Investigations of hot water temperature changes at the pipe outflow

Poznan University of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, ul. Berdychowo 4, 60-965 Poznan, Poland

^* Corresponding author: janusz.wojtkowiak@put.poznan.pl

Abstract

In this paper a process of cold water withdrawing from hot water supply pipe systems without recirculation is considered. System of partial differential equations was used to describe the pipe and water temperature changes. An exact solution of a simplified form of the equations was obtained and validated experimentally. The exact solution was applied to calculate the hot water temperature changes at the pipe outflow. Calculations were done for typical pipe materials (PP, PE, Cu), different pipe diameters and lengths as well as for various water flow rates. It was shown that in order to obtain the required hot water temperature in the tap, there is necessary to withdrawn much more (even two times) water from the pipe in comparison to the pipe volume. The reason of such significant water wastes is a heat exchange between hot water flowing inside the pipe and the colder pipe walls. The results can be useful for optimal selection of hot water supply pipes as well as for making decision about applying of hot water recirculating systems.