Hybrid Energy Thermal Water Pump for Producing Hot Water from a Shallow Well in Thailand

The main objective of this research was to study a hybrid energy thermal water pump (HBWP) in order to produce hot water from a shallow well in Thailand. The pump was powered by air-steam which was produced from a flat-plate solar collector (SC) coupled with a supplementary heat source. The HBWP system with 9 L capacity comprised an SC, an overhead tank (OT), a storage tank (ST), a heat source tank (HST), a liquid piston tank (LT), and a one-way valve. A one-meter discharge head and 1-3m suction heads were tested. The LT was initially filled with 10% air and 90% water. The pump could run automatically. It was found that for suction heads of 1 and 3m, the total pump efficiency was around 0.012-0.027%, and the thermal efficiency was around 32.5-36.3%. The pump could suck around 7-8L/cycle. The average temperature of pumped water was around 42.9-46.7 degrees C, which is sufficiently high for residential use. It was concluded that the suction heads affected the pump efficiency. Increasing air amount in the system could reduce some energy consumption. Moreover, a heat source thermal water pump (HSWP) was tested. The pump capacity was expanded to 240L. The energy input was taken from only one heat source. System operation was controlled by hand. Suction heads of 1, 3, and 5m were tested. It was found that the pump could suck around 192.2-218.8L/cycle and had more pump efficiency than the smaller pump with hybrid energy. However, the HSWP is more essential for agriculture in the rural area.