar power generation system to efficiently heat water during the daytime.

In recent years, electricity rate plans that set the same electricity rates for daytime and nighttime periods have become known for users who install solar power generation systems and hot water storage systems. Hot water storage systems that are linked to solar power generation systems perform heating operation using electricity generated by the solar power generation system during the daytime when the sun is up, and also perform heating operation during the daytime when the sun is not up at the same electricity rate as heating operation during the nighttime.This means that daytime operation hot water storage systems are known that can reduce electricity bills by using electricity generated by the solar power generation system to heat water during the daytime when the sun is up, thereby reducing electricity bills.

As in Patent Document 1, it is known that users can freely set the time period for heating operation so that they can use the hot water in the hot water storage tank according to their own schedule.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 02-30610

As in Patent Document 1, when the time period for water heating operation is set arbitrarily, there is a possibility that the amount of hot water expected to be used in one day will not be sufficient for the set water heating time. If there is a shortage of hot water, there is a possibility that the system will run out of hot water or will have to operate to heat more water during times when the solar power generation system cannot be used, which creates the issue of poor usability.

The hot water storage type water heater of the present invention comprises a hot water storage tank for storing hot water, a heating means for heating the hot water, a control device for controlling a boiling operation in which the heating means heats the hot water in the hot water storage tank, and a terminal device capable of communicating with the control device.The terminal device can arbitrarily set the start time and end time of the boiling operation as setting information, and the control device is provided with a setting guidance means for guiding the setting information so that the time required to boil the entire amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank to fill it to capacity is ensured.

Furthermore, if the setting information set on the terminal device does not ensure the time required to boil the entire amount of water, the setting guidance means notifies the terminal device to reset the setting so that the time required to boil the entire amount of water is ensured.

Furthermore, if the setting information set on the terminal device does not ensure the time required to boil the entire amount of water, the setting guidance means automatically switches the display to move away from at least one of the possible operation start time and the possible operation end time so that the time required to boil the entire amount of water can be ensured.

Furthermore, the operation start time and operation end time can each be selected from a plurality of options, and when at least one of the times in the setting information is set, the setting guidance means narrows the plurality of options for the other time so that the time required to boil the entire amount of water is secured.

Furthermore, the setting information can be arbitrarily set within a specified daytime range.

In the hot water storage type hot water supply device of the present invention, if the time required for full boiling has not been secured when the setting information is set on the terminal device, the guidance setting means will provide guidance to ensure that the time required for full boiling operation is secured, thereby avoiding a situation where the boiling time is insufficient and preventing hot water shortages and the need for additional boiling operation.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a hot water supply system including a storage type hot water supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote control of this embodiment. The screen of the terminal device when setting the setting information. The screen of the terminal device when setting the setting information. The screen of the terminal device when setting the setting information. 10 is a table showing the selectable range of one of the setting information when the other is selected. 4 is a flowchart showing the daytime heating operation of the present embodiment.

An embodiment of a hot water storage type water heater 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a system configuration diagram of a hot water supply system 100 including a storage-type hot water supply device 1 in this embodiment.

The hot water supply system 100 includes a distribution board 2, a solar power generation system 3, a server 6, and a storage-type hot water supply device 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "hot water supply device 1").

The distribution board 2 is installed in a building such as a house (hereinafter simply referred to as the "house") together with the solar power generation system 3 and the hot water heater 1. The distribution board 2 is connected to the commercial power source 2a and the solar power generation system 3. The distribution board 2 supplies commercial power supplied from the commercial power source 2a and privately generated power generated by the solar power generation system 3 to the hot water heater 1 used in the house and to electrical load devices within the house other than the hot water heater 1, such as air conditioners (hereinafter simply referred to as "air conditioners, etc. 7" in the following explanation and in Figure 1).

The solar power generation system 3 includes a solar power generation panel 4 and an inverter 5. The solar power generation panel 4 is installed on the roof of a house, for example. The inverter 5 converts the power generated by the solar power generation panel 4 into AC power.

Server 6 is connected to water heating apparatus 1 and user terminal 9 via network 8. Server 6 transmits and receives information necessary for various processes executed by water heating apparatus 1 to and from water heating apparatus 1 and user terminal 9. User terminal 9 is a device owned by the user of water heating apparatus 1 that can communicate with server 6 via network 8, such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer.

The hot water heater 1 has a hot water storage tank 10, a heat pump unit 19, a circulation circuit 27, a remote control 33, and a control device 31.

