Residential