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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records

Disaggregating Hot Water Use and Predicting Hot Water Waste in Five Test Homes

While it is important to make the equipment (or 'plant') in a residential hot water system more efficient, the hot water distribution system also affects overall system performance and energy use. Energy wasted in heating water that is not used is estimated to be on the order of 10 to 30 percent of total domestic hot water (DHW) energy use. This field monitoring project installed temperature sensors on the distribution piping (on trunks and near fixtures) and programmed a data logger to collect data at 5 second intervals whenever there was a hot water draw. This data was used to assign hot water draws to specific end uses in the home as well as to determine the portion of each hot water that was deemed useful (i.e., above a temperature threshold at the fixture). Five houses near Syracuse NY were monitored. Overall, the procedures to assign water draws to each end use were able to successfully assign about 50% of the water draws, but these assigned draws accounted for about 95% of the total hot water use in each home. The amount of hot water deemed as useful ranged from low of 75% at one house to a high of 91% in another. At three of the houses, new water heaters and distribution improvements were implemented during the monitoring period and the impact of these improvements on hot water use and delivery efficiency were evaluated.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Disaggregating Hot Water Use and Predicting Hot Water Waste in Five Test Homes

While it is important to make the equipment (or "plant") in a residential hot water system more efficient, the hot water distribution system also affects overall system performance and energy use. Energy wasted in heating water that is not used is estimated to be on the order of 10%-30% of total domestic hot water (DHW) energy use. This field monitoring project installed temperature sensors on the distribution piping (on trunks and near fixtures) in five houses near Syracuse, NY, and programmed a data logger to collect data at 5 second intervals whenever there was a hot water draw. This data was used to assign hot water draws to specific end uses in the home as well as to determine the portion of each hot water that was deemed useful (i.e., above a temperature threshold at the fixture). Overall, the procedures to assign water draws to each end use were able to successfully assign about 50% of the water draws, but these assigned draws accounted for about 95% of the total hot water use in each home. The amount of hot water deemed as useful ranged from low of 75% at one house to a high of 91% in another. At three of the houses, new water heaters and distribution improvements were implemented during the monitoring period and the impact of these improvements on hot water use and delivery efficiency were evaluated.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Calculating Average Hot Water Mixes of Residential Plumbing Fittings Using the ANSI 301-2019 Hot Water Draw Model and National Residential Data to Estimate Hot Water Use in Showerheads and Lavatory Faucets

Available studies of hot water use percentages may not necessarily be generalized to a national level given regional differences, varying methodological approaches, and limited sample sizes. While some publicly available usage data, reports, and surveys estimate actual household usage, a lack of water use data specific to end uses make more precise savings calculations difficult. Additionally, most hot water draw models tend to focus on overall household use and may not readily estimate lavatory fixture use. However, reviewing more recent studies and standards enables the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program to update its estimates for hot water use and consumers’ corresponding energy and monetary savings to better reflect realworld conditions. This report specifically focuses on improving hot water use and savings estimates of lavatory faucets and showerheads. To estimate the hot water use of lavatory faucets and showerheads, we employed the 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Surveys (RECS) microdata alongside the ANSI 301-2019 Hot Water Draw Model. These estimates account for regional differences in hot water use, including regional cold water inlet temperatures. As a result, the refinements presented in this report are more robust, more recent, and better describe the geographic variation than previous inputs used by the WaterSense program. In addition, the approach described in this paper can be updated over time or tailored to regionally specific needs given available inputs. We conclude that hot water percentages for showers and faucets calculated using publicly available national data are close to the percentages found by regional studies and are consistent with household-level models of water use.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

The opacity of hot water vapor.

Hot water vapor opacity effects on dispersion spectra of red giant stars, constructing stellar atmospheric models

Auman, J. R., Jr.↗

Dependence of Techno-Economic and Ecological Indicators of Flat-Plate Solar Water Heating Collectors in Hot Water Supply Systems from the Temperature of Heating Water

The main ways of improving the performance efficiency of solar energy (SE) use in hot water supply systems (HWSSs) are discussed. It is established that the environmental characteristics of flat-plate solar water heating collectors (FPSWHCs) for heating water in HWSSs depend on the water heating temperature in these systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Control Strategies to Reduce the Energy Consumption of Central Domestic Hot Water Systems

Domestic hot water (DHW) heating is the second largest energy end use in U.S. buildings, exceeded only by space conditioning. Recirculation systems consisting of a pump and piping loop(s) are commonly used in multifamily buildings to reduce wait time for hot water at faucets; however, constant pumping increases energy consumption by exposing supply and return line piping to continuous heat loss, even during periods when there is no demand for hot water. In this study, ARIES installed and tested two types of recirculation controls in a pair of buildings in order to evaluate their energy savings potential. Demand control, temperature modulation controls, and the simultaneous operation of both were compared to the baseline case of constant recirculation. Additionally, interactive effects between DHW control fuel reductions and space conditioning (heating and cooling) were estimated in order to make more realistic predictions of the payback and financial viability of retrofitting DHW systems with these controls. Results showed that DHW fuel consumption reduced by 7% after implementing the demand control technique, 2% after implementing temperature modulation, and 15% after implementing demand control and temperature modulation techniques simultaneously; recirculation pump runtime was reduced to 14 minutes or less per day. With space heating and cooling interactions included, the estimated annual cost savings were 8%, 1%, and 14% for the respective control techniques. Possible complications in the installation, commissioning and operation of the controls were identified and solutions offered.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Control Strategies to Reduce the Energy Consumption of Central Domestic Hot Water Systems