The hot water storage tank 10 stores hot water to be supplied to hot water supply terminals such as baths and kitchens. The hot water storage tank 10 has a water supply pipe 11, a hot water outlet pipe 12, a water supply bypass pipe 13, a hot water supply pipe 15, and a hot water storage temperature sensor 18.

The water supply pipe 11 is connected to the hot water storage tank 10 at its bottom and supplies water to the hot water storage tank 10. The hot water outlet pipe 12 is connected to the hot water storage tank 10 at its top and outputs hot water from the hot water storage tank 10. The water supply bypass pipe 13 is a pipe branching off from the water supply pipe 11 and is connected to the hot water outlet pipe 12 via a mixing valve 14. The mixing valve 14 mixes the hot water from the hot water outlet pipe 12 and the water from the water supply bypass pipe 13 to the hot water supply temperature set by the remote control 33.

The hot water supply pipe 15 supplies hot water supplied via the mixing valve 14 to the hot water supply terminal. The hot water supply pipe 15 has a hot water supply flow rate sensor 16 and a hot water supply temperature sensor 17. The hot water supply flow rate sensor 16 detects the hot water supply flow rate and outputs a corresponding detection signal to the control device 31. The hot water supply temperature sensor 17 detects the hot water supply temperature and outputs a corresponding detection signal.

The hot water temperature sensor 18 detects the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 and outputs a corresponding detection signal to the control device 31. Multiple hot water temperature sensors 18 are installed at different height positions on the side of the hot water storage tank 10. When each of these hot water temperature sensors 18 detects a hot water temperature above a predetermined threshold value, which is preset to correspond to the temperature of hot water in a sufficiently heated state, it outputs a corresponding detection signal to the control device 31. The control device 31 detects the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 that is in a sufficiently heated state (i.e., the amount of hot water stored) based on the number of hot water temperature sensors 18 that output detection signals.

The heat pump unit 19 operates using privately generated electricity and commercial electricity, and exchanges heat with water to boil it. The heat pump unit 19 has a compressor 20, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21, an expansion valve 22, an air heat exchanger 23, a refrigerant pipe 26, and a blower 24.

The compressor 20 compresses and transports the refrigerant to a high temperature and pressure. The water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21 exchanges heat between the high temperature, high pressure refrigerant and water from the hot water storage tank 10. The expansion valve 22 decompresses and expands the refrigerant that has undergone heat exchange in the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21. The air heat exchanger 23 exchanges heat between outside air and the low pressure refrigerant, evaporating the low pressure refrigerant. The refrigerant pipe 26 circulates the refrigerant through the compressor 20, water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21, expansion valve 22, and air heat exchanger 23. The blower 24 blows outside air to the air heat exchanger 23.

The heat pump unit 19 also has a discharge temperature sensor 25 and an outside air temperature sensor 30. The discharge temperature sensor 25 detects the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 20 and outputs a corresponding detection signal to the control device 31. The outside air temperature sensor 30 detects the outside air temperature and outputs a corresponding detection signal to the control device 31.

The circulation circuit 27 circulates hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 between the hot water storage tank 10 and the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21. The circulation circuit 27 has a heating supply pipe 27a, a heating return pipe 27b, a heating circulation pump 28, and a boiling temperature sensor 29.

The heating supply pipe 27a connects the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10 to the water-side inlet of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21. The heating return pipe 27b connects the water-side outlet of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 21 to the top of the hot water storage tank 10. The heating circulation pump 28 is located on the heating supply pipe 27a and circulates hot water. The boiling temperature sensor 29 is located on the heating return pipe 27b and outputs a detection signal to the control device 31.

The remote control 33 accepts instructions from the user regarding the water heater 1, such as the set temperature of the hot water supplied to the water heater terminal.

Furthermore, unlike conventional storage-type hot water heaters 1 that perform heating operation during the middle of the night and finish heating operation before the user needs hot water, this embodiment is a storage-type hot water heater 1 that has a solar power generation system 3 and is compatible with the same electricity rate plan regardless of the time of day, so it is necessary to arbitrarily set the time period for heating operation according to the user's daily schedule and the installation angle and direction of the solar power generation panel 4. For this reason, setting information including the time when operation can start and the time when operation can end can be arbitrarily set in the terminal device, which is the remote control 33 or user terminal 9.

The control device 31 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and stores various programs and data necessary for the control of the control device 31. The control device 31 controls the operation of the entire hot water supply device 1 in accordance with the various programs. The control device 31 is connected to a remote control 33 and communicates with the remote control 33 in both directions.

