Development of a Market Optimized Condensing Gas Water Heater

摘要

This program covered the development of a market optimized condensing gas water heater for residential applications. The intent of the program was to develop a condensing design that minimized the large initial cost premium associated with traditional condensing water heater designs. Equally important was that the considered approach utilizes design and construction methods that deliver the desired efficiency without compromising product reliability. Standard condensing water heater approaches in the marketplace utilize high cost materials such as stainless steel tanks and heat exchangers as well as expensive burner systems to achieve the higher efficiencies. The key in this program was to develop a water heater design that uses low-cost, available components and technologies to achieve higher efficiency at a modest cost premium. By doing this, the design can reduce the payback to a more reasonable length, increasing the appeal of the product to the marketplace. Condensing water heaters have been in existence for years, but have not been able to significantly penetrate the market. The issue has typically been cost. The high purchase price associated with existing condensing water heaters, sometimes as much as $2000, has been a very difficult hurdle to overcome in the marketplace. The design developed under this program has the potential to reduce the purchase price of this condensing design by as much as $1000 as compared to traditional condensing units. The condensing water heater design developed over the course of this program led to an approach that delivered the following performance attributes: 90%+ thermal efficiency; 76,000 Btu/hr input rate in a 50 gallon tank; First hour rating greater than 180 gph; Rapid recovery time; and Overall operating condition well matched to combination heat and hot water applications. Over the final three years of the program, TIAX worked very closely with A.O. Smith Water Products Company as our commercial partner to optimize the design for manufacturing. This work included the initiation of a large field testing program (over 125 units) and an in-depth reliability program intended to minimize the risks associated with a new product introduction. At the time of this report, A.O. Smith plans to introduce this product to the marketplace in the early 2006 time period.