A heating and hot water supply system, including: a combustion unit combusting a fuel to generate a combustion gas; a heat exchange unit heating a heat medium and hot water according to heat exchange with the combustion gas; an exhaust unit that exhausting the combustion gas after heat exchange. The heat exchange unit includes a plate type heat exchanger by laminating vertically-upright rectangular plates with gaps, and is configured to heat the heat medium by causing the combustion gas and the heat medium to alternately flow through the gaps. An inlet for the heat medium is provided at lower corner of the plate type heat exchanger, a discharge opening for the heat medium is provided at upper corner farthest from the inlet, and a hot water passage through which hot water flows in the plate type heat exchanger is provided at upper corner above the inlet.

A water distribution apparatus and method including cold and hot water supplies, a fan coil (or chilled beam device), a control valve having cold and hot water inlets and outlets, cold and hot water outputs configured to supply cold and hot water to the fan coil, cold and hot water return inlets configured to receive from the fan coil the water supplied by the cold and/or water outputs and outputting the cold and/or hot water to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively, via the cold and hot water outlets, respectively. Cold and hot water is supplied from the cold and/or hot water outputs to the fan coil and received into the cold and hot water return inlets, respectively, and the cold and hot water supplied by the cold and hot water outputs to the fan coil is output to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a flow channel cap plate that constitutes a combustion chamber assembly including a combustion chamber and a plurality of insulating pipelines disposed on left/right side surfaces of the combustion chamber, the flow channel cap plate forming an insulating flow channel by covering the front surface of the combustion chamber, the flow channel cap plate including an inlet part including an inlet, and an inlet flow channel cap covering the front surface of the combustion chamber, an inlet space part is formed by covering the front surface of the combustion chamber with the inlet flow channel cap, the inlet is an entrance of the insulating flow channel, the plurality of insulating pipelines include a plurality of inlet insulating pipelines, and the inlet space part is a space that communicates the inlet with the plurality of inlet insulating pipelines.

A water heater includes a tank defining an interior space adapted to contain water and a shroud over the water heater and defining a component space inside the shroud. A first pipe nipple is coupled to a spud of the water heater, the first pipe nipple and spud defining a non-collinear axis that is non-collinear with a pipe axis of a pipe to be fluidly connected to the tank. A flexible connector is connected at one end to the first pipe nipple along the non-collinear axis. A second end of the flexible connector is positioned collinear with the pipe axis. A second pipe nipple is coupled at one end to the second end of the flexible connector and coupled at an opposite end with the pipe. Fluid communication is established between the pipe and the interior space of the tank through the pipe nipple and flexible connector.

A heat trap apparatus for a water heater is provided. The heat trap apparatus includes a tubular body, a liner disposed within the tubular body, and a heat trap baffle assembly having a tubular housing coaxially disposed within the liner. The liner includes a projection to engage with an inner surface of the tubular body at a first end using an interference fit. The tubular housing includes a first diametric portion to engage with the inner surface of the tubular body at a second end using an interference fit, a second diametric portion extending from the first diametric portion and to engage with an inner surface of the liner using an interference fit, and a third diametric portion extending from the second diametric portion and to movably support one or more heat trap inserts to inhibit convective fluid flow therethrough.

A heat trap apparatus for a water heater is provided. The heat trap apparatus includes a tubular body having a length defined between a first end and a second end, a liner disposed within the tubular body, and a heat trap baffle assembly having a tubular housing coaxially disposed within the liner to inhibit convective fluid flow therethrough. The liner has a length greater than the length of the tubular body and has an outer surface engages with an inner surface of the tubular body using an interference fit. The liner includes a first end engaging with a peripheral edge of the first end of the tubular body and a second end extending beyond a peripheral edge of the second end of the tubular body for a desired length to connect with a conduit.

A gas manifold allows each distribution chamber to be fed with fuel gas at an appropriate flow rate irrespective of an increase in the number of distribution chambers included in the gas manifold. A gas manifold distributes fuel gas flowing in through an inlet to a plurality of distribution chambers through a main channel. The main channel includes a flow guide that guides the fuel gas toward a maximum distribution chamber and reduces the fuel gas flowing into other distribution chambers. This allows fuel gas at a sufficient flow rate to be fed more easily to the maximum distribution chamber than to the other distribution chambers for a larger number of distribution chambers included in the gas manifold, allowing the plurality of distribution chambers to be fed with fuel gas at appropriate flow rates.

A water distribution apparatus and method including cold and hot water supplies, a fan coil (or chilled beam device), a control valve having cold and hot water inlets and outlets, cold and hot water outputs configured to supply cold and hot water to the fan coil, cold and hot water return inlets configured to receive from the fan coil the water supplied by the cold and/or water outputs and outputting the cold and/or hot water to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively, via the cold and hot water outlets, respectively. Cold and hot water is supplied from the cold and/or hot water outputs to the fan coil and received into the cold and hot water return inlets, respectively, and the cold and hot water supplied by the cold and hot water outputs to the fan coil is output to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively.

A water distribution apparatus and method including cold and hot water supplies, a fan coil (or chilled beam device), a control valve having cold and hot water inlets and outlets, cold and hot water outputs configured to supply cold and hot water to the fan coil, cold and hot water return inlets configured to receive from the fan coil the water supplied by the cold and/or water outputs and outputting the cold and/or hot water to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively, via the cold and hot water outlets, respectively. Cold and hot water is supplied from the cold and/or hot water outputs to the fan coil and received into the cold and hot water return inlets, respectively, and the cold and hot water supplied by the cold and hot water outputs to the fan coil is output to the cold and hot water supply lines, respectively.

A water heating system can include a first tank-based water heater having a first inlet line and a first outlet line, where the first inlet line provides unheated water to the first tank, and where the first outlet line draws heated water from the first tank. The system can also include a first tankless water heater having a second outlet line, where the second outlet line of the first tankless water heater provides the heated water to a first heated water demand. The system can also include a first valve that controls an amount of the unheated water flowing through the first inlet line to the first tank-based water heater. The system can further include a controller operatively coupled to the first valve, where the controller controls a position of the first valve based on the first heated water demand and a first capacity of the first tankless water heater.