The control device 31 performs daytime heating operation based on the setting information set on the remote control 33 or the user terminal 9. Here, daytime refers to the time period during which heating operation can be performed using the self-generated electricity mainly from the solar power generation system 3, for example, between 7:00 and 17:00.

The control device 31 is also provided with a setting guidance means 32 that guides the user to ensure that the setting information, including the possible operation start time and possible operation end time, is sufficient to boil the entire amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 to fill it to capacity. The time required to boil the entire amount of hot water is the time required to boil the entire amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 when the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 10 is low before heating begins due to hot water use during the daytime. In this case, at least five hours is required, so the setting guidance means 32 guides the user's operation so that the setting information is five hours or more.

The remote control 33 has a display unit 34, which is a notification means that displays letters, marks, etc. on the screen to communicate information to the user, a notification unit 35, which is a notification means that generates pre-stored voices and sounds to communicate information to the user, and up/down/left/right switches 36 that correspond to the up/down/left/right directions and can be used to move between items, change menus, raise/lower the hot water setting temperature, and raise/lower the time.

Next, the operation of the setting guidance means 32 will be explained with reference to Figures 2 to 4.

Figure 3 (1) shows the screen of the display unit 34 of the remote control 33 or the user terminal 9, and shows the operation time zone setting menu with the start (operation can start time) set to 10:00 and the end (operation can end time) set to 14:00.

Then, after setting the start (time when operation can begin) to 10:00 and the end (time when operation can end) to 14:00, when the user presses the "OK" button, if the time required to boil the entire amount of water, which is at least 5 hours, has not been secured, as shown in Figure 3 (2), the setting guidance means 32 will display a message on the screen of the remote control 33 or user terminal 9 saying "Please set at least 5 hours," and will guide the user to reset the setting information because the time required to boil the entire amount of water has not been secured.

The setting guidance means 32 can not only notify the user by displaying a message, but also guide the user to reset the setting information by sounding an error or making a sound through the notification unit 35 of the remote control 33 or the speaker of the user terminal 9.

In this way, when setting information on the remote control 33 or user terminal 9, if the time required to boil the entire amount of water, which is at least five hours, is not secured, an error sound, voice, or screen display will be emitted to prompt the user to reset the setting. This ensures that the time required for full-boil operation is secured, and prevents running out of hot water or the need for additional boiling operation due to insufficient boiling time.

Figure 4 (1) shows the screen of the display unit 34 of the remote control 33 or the user terminal 9, and shows the operation time zone setting menu with the start time set to 10:00 and the end time set to 14:00.

When one setting information is set and the other setting information is set, if the time required to boil the entire amount of water, 5 hours or more, is not secured, the setting guidance means 32 will automatically switch the operation end time set later than the previously set operation start time of 10:00 from 14:00 to 15:00, as shown in Figure 4 (2), based on the previously set operation start time of 10:00. At this time, the setting guidance means 32 may notify the user that the automatic switch has been made. Although the automatic switch is made when the other setting information is set, it may also be made when the user performs the "OK" operation.

Also, although not shown, if the possible operation end time is set to 2:00 PM first and the possible operation start time is set to 10:00 AM later, the setting guidance means 32 may automatically change the possible operation start time from 10:00 AM to 9:00 AM based on the previously set possible operation end time of 2:00 PM.

In this way, by automatically switching the display of either the possible operation start time or the possible operation end time based on the other time, it is possible to ensure that the time required for full boiling operation is secured, and it is possible to prevent running out of hot water or the need for additional boiling operation due to insufficient boiling time.

Figure 5 (1) shows the screen of the display 34 of the remote control 33 or the user terminal 9, where the user can select the available operation start time from "7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00" and the available operation end time from "14:00, 15:00, 16:00". Note that the options for each setting are shown in speech bubbles in Figure 5 to make them easy to understand, but the selection method can also be a method of scrolling within the screen of the display 34 of the remote control 33 or the user terminal 9, or by operating the up/down/left/right switch 36 one hour at a time.

In (2) of Figure 5, if the user selects a possible driving start time that is earlier than the possible driving end time, based on the standard of "10:00," the setting guidance means 32 narrows the selectable options for the possible driving end time to "15:00, 16:00."

To explain this standard in more detail, as shown in the table in Figure 6, the standard can be either the time when operation can start or the time when operation can end. If one of the times is set first, options that do not allow for the five or more hours required to boil the entire amount of water according to the table are eliminated, narrowing the options for setting the time later.