Domestic hot water (DHW) heating is the second largest energy end use in U.S. buildings, exceeded only by space conditioning. Recirculation systems consisting of a pump and piping loop(s) are commonly used in multifamily buildings to reduce wait time for hot water at faucets; however, constant pumping increases energy consumption by exposing supply and return line piping to continuous heat loss, even during periods when there is no demand for hot water. In this study, ARIES installed and tested two types of recirculation controls in a pair of buildings in order to evaluate their energy savings potential. Demand control, temperature modulation controls, and the simultaneous operation of both were compared to the baseline case of constant recirculation. Additionally, interactive effects between DHW control fuel reductions and space conditioning (heating and cooling) were estimated in order to make more realistic predictions of the payback and financial viability of retrofitting DHW systems with these controls. Results showed that DHW fuel consumption reduced by 7% after implementing the demand control technique, 2% after implementing temperature modulation, and 15% after implementing demand control and temperature modulation techniques simultaneously; recirculation pump runtime was reduced to 14 minutes or less per day. With space heating and cooling interactions included, the estimated annual cost savings were 8%, 1%, and 14% for the respective control techniques. Possible complications in the installation, commissioning and operation of the controls were identified and solutions offered.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Gas Production from Hot Water Circulation through Hydraulic Fractures in Methane Hydrate-Bearing Sediments: THC-Coupled Simulation of Production Mechanisms

Methane hydrates, widely found in permafrost and deep marine sediments, have great potential as a future energy 6 source. Conventional production schemes perform poorly for challenging hydrate reservoirs with low permeability. We propose an 7 efficient production scheme by combining hydraulic fracturing from horizontal wells and hot water circulation through fractures. A 8 fully coupled thermo-hydro-chemical (THC) model is developed to simulate the key physical processes during gas production from 9 a hydrate reservoir representative of typical geological settings in Shenhu, South China Sea. We found that the gas production 10 process has two distinct stages divided by thermal breakthrough: a relatively short prebreakthrough stage and a postbreakthrough 11 stage yielding stable gas production. Heat advection along and near the hydraulic fracture dominates the prebreakthrough stage, 12 whereas conduction-driven thermal recovery in the volume around fractures dominates the postbreakthrough stage. We identified 13 that the steady-state injection temperature has a strong effect on the performance of the proposed scheme while the fluid mass 14 circulation rate has a moderate impact beyond a threshold. The proposed scheme proves to be efficient and robust over a range of 15 reservoir conditions with respect to initial hydrate saturation and intrinsic permeability, including their spatial heterogeneities, 16 thereby offering a promising solution for challenging reservoir conditions.

gas hydrate, fracture flow, gas production, numeri↗

Empirical characterization of vertical-tube inlets in hot-water storage tanks

Hot-water storage in residential and commercial tanks is of growing interest for peak-shifting the electrical demand associated with hot-water loads. How the water enters the tank can significantly affect the extraction efficiency of the storage. Vertical-tube inlets (VTIs) direct cold water into the tank. The VTI design influences whether large-scale mixing occurs, which can reduce the delivery capacity of the hot-water storage. In this work, the mixing at the VTI discharge was characterized by the eddy diffusivity factor (EDF) in an allometric curve fit to the ratio Re:Ri using inlet superficial velocities. The full experimental campaign tested VTI's with Re’s between 170 and 22,300 and Ri's between 0 and 376. Animated visualization of the experimentally measured data is provided, showing tank temperature evolution during inlet flows. The most predictive correlations for EDF are for VTI Re in the transition zone (i.e. ~2300 < Re < ~10,000) and at a Ri corresponding to a stably stratified tank (i.e. Ri > 5). For vertical-tubes that distribute cold water below the thermocline, increasing the EDF will decrease the stratification in a hot-water tank as EDF quantifies inlet mixing. Overall, the new correlations for VTIs can be used to design and model thermally-stratified storage tanks.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Control Strategies to Reduce the Energy Consumption of Central Domestic Hot Water Systems

Domestic hot water (DHW) is the second-largest energy end use in U.S. buildings; it is exceeded only by space conditioning. In this study, the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America research team Advanced Research Integrated Energy Solutions installed and tested two types of recirculation controls in a pair of buildings to evaluate their energy savings potential. Demand control, temperature modulation (TM) controls, and their simultaneous operation were compared to the baseline case of constant recirculation.

