The maximum flow rate of standard shower heads is about 3.5 gpm (13.3 L/min) and can be reduced to 2.75 gpm (10.5 L/min) by switching to low-flow shower heads that are equipped with flow controllers. Consider a family of four, with each person taking a 5-min shower every morning. City water at 15°C is heated to 55°C in an electric water heater and tempered to 42°C by cold water at the T-elbow of the shower before being routed to the shower heads. Assuming a constant specific heat of 4.18 kJ/kg·°C for water, determine (a) the ratio of the flow rates of the hot and cold water as they enter the T-elbow and (b) the amount of electricity that will be saved per year, in kWh, by replacing the standard shower heads by the low-flow ones.
Energy transfer
The flow of energy from one region to another region is referred to as energy transfer. Since energy is quantitative; it must be transferred to a body or a material to work or to heat the system.
Molar Specific Heat
Heat capacity is the amount of heat energy absorbed or released by a chemical substance per the change in temperature of that substance. The change in heat is also called enthalpy. The SI unit of heat capacity is Joules per Kelvin, which is (J K-1)
Thermal Properties of Matter
Thermal energy is described as one of the form of heat energy which flows from one body of higher temperature to the other with the lower temperature when these two bodies are placed in contact to each other. Heat is described as the form of energy which is transferred between the two systems or in between the systems and their surrounding by the virtue of difference in temperature. Calorimetry is that branch of science which helps in measuring the changes which are taking place in the heat energy of a given body.
The maximum flow rate of standard shower heads is
about 3.5 gpm (13.3 L/min) and can be reduced to 2.75 gpm
(10.5 L/min) by switching to low-flow shower heads that are
equipped with flow controllers. Consider a family of four,
with each person taking a 5-min shower every morning. City
water at 15°C is heated to 55°C in an electric water heater
and tempered to 42°C by cold water at the T-elbow of the
shower before being routed to the shower heads. Assuming a
constant specific heat of 4.18 kJ/kg·°C for water, determine
(a) the ratio of the flow rates of the hot and cold water as
they enter the T-elbow and (b) the amount of electricity that
will be saved per year, in kWh, by replacing the standard
shower heads by the low-flow ones.
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