In this way, by selecting one of the possible operation start times as a standard, the system automatically narrows down the possible operation end times that do not provide the five or more hours required to fully boil the water. This ensures that the time required for full boil operation is secured, and prevents running out of hot water or the need for additional boiling operation due to insufficient boiling time.

Next, the daytime heating operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When daytime arrives (here, 7:00), the control device 31 calculates the amount of hot water required to be heated from the history of the amount of hot water used that day, and calculates the required heating operation time from the start to the end of daytime heating operation (S1).

The control device 31 determines the start time of the boiling operation by going back the required boiling operation time calculated from the arbitrarily set possible end time of the boiling operation (S2).

When the water heating operation start time determined in S2 is reached (Yes in S3), the control device 31 performs daytime water heating operation for the amount of hot water predicted to be used in the day (S4). If the sun is out during daytime water heating operation and power is being generated by the solar power generation system 3, the daytime water heating operation is performed using the privately generated power generated by the solar power generation system 3. If the sun is not out and power is not being generated by the solar power generation system 3, the daytime water heating operation is performed using power from the commercial power source 2a.

When the time when daytime heating operation can be ended, set on the remote control 33 or user terminal 9, is reached (Yes in S5), the control device 31 ends daytime heating operation (S6).

In this way, by making it possible to arbitrarily set the start and end times of daytime heating operation, the user can set the heating operation time according to their daily schedule and the installation angle and direction of the solar power generation panel 4, making it possible to provide a storage-type hot water heater 1 with a user-friendly solar power generation system 3.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the inventions and their equivalents as set forth in the claims.

For example, it would be ideal if electricity rates were set to be the same during the day and at night, but it would be fine if electricity rates were slightly cheaper at night, and since heating operations can be performed during the day using self-generated electricity when the sun is out, using a solar power generation system is more efficient in the long term.

Furthermore, the time required for full-volume heating operation is set to 5 hours, but the required time may be changed as appropriate depending on the capacity of the hot water storage tank 10 and the heating capacity of the heat pump unit 19.

In addition, in this embodiment, the terminal devices are described as the remote control 33 and the user terminal 9, but if the setting information cannot be set using the user terminal 9, there is no need to connect to the server 6 or network 8. If the solar power generation system 3 can perform daytime heating operation using self-generated electricity, electricity costs can be reduced by using self-generated electricity to perform daytime heating operation when the weather is good and the sun is out.

In addition, in this embodiment, the amount of hot water required for one day is heated only during the daytime heating operation, but a small amount of hot water may be heated during the night, or a certain amount of hot water may be secured before the daytime heating operation is performed.

In addition, in S2 of the flowchart in Figure 7, the start time of the boiling operation is determined by going back the necessary boiling operation time calculated from the arbitrarily set time when the boiling operation can be completed, but the start time of the boiling operation can also be determined to be the time when the boiling operation can be started.

1. Storage-type hot water supply system (hot water supply system)
3 Photovoltaic power generation system 9 User terminal 10 Hot water storage tank 19 Heat pump unit 31 Control unit 32 Setting guidance means 33 Remote control 34 Display unit (notification means)
35 Notification unit (notification means)

Claims (5)

A hot water storage tank for storing hot water;
a heating means for heating the hot water; and a control device for controlling a boiling operation in which the heating means heats the hot water in the hot water storage tank.
In a hot water storage type hot water supply device including a terminal device capable of communicating with the control device,
the terminal device can arbitrarily set an operation start time and an operation end time of the heating operation as setting information,
The control device is characterized in that it is provided with a setting guidance means for guiding the setting information so that the time required to boil the entire amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank to fill it to capacity is ensured. The hot water storage type hot water supply device of claim 1, characterized in that, if the setting information set on the terminal device does not ensure the time required to heat the entire amount of water, the setting guidance means notifies the terminal device to reset the setting so that the time required to heat the entire amount of water is ensured. The hot water storage type hot water heater according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the setting information set on the terminal device does not ensure the time required to heat the full amount of water, the setting guidance means automatically switches the display to move away from at least one of the possible operation start time and the possible operation end time so that the time required to heat the full amount of water can be ensured. The possible operation start time and the possible operation end time can each be arbitrarily selected from a plurality of options,
The hot water storage type hot water supply device of claim 1, characterized in that when at least one of the times in the setting information is set, the setting guidance means narrows down the multiple options for the other time so that the time required to heat the entire amount of water is secured. A hot water storage type water heater according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the setting information is arbitrarily set within a specified daytime range.