Array↗

Domestic Hot Water Temperature Maintenance Technology Review

Domestic hot water temperature maintenance (HWTM) is an important topic in facility management, and there are often opportunities to optimize systems to achieve energy, water, and maintenance savings. The main purpose of an HWTM system is to provide reliable hot water temperature at all fixtures with minimal wait time. This is done by replacing the standby heat losses from hot water sitting idle in pipes during periods of low demand. Traditionally, most commercial buildings do this by having water recirculate back to the water heater to be reheated. Other currently available HWTM systems are also discussed in this resource. HWTM systems can help maintain water at appropriate temperatures, minimize heat loss, and minimize delivery times to fixtures to improve the function of a building. This webpage includes a summary of HWTM options along with important considerations regarding occupant safety and comfort, and maintenance strategies for optimal and efficient operations. Domestic hot water (DHW) generation systems are referred to but are not the focus of this resource.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Irradiation-assisted cracking of SA508-304L weldments with 308L groove filler and 309L butter in hot water immersion constant rate extension tests

Low alloy SA508 bainitic steel is often welded to 300 series austenitic stainless steel in nuclear power plants. These dissimilar metal weldments use 309L butter applied to the low alloy steel and 308L groove filler material to join the 309L to austenite. High alloy steels (such as the 308L and 309L material used here) have been identified as having greater susceptibility to irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC). Evidence is presented here of cracking under tensile loads in 309L weldment butter in LWR hydrothermal conditions that correlates irradiation induced changes at δ ferrite–γ austenite phase boundaries and γ–γ grain boundaries; specifically intergranular Cr 23 C 6 precipitates. Cracking is not observed in irradiated 308L groove filler under the same conditions. Both the 309L butter and 308L filler material have a duplex or mixed δ–γ phase microstructure due to solidification during the welding procedure. We have performed constant extension rate autoclave immersion tests in BWR normal water chemistry hot water (288 °C, 10 MPa, 2000 wt. ppb dissolved oxygen, <100 nS/cm conductivity, neutral pH) of proton irradiated (2 MeV, approximately 3 displacements per atom at a depth of 10 μm) tensile specimens. Proton irradiation to the dpa levels used here induced Cr 23 C 6 carbide precipitation at γ–γ grain boundaries and δ–γ phase boundaries in the 309L butter but not the 308L filler. Cracking was observed in the proton-irradiated volume of 309L at these interfaces in the vicinity of the Cr 23 C 6 precipitates. We hypothesis the SA508 is the source of carbon in the 309L butter. Cr depletion at γ–γ grain boundaries was also observed and may also be a root cause of cracking. Furthermore, the 309L butter is under significant tensile residual stress in the weldment that adds to applied tensile loads and this too may be a contributing factor.

309L weld butter↗

Solar-powered hot-water system

Hot-water system requires no external power except solar energy. System is completely self-controlling. It includes solar-powered pump, solar-thermally and hydrothermally operated valves, and storage tank filled with open-celled foam, to maintain thermal stratification in stored water.

Collins, E. R.↗

Validation of a Hot Water Distribution Model Using Laboratory and Field Data

Characterizing the performance of hot water distribution systems is a critical step in developing best practice guidelines for the design and installation of high performance hot water systems. Developing and validating simulation models is critical to this effort, as well as collecting accurate input data to drive the models. In this project, the Building America research team ARBI validated the newly developed TRNSYS Type 604 pipe model against both detailed laboratory and field distribution system performance data. Validation efforts indicate that the model performs very well in handling different pipe materials, insulation cases, and varying hot water load conditions. Limitations of the model include the complexity of setting up the input file and long simulation run times. This project also looked at recent field hot water studies to better understand use patterns and potential behavioral changes as homeowners convert from conventional storage water heaters to gas tankless units. The team concluded that the current Energy Factor test procedure overestimates typical use and underestimates the number of hot water draws, which has implications for both equipment and distribution system performance. Gas tankless water heaters were found to impact how people use hot water, but the data does not necessarily suggest an increase in usage. Further study in hot water usage and patterns is needed to better define these characteristics in different climates and home vintages.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Validation of a Hot Water Distribution Model Using Laboratory and Field Data

Characterizing the performance of hot water distribution systems is a critical step in developing best practice guidelines for the design and installation of high performance hot water systems. Developing and validating simulation models is critical to this effort, as well as collecting accurate input data to drive the models. In this project, the ARBI team validated the newly developed TRNSYS Type 604 pipe model against both detailed laboratory and field distribution system performance data. Validation efforts indicate that the model performs very well in handling different pipe materials, insulation cases, and varying hot water load conditions. Limitations of the model include the complexity of setting up the input file and long simulation run times. In addition to completing validation activities, this project looked at recent field hot water studies to better understand use patterns and potential behavioral changes as homeowners convert from conventional storage water heaters to gas tankless units. Based on these datasets, we conclude that the current Energy Factor test procedure overestimates typical use and underestimates the number of hot water draws. This has implications for both equipment and distribution system performance. Gas tankless water heaters were found to impact how people use hot water, but the data does not necessarily suggest an increase in usage. Further study in hot water usage and patterns is needed to better define these characteristics in different climates and home vintages.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