Simulation of Legionella concentration in domestic hot water: comparison of pipe and boiler models

The energy needed for the production of domestic hot water (DHW) represents an important share in the total energy demand of well-insulated and airtight buildings. DHW is produced, stored and distributed above 60°C to kill Legionella pneumophila. This elevated temperature is not necessary for DHW ap...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of building performance simulation 2019-09, Vol.12 (5), p.595-619
Main Authors: Van Kenhove, Elisa, De Backer, Lien, Janssens, Arnold, Laverge, Jelle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Airtightness
boiler model
Computer simulation
Contamination
contamination risk
domestic hot water (DHW)
Energy conservation
energy use
High temperature
Hot water heating
Legionella pneumophila
Legionnaires' disease bacterium
Mathematical models
pipe model
Pipes
Residential energy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The energy needed for the production of domestic hot water (DHW) represents an important share in the total energy demand of well-insulated and airtight buildings. DHW is produced, stored and distributed above 60°C to kill Legionella pneumophila. This elevated temperature is not necessary for DHW applications and has a negative effect on the efficiency of hot water production units. In this paper, system component models are developed/updated with L. pneumophila growth equations. For that purpose, different existing Modelica pipe and boiler models are investigated to select useful models that could be extended with equations for simulation of bacterial growth. In future research, HVAC designers will be able to investigate the contamination risk for L. pneumophila in the design phase of a hot water system, by implementing the customized pipe and boiler model in a hot water system model. Additionally it will be possible, with simulations, to optimize temperature regimes and estimate the energy saving potential without increasing contamination risk.
ISSN:1940-1493
1940-1507
DOI:10.1080/19401493.2019.1583286