Hot water storage system
US5317670A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 19, 1992 |
| Grant date | May 31, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 19, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF24H15/172
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A hot water system for connection to a water supply and a local hot water usage system, comprising a plurality of series-connected reserve tanks and demand tanks for receiving water from the water supply, heating the received water to a desired temperature within the reserve and demand tanks, and supplying the heated water to the local hot water usage system as it is demanded. A controlling device is provided for sequencing the operation of the reserve and demand tanks relative to peak power consumption hours and off-peak hours. Specifically, each of the tanks is provided with one or more thermostats which are selectively enabled or disabled by the controlling device at predetermined times. The one or more thermostats are, in turn, connected to one or more heating coils or maintenance coils. The reserve tanks and demand tanks may be operated under control of the controlling device in any of three modes, as follows: maintenance mode, enable mode, and disable mode. In maintenance mode, the water is maintained at a desired temperature either via enabling a thermostat which is connected to a low-power maintenance coil and disabling the heating coil thermostats, or via cycling power thr…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.