A test rig for evaluating the efficiency of hot water boilers under various operating conditions

The requirement of hot water in the home is obvious to us, especially during the winter season. At the same time in our workplaces, where the working population spends the majority of its time, energy is being expended on a daily basis. The typical kettle or “tea urn” for boiling the water is not insulated and must be at the ready to provide hot water at any time through out the day. In this paper we investigate the efficiency of office boilers using a highly automated test rig. We find that in fact the losses that we are currently sustaining are quite significant and in an age in which energy is very expensive and supplies at times unreliable the authors believe that time is ripe for a re-think on the design and deployment of this ubiquitous utensil. The test rig has been designed for versatility and with this mind a programmable logical controller (PLC), is incorporated.