Space, Energy, Time Savings (S.E.T.S.) Systems, Inc.
is a Miami, Florida-based manufacturer of electronic tankless water
heaters that are designed to replace hot water tanks in any location.
Computer chip technology is used to control the heating of the water
through heating elements, providing hot water on demand, instead of
storing it in the traditional hot water tank. Although tankless water
heaters have been used in Europe and Asia for years, these systems do
not supply an entire home at once. The S.E.T.S. heater unit was built
to efficiently serve the entire home and never run out of hot water.
S.E.T.S. devised the heater to keep manufacturing costs to a minimum,
while retaining high quality for the consumer. However, the whole house
design had a problem: the flow switch suffered intermittent problems.
The switch, activated by a reed switch, tended to get stuck, sometimes
causing the safety thermostats to disconnect the electrical current
to the unit. After hiring several testing and engineering firms to help
solve the problem, S.E.T.S. still had no solution. Then the company
heard about the NASA-KSC/State of Florida Technology Outreach Program,
which ran a NASA network throughout Florida to provide technical assistance
to businesses at no cost. The Technology Programs and Commercialization
Office at Kennedy Space Center supplied S.E.T.S. with an engineer with
expertise in flowmeters, who solved the flow switch problem with a modest,
but working redesign. A prototype heater flow switch was then built.
Extensive testing of the new assembly worked flawlessly. Older heaters
could be fixed by replacing two parts in the flow switch without removing
the heater.
NASA Involvement
KSC's Technology Programs and Commercialization Office
heard about the water heater manufacturer's problems through its Technology
Outreach Program, sponsored jointly by the State of Florida and NASA.
The Miami company learned of the program, which provided technical service
to businesses, through its local Chamber of Commerce. The program applies
scientific and engineering expertise originally developed for space
applications to the Florida business community. KSC arranged a Technology
Transfer Agreement (TTA) with S.E.T.S. and assigned an engineer to tackle
the flow switch problem. The KSC engineer contacted the company and
requested samples of the flow switch for examination. S.E.T.S. sent
him an entire heater unit. After studying the unit, the engineer discovered
there were two problems with the heater's flow switch, both to do with
a plastic element inside the pipe. Redesigning the flow switch solved
the problems.
Social/Economic Benefit
The assistance NASA provided helped to minimize manufacturing
costs, and therefore, saved S.E.T.S. money during development. The cost
of the old flow switch was $3 to $4 each; the redesigned unit costs
about 60 cents each. The new design allows the unit to work flawlessly
and the system has modernized the way we heat water. In addition to
sales in Latin America, the company is now prominent in U.S. markets,
with the heater being marketed by one of the largest electric power
companies in this country (First Energy Corp. of Ohio) under private
label, and is currently selling units to major business chains in the
U.S. The S.E.T.S. unit has also been selected to replace all existing
tank water heaters at one of the country's largest time share resorts in Florida. The tankless water heater offers the
consumer many economic and personal benefits. Not needing a hot water
tank can generate up to 50-percent savings of heating bills. Space savings
are also important; the unit is about the size of a phone book. Installation
costs are reduced since the units need no pressure relief valve like
conventional storage tanks. Because the heater uses electricity, there
is no need for venting as with propane or natural gas units. S.E.T.S.
Systems currently seeks distributors worldwide. Also, a revolutionary
new swimming pool heater has been developed by S.E.T.S that uses the
same flow switch technology. This product will soon be available.
