Hybridisation techniques for a supercapacitor-assisted temperature modification apparatus for inline water heating

A hybrid energy source allows a designer to meet extraordinary application requirements without having to make any performance sacrifices [1]. Most available hybridisation techniques in the literature are applied to automobile applications, describing solutions to pulsed load profile characteristics [2]. This study involves an instant water heater having a load profile of 18kW to 25 kW for 30s to 60s repeating once every 15 min, which cannot be modelled as a pulsed power application. In a commercial product development process, where the total product cost has to be kept low, the present cost of supercapacitors (SC) requires the application of battery-SC hybridisation, with an aim to lower the cost of SCs, without compromising the battery life [3]. This paper presents hybrid power source design options for a representative instant water heater system along with simulation and experimental results.