Question

The maximum flow rate of standard shower heads is about 3.5 gpm (13.3 L/min) and can be reduced to 2.75 gpm (10.5 L/min) by switching to low-flow shower heads that are equipped with flow controllers. Consider a family of four, with each person taking a 5-min shower every morning. City water at 15°C is heated to 55°C in an electric water heater and tempered to 42°C by cold water at the T-elbow of the shower before being routed to the shower heads. Assuming a constant specific heat of 4.18 kJ/kg·°C for water, determine (a) the ratio of the flow rates of the hot and cold water as they enter the T-elbow and (b) the amount of electricity that will be saved per year, in kWh, by replacing the standard shower heads with the low-flow ones. Investigate the effect of the inlet temperature of cold water on the energy saved by using the low-flow shower head. Let the inlet temperature vary from 10°C to 20°C. Plot the electric energy savings against the water inlet temperature, and discuss the results.

Answer 1

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