METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SINGLE PIPE INSTANT WARM WATER SUPPLY IN BUILDINGS

Abstract

A method and an apparatus are provided for on-demand and instant warm water supplying at the point of consumption. In this method only cold water is distributed and supplied to different places within a building through a single piping system. The apparatus has only a single input pipe for cold water and heats water in a heating unit just as needed on demand at the point of consumption after harvesting the heat energy of wastewater from drainage. The heating unit alternatives are an electric resistive element, a magnetron generating microwave, or a thermoelectric body warming the input water as needed and no more through a controller. No hot and cold-water mixer is used. The method and apparatus help the building industry save on plumbing costs and consumed energy and water, while bringing more comfort to users through direct and local discharging of warm water on demand and as adjusted instantly.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. An apparatus for on-demand instant heating and discharging warm water at the desired temperature at the point of consumption in the form of an integrated faucet that allows single-pipe water plumbing systems in buildings and comprises of: a) a discharging faucet or pipe [1] connected to a small water chamber [7] through a V-shape ball valve [5] adjusting the flow rate of warm water and having a built-in temperature sensor; b) a common handle [2] with two degrees of movement freedom: a vertical movement [3] that sets the flow rate of warm water through a V-shape ball valve and a circular movement that sets the warm water temperature through a potentiometer or an electric variometer for a better precision [4]; c) a small water chamber [7] with a built-in magnetron [8] generating microwave for heating the water inside the chamber instantly and directly to the desired temperature on-demand; d) a controller [10] that regulates the electrical energy supplied to the system [8] from a nearby electrical outlet [9] and is wired [6] to the handle potentiometer/variometer [4] and to the temperature sensor built-in the V-Shape ball valve [5]; e) an on-board WiFi module on the controller board for communicating with nearby portable smart devices through an application and with a central computer through the wireless internet; f) a wastewater chamber [12] with a built-in heat exchanger [11] from thermoelectric materials to harvest the heat energy of drained wastewater [14] before flowing into a sewer system; g) a single cold-water input [13] passing through the built-in heat exchanger [11] inside the wastewater chamber [12] before entering the water chamber [7]; h) a wastewater input collecting wastewater from a drain [14] to harvest its heat energy in the wastewater chamber [12]; i) a wastewater output that will be connected to a building's sewer pipe.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein it forms a portable cabinet-size modular unit in any size and capacity as an on-demand and instant warm water dispenser for all residential and commercial applications to eliminate the need for separate water heaters and associated hot water piping of any kind.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the magnetron generating microwave is protected by a porcelain cover and is placed at the bottom center of the water chamber.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the outside body of the water chamber is from PVC material with a metal web in the variant of microwave heating only.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the outside body of the water chamber is from thermoelectric materials in the variant of combined microwave and thermoelectric heating.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the circular movement of its handle and the potentiometer/variometer [4] are replaced with any other user interface tools like a touch screen for adjusting the water temperature as a variant.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the handle [2] is completely replaced with any other user interface tools like a touch screen and motorized V-shape ball valve [5] for a fully automated warm water dispenser as a variant.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein its heat exchanger is equipped with active thermoelectric materials absorbing wastewater heat and converting it to electricity for improving the efficiency as a variant.

10. The apparatus in any variants as claimed in claim 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 wherein the data (volume and temperature) of warm water usage are received by an application via the WiFi module of the controller to calculate the amount of water and energy consumed for displaying live data about the amount of consumed and saved energy and water on portable smart devices to raise awareness of sustainability.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates the apparatus concept realizing the method of this invention. This apparatus has only one input pipe for fresh cold water and one output duct connecting to sewer system for draining wastewater after harvesting its heat energy.

[0012] FIG. 2 shows two possible applications where only fresh cold water and drainage are connected. While simplifying the plumbing system in buildings, the apparatus provides instant adjustable warm water on demand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] FIG. 1 depicts the apparatus comprising of a pipe [1] discharging the warmed water and a handle [2] with two movement directions; a vertical movement [3] to adjust the required water flow rate through a ball valve with a built-in temperature sensor [5], and a horizontal (or circular) movement [4] to set the required water temperature through a potentiometer (not shown). The potentiometer and temperature sensor are wired [6] to a controller [10] for regulating the water temperature. The apparatus further comprises a water chamber [7] containing a heating body [8] for heating the water inside the chamber. The heating body can be a resistive element, a magnetron generating microwave, or a thermoelectric body generating heat using electricity. The electrical energy is supplied by a nearby electrical outlet [9]. The digital controller [10] regulates the temperature of discharging water at the setpoint adjusted by the horizontal movement of handle [4]. The controller receives the feedback signal of actual temperature of discharged water through the wire [6] from the built-in temperature sensor of ball valve [5]. It applies a closed-loop control method to maintain the temperature of discharged water regardless of its flow rate.

[0014] The bottom part of the apparatus is built with a wastewater chamber [12] and a built-in heat exchanger [11]. The cold-water supply pipe will be connected to the water input at the bottom of this chamber. This input is internally connected to the built-in heat exchanger and further connected to the water chamber as shown in FIG. 1. The input cold water flows through the built-in heat exchanger to harvest the heat energy of wastewater drained from the basin/sink/bathtub [14] of the application where the apparatus is used. The wastewater drained from the basin/sink/bathtub flows into the wastewater chamber through a connecting pipe and flows out to sewer piping system after exchanging its heat with the entering cold water through the built-in heat exchanger.

[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates two examples of applications where this apparatus can be used in a building. In the case of bathtub or shower tray, the apparatus embodiment will be installed underneath the tub/tray.

[0016] Through this method and its apparatus water plumbing system in a building will be reduced in size and cost and water heaters can be omitted as water will be warmed on demand locally and instantly. It saves water and energy consumption in contrast to traditional plumbing system where the users needed to wait and waste plenty of cold water inside the pipes until hot water reaches the point of consumption.

[0017] Traditional methods of instant hot water availability at the point of consumption include either three piping system and steady circulation of hot water which results in high plumbing costs and energy waste, or discharging a little amount of hot water to drainage at the point of consumption which results in wasting hot water. Recent inventions propose water heating faucets which heat water and mix it with cold water. It doesn't make sense to overheat water and then mix it with cold water. Apart from this deficiency, users have to waste some water and energy to adjust the desired water temperature and it is not a comfortable life style.