MADMEC 2008:
"Materials Solutions for Alternative Energy"

TEAM NAME: HotTap

Team Members


Mario Bollini, Course 2 '09; Siamrut Patanavanich, DMSE '09; Naomi Coronel, DMSE '09; Samuel Evans, DMSE '09,

Abstract
Water heating can account for fifteen to twenty percent of a household's energy costs. Ten to twenty percent of these costs are due to standby loss in tank heaters. Tankless water heaters are available; however they can be up to 2.5 times the initial cost of a tank heater, even if money will be saved in the long term. We plan to build an affordable system for instantaneously heating water, reducing energy use and waste. Our design utilizes induction to generate localized heating of a high surface area heat exchanger within the water pipe. Concentrated, instantaneous heating will eliminate standby heat loss and increase energy to heat transfer efficiency. Furthermore, the system will be portable and easily installed in existing water supply lines for adaptable distribution needs.