PROJECT TO ESTABLISH HEAT RECOVERY-TYPE GAS HOT-WATER HEATERS AS THE DE FACT STANDARD

摘要

A variety of high efficiency type home use hot water heaters capable of contributing to the reduction of CO_2 emissions by home use hot water heating equipment are now coming into wide use. One of these is "Eco-JOES", a latent heat recovery type gas hot water heater. This hot water heater is, in addition to the conventional primary heat exchanger, also equipped with a secondary heat exchanger which uses latent heat in combustion exhaust gas. This can improve energy consumption efficiency from 80% to 95%, cutting CO_2 emissions by about 13% from conventional hot water heaters. The Government of Japan has set an ambitious intermediate target for greenhouse effect gas emission reductions in 2020 at less than 25% of the quantity emitted in 1990, and in response, the Japan Industrial Association of Gas and Kerosene Appliances and the Japan Gas Energy Promotion Council have made a decision to replace all gas hot water heaters which gas equipment makers manufacture with Eco-JOES (de facto standardization of Eco-JOES) by April 2013. In order to replace conventional hot water heaters with the latent heat recovery type hot water heaters, the following technologies were developed in order to adapt them to conditions in Japanese homes.1. Compact size: Realizing a device size equal to the conventional type, even with the secondary heat exchange installed. 2. Drainage water treatment technologies: Developing a device with a function that transports drainage water produced during heat recovery to bathrooms. 3. Combustion exhaust gas treatment technology: Development of a device to cause the combustion exhaust gas to flow more rapidly in order to prevent retention of the combustion exhaust gas. 4. CO sensor: Development of a CO sensor to sustain service lifetime equivalent to 10 years, even, in a high humidity environment. In the future, total costs including the cost of installation work will be reduced, energy visualization promoted, high value added, and other technology development carried out in order that 20 million units are installed by 2020.