Demand Control Systems Deliver Efficiency in Commercial Hot Water Use

About the Webinar

Commercial and hospitality buildings typically cycle between periods of very heavy hot water use and low to no hot water use. To ensure that hot water is immediately available at all times, building managers are often forced to override existing recirculation technology that was designed to control and reduce pumping and heating costs.

To address this challenge, researchers introduced and assessed the effectiveness of new demand control systems to reduce heating and pumping costs from hot water circulation in hospitality and commercial venues. The project team installed and monitored demand control systems at six sites, yielding notable electricity savings from both water heating and pumping with short payback periods at most sites. While monitoring, researchers encountered several issues that required troubleshooting in the field. The team leveraged their field experience to develop an approach to screen buildings and identify good fits for this technology.

CEE Senior Research Engineer Ben Schoenbauer will provide a technical overview of study findings, ranging from the performance of field installed systems to recommended approaches for building screening, non-energy benefits of the new systems, and specific recommendations for utility conservation improvement programs.

Learn more about this research on the project page