Hot water supply apparatus and method of controlling the same
AssigneeKyungdong Navien Co., Ltd.
InventorsNam Soo Do, Yong Min Song
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hot water supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a pump that applies a pressure to a direct water supply line connected to a heat exchanger to supply direct water or hot water to the heat exchanger, a flow rate sensor that measures a flow rate of the direct water or the hot water flowing through the direct water supply line, and a controller that maintains an operating state of the pump during a reference time and confirms a change in a flow rate of the direct water supply line through the flow rate sensor when use of the hot water is stopped while the hot water is used in a state in which the pump is in operation.
Claims15
A hot water supply apparatus comprising:
- a pump configured to apply a pressure to a direct water supply line connected to a heat exchanger to supply direct water or hot water to the heat exchanger;
- a flow rate sensor configured to measure a flow rate of the direct water or the hot water flowing through the direct water supply line;
- and
- a controller configured to maintain an operating state of the pump during a reference time and confirm a change in a flow rate of the direct water supply line through the flow rate sensor, to adjust or stop operation of the pump according to the detected flow rate when use of the hot water is stopped in a state in which the pump is in operation,
- wherein the controller monitors the flow rate measured by the flow rate sensor in real-time while the hot water is used in a state in which the pump is in operation and determines whether a hot water use stopping condition is satisfied, and
- wherein the controller compares an instantaneous decrease flow rate confirmed through the flow rate sensor with a reference average flow rate value and determines that the hot water use stopping condition is satisfied when a difference value therebetween is greater than or equal to a preset reference value.
A method of controlling a hot water supply apparatus, the method comprising:
- applying, by a pump, a pressure to a direct water supply line connected to a heat exchanger to supply direct water or hot water to the heat exchanger;
- measuring, by a flow rate sensor, a flow rate of the direct water or the hot water flowing through the direct water supply line;
- and
- confirming a change in the flow rate of the direct water supply line through the flow rate sensor while an operating state of the pump is maintained during a reference time, adjusting or stopping operation of the pump according to the detected flow rate when use of the hot water is stopped in a state in which the pump is in operation,
- further comprising:
- monitoring the flow rate measured by the flow rate sensor in real-time until the reference time elapses while the hot water is used in a state in which the pump is in operation;
- and
- determining whether a hot water use stopping condition is satisfied based on the flow rate confirmed from the flow rate sensor,
- wherein the determining of whether the hot water use stopping condition is satisfied includes:
- confirming an average flow rate value for previous time T whenever time T elapses;
- defining, as a reference average flow rate value, a larger value of two recently confirmed average flow rate values based on a time point at which an instantaneous decrease flow rate is confirmed when the flow rate decreases;
- and
- comparing the instantaneous decrease flow rate with the reference average flow rate value and determining that the hot water use stopping condition is satisfied when a difference value therebetween is greater than or equal to a preset reference value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.