Consider a 1.5-m-high electric hot-water heater that has a diameter of 40 cm and maintains the hot water at 60 °C. The tank is located in a small room whose average temperature is 27 °C, and the heat transfer coefficients on the inner and outer surfaces of the heater are 50 and 12 W/m2⋅K, respectively. The tank is placed in another 46-cm-diameter sheet metal tank of negligible thickness, and the space between the two tanks is filled with foam insulation (k = 0.03 W/m⋅K). The thermal resistances of the water tank and the outer thin sheet metal shell are very small and can be neglected. The price of electricity is $0.08/kWh, and the homeowner pays $280 a year for water heating. Determine the fraction of the hot-water energy cost (in %) of this household that is due to the heat loss from the tank. Heat transfers through the top and bottom of the tank are negligible. In continuation of Question 2, hot-water tank insulation kits consisting of 3-cm-thick fiberglass insulation (k = 0.035 W/m⋅K) large enough to wrap the entire tank are available in the market for about $30. If such insulation is installed on this water tank by the homeowner himself, how long (in months) will it take for this additional insulation to pay for itself? Round up your answer to the next higher integer.
Question 2
Consider a 1.5-m-high electric hot-water heater that has a diameter of 40 cm and maintains the hot water at 60 °C. The tank is located in a small room whose average temperature is 27 °C, and the heat transfer coefficients on the inner and outer surfaces of the heater are 50 and 12 W/m2⋅K, respectively. The tank is placed in another 46-cm-diameter sheet metal tank of negligible thickness, and the space between the two tanks is filled with foam insulation (k = 0.03 W/m⋅K). The thermal resistances of the water tank and the outer thin sheet metal shell are very small and can be neglected. The price of electricity is $0.08/kWh, and the homeowner pays $280 a year for water heating. Determine the fraction of the hot-water energy cost (in %) of this household that is due to the heat loss from the tank. Heat transfers through the top and bottom of the tank are negligible.
In continuation of Question 2, hot-water tank insulation kits consisting of 3-cm-thick fiberglass insulation (k = 0.035 W/m⋅K) large enough to wrap the entire tank are available in the market for about $30. If such insulation is installed on this water tank by the homeowner himself, how long (in months) will it take for this additional insulation to pay for itself? Round up your answer to the next higher integer.
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