1.1 Introduction
A micro-controller based water heater or geyser is a type of water heaters which makes it possible for consumers in the domestic premises and industrial areas to efficiently control water heating system. For customers to use energy efficiently be it for domestic or industrial utility when heating water in a system, there is a need to use a micro-controller based water heater. The domestic water heater which is also called a geyser accounts for 43% of the household's total power consumption which makes use of the fact that efficient control of temperature of geyser will reduce the overall domestic power consumption of the entire nation. Without this, consumers may find it difficult to make a daily routine of switching their geysers OFF or ON manually and keep setting thermostat to meet their requirements, for different periods of the day in a week.
In this hardware and software designs are the controller which is interfaced with a real time digital watch, a temperature sensor and a keypad. In this, a real time emulator driven by the software controls a water heater using a micro-controller. We have the micro-controller, the geyser, keypad, interface design and consumption. The mechanical device such as thermostat is not meant for frequent adjustments and does not offer that accuracy and precisions required by a consumer to control temperature. The technique used is very crude to determine hotness or coldness of water in a geyser.
These devices have high cost, required higher maintenance due to wear and tear; depending on specifications of materials the electronic controller is design to control water heating from a remote point using a personal computer and an intelligent temperature sensor. It is user friendly, efficient, and has longer lifespan and is supported by a simple software designed to control the water heater and controls temperature accurately and precisely, saves electrical energy if judiciously programmed and is a mechatronics device.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
The world relies heavily on fossil fuels for most of its energy demands, and this has caused a lot of harm to the Earth. The increase of green-house gas levels in the atmosphere is largely due to the combustion of fossil fuels as a source of energy. This has caused global warming which has led to climate change, floods, forest fires, rising sea levels and the melting of glaciers. These are just some consequences of the over-reliance on fossil fuels for our energy demands. Solar energy provides an alternative and environmentally friendly energy source to the fossil fuels used for our energy needs. Over the last few decades, solar energy systems have gained more recognition because they can provide energy at a low long-term cost and minimal environmental damage. Researchers have developed several techniques for harnessing solar energy, these techniques include applications for space heating, water heating, electricity generation and many others.
The Romans had a simple system, they used the solar heating concept to heat their public baths to enable a reduction in using coal and the labour required. These systems were not self-sufficient, but every innovative idea starts somewhere, and the solar water heating concept began here. After the Roman Empire collapsed, humans forgot the concept of using the sun to heat water for over a millennium. It was in the late 18th century (1767) that a Swiss natural scientist, De Saussure, re-introduced the concept of using solar energy for water heating (Gong & Sumathy, 2016). He built an insulated box with two glass panes covering the surface, the bottom of the box was painted black to increase solar radiation absorption. This is the prototype for all solar water heaters. De Saussure found that whenever the insulated box was exposed to solar radiation, the insides reached temperatures greater than water’s boiling point. He had shown the green-house effect for the first time by doing this (Perlin, 2008). De Saussure hoped researchers would find his innovative device useful, but it took over a century for this to happen.
In 1891, Clarence Kemp, an American manufacturer, patented the world’s first commercial SWH called Climax (Gong & Sumathy, 2016). It was a simple system in which he put the black coated metal tank in an insulated box which had comparable designs to that of De Saussure’s. This metal tank served as both the solar energy collector and storage. The major issue with Kemp’s invention was that the water was stored and heated in the same tank. Hence, when exposed at night and in poor weather, the water sometimes cooled down to an undesired temperature. William J. Bailey solved this drawback in 1909 by developing a system which had the collector and the tank separate from each other. The solar collector he built comprised fluid tubes connected to a black-coated metallic plate in a box with a transparent surface. The storage tank for the system was placed above the collector. It was the first system in history that transported the working fluid using thermosyphon principle.
In the 1970s, about half a century later, the water heater got global attention again, revitalized by the OPEC embargo which caused a major oil crisis and a hike in oil prices. Ever since, the solar water heating industry has expanded all over the world. Growing concerns about the planet’s increasing carbon emissions, global warming and climate change have flared up interest in the solar water heating industry. As of 2018, the SWH market was valued at over a billion dollars, the yearly installation is expected to surpass three million units by 2025 (Gupta, 2019).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to design and construct a Microcontroller Programmable Based Water Heater with Temperature.
1.3 Statement of Problems
After home heating and cooling, water heating is typically the second largest energy expense in the home because it is necessary for so many domestic activities. Despite buying the new water heater, there are several ways that one can reduce the water heating bills and energy usage. The most common solutions are water conservation and buying the new water heater system. Our motivation is to offer the alternate solution to the problem by creating a water heater thermostat controller that is easily installed in an existing water heater. The goal is to offer the user complete control of water temperature at any time of the day from anywhere with internet connectivity. The data of energy usage will be monitored and collected. The controller will be able to recognize patterns from the data that we collect. The controller will be programmed in such a way that it learns autonomously when to heat up water and cool off/turn off without explicit programming. Instead of controlling the temperature on the actual tank, we will have several devices that offer ways to control the water heater. The water temperature will be able to set remotely from a touch screen with the appropriate GUI much like existing air conditioners. The user will also have the access to the data and set the temperature remotely from android smart phones.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to Design and Construct a Microcontroller Programmable Based Water Heater with Temperature. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To create integrated interface that will control existing water heater
- To control the heater's functionalities, such as temperature, through mobile internet accessible device.
- To integrate the system with WIFI
- To create easy to use interface that gives out useful information on Android Application and Touch Screen
1.5 Significance of Study
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Design and Construction of a Microcontroller Programmable Based Water Heater with Temperature.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
