Electric resistance water heaters are relatively simple and are therefore one of the most common water heating configurations. Due to constraints on the allowable instantaneous electrical power draw, most electric water heating systems incorporate a sizable thermal storage component. The inherently unsteady storage component therefore has an overwhelming impact on the system behavior. In this investigation, a residential-scale electric storage water heater was tested across a range of flow rates for both powered and nonpowered discharge processes as well as for charge processes with no throughflow. The flow dynamics internal to the storage volume is shown to be strongly multidimensional and transient, especially when the internal heating elements are energized. Comparison of the measured data to the performance limits of a system with a fully mixed or a perfectly stratified storage element reveals that the conventional system operates relatively near to the fully mixed limit. As a result, there appears to be significant potential for improvements in system performance through reductions in the level of thermal mixing internal to the storage volume.
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e-mail: khoman@umr.edu
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February 2006
Research Papers
Transient and Rate-Dependent Performance of Conventional Electric Storage Water Heating Systems
J. W. McMenamy,
J. W. McMenamy
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace-Engineering,
University of Missouri-Rolla
, Rolla, MO 65409–0050
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K. O. Homan
K. O. Homan
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace-Engineering,
e-mail: khoman@umr.edu
University of Missouri-Rolla
, Rolla, MO 65409–0050
Search for other works by this author on:
J. W. McMenamy
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace-Engineering,
University of Missouri-Rolla
, Rolla, MO 65409–0050
K. O. Homan
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace-Engineering,
University of Missouri-Rolla
, Rolla, MO 65409–0050e-mail: khoman@umr.edu
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2006, 128(1): 90-97 (8 pages)
Published Online: January 18, 2005
Article history
Received:
April 23, 2004
Revised:
January 18, 2005
Citation
McMenamy, J. W., and Homan, K. O. (January 18, 2005). "Transient and Rate-Dependent Performance of Conventional Electric Storage Water Heating Systems." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2006; 128(1): 90–97. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2148974
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