Multi-criteria comparison of various drinking water installations for low-temperature supply systems in apartments

Abstract

Rules to prevent from legionnaires disease gain importance as the building sector, esp. multi-family houses, needs to be decarbonized with temperature sensitive heat pumps. As legionella grow often in the peripheries of the pipe networks, we carried out dynamic simulations with TRNSYS of four different piping designs with composite pipes inside a reference apartment (T-piece, in-series, ring and a mix of T-piece for potable hot water (PWH) and ring for potable cold water (PWC)). We applied PWH and PWC tapping profiles for each tap, investigated two different supply temperatures of potable hot water 60 °C and 45 °C, and compared the results using hygienic, comfort and energy efficiency performance indicators. Based on the indicators and the boundary conditions used, classical T-piece and the mix installation show the best results, followed by series and ring, especially when using decentral water heaters with 45 °C.