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Thermal Stratification and Temperature Variation in Horizontal Electric Water Heaters: A Characterisation Platform

Author

Listed:
  • Pieter D. van Schalkwyk

    (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa)

  • Jacobus A. A. Engelbrecht

    (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa)

  • Marthinus J. Booysen

    (Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa)

Abstract

Electric water heaters, which have the capacity to act as thermal energy storage, are well suited to demand management strategies in smart grid applications. However, finding the balance between managing power load, reducing thermal energy losses, user’s convenience, and bacterial growth control, requires accurate modelling of the internal thermal dynamics of the tank, including stratification. As a black box, this unknown is dependent on a multitude of environmental factors (e.g., ambient temperature and inlet temperature), water draw patterns, scheduling, set temperatures and orientation of the vessel. The latter affects the stratification and temperature variation inside the tank, and therefore has a direct bearing on the balancing act of demand management. Although this has been assessed inside vertically oriented tanks, what happens inside the horizontal variety—ubiquitous in developing countries—is currently left to the guesswork. In this paper, we present the development of an embedded hardware and software platform with which the temperature variations inside a horizontal water heater can be characterised under numerous environmental and usage conditions. The importance of doing so is highlighted by the preliminary results, which clearly show the expected substantial temperature variation along the vertical axis, but also show interesting phenomena along the longitudinal and transverse axes, for both static (no water draw) and dynamic (with water draw) conditions. We conclude by highlighting potential for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Pieter D. van Schalkwyk & Jacobus A. A. Engelbrecht & Marthinus J. Booysen, 2022. "Thermal Stratification and Temperature Variation in Horizontal Electric Water Heaters: A Characterisation Platform," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:8:p:2840-:d:792993
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael J. Ritchie & Jacobus A. A. Engelbrecht & Marthinus J. Booysen, 2022. "Centrally Adapted Optimal Control of Multiple Electric Water Heaters," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, February.
    2. Baeten, Brecht & Confrey, Thomas & Pecceu, Sébastien & Rogiers, Frederik & Helsen, Lieve, 2016. "A validated model for mixing and buoyancy in stratified hot water storage tanks for use in building energy simulations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 217-229.
    3. Castell, A. & Medrano, M. & Solé, C. & Cabeza, L.F., 2010. "Dimensionless numbers used to characterize stratification in water tanks for discharging at low flow rates," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2192-2199.
    4. María Gasque & Federico Ibáñez & Pablo González-Altozano, 2021. "Minimum Number of Experimental Data for the Thermal Characterization of a Hot Water Storage Tank," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Armstrong, P. & Ager, D. & Thompson, I. & McCulloch, M., 2014. "Domestic hot water storage: Balancing thermal and sanitary performance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 334-339.
    6. Yildiz, Baran & Bilbao, Jose I. & Roberts, Mike & Heslop, Simon & Dore, Jonathon & Bruce, Anna & MacGill, Iain & Egan, Renate J. & Sproul, Alistair B., 2021. "Analysis of electricity consumption and thermal storage of domestic electric water heating systems to utilize excess PV generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
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    1. Ritchie, M.J. & Engelbrecht, J.A.A. & Booysen, M.J., 2024. "Loadshedding-induced transients due to battery backup systems and electric water heaters," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).

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