Which strategy saves the most energy for stratified water heaters?
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The operation of water heating uses a substantial amount of energy and is responsible
for 30% of a household’s overall electricity consumption. Determining methods of reducing energy
demand is crucial for countries such as South Africa, where energy supply is almost exclusively
electrical, 88% of it is generated by coal, and energy deficits cause frequent blackouts. Decreasing the
energy consumption of tanked water heaters can be achieved by reducing the standing losses and
thermal energy of the hot water used. In this paper, we evaluate various energy-saving strategies
that have commonly been used and determine which strategy is best. These strategies include
optimising the heating schedule, lowering the set-point temperature, reducing the volume of hot
water used, and installing additional thermal insulation. The results show that the best strategy was
providing optimal control of the heating element, and savings of 16.3% were achieved. This study
also determined that the magnitude of energy savings is heavily dependent on a household’s water
usage intensity and seasonality.
Description
CITATION: Ritchie, M. J., Engelbrecht, J. A. A. & Booysen, M. J. 2021. Which strategy saves the most energy for stratified water heaters? Energies, 14(16):4859, doi:10.3390/en14164859.
The original publication is available at https://www.mdpi.com
The original publication is available at https://www.mdpi.com
Keywords
Water heaters, Electric water heaters, Energy consumption, Stratified water heaters
Citation
Ritchie, M. J., Engelbrecht, J. A. A. & Booysen, M. J. 2021. Which strategy saves the most energy for stratified water heaters? Energies, 14(16):4859, doi:10.3390/en14164859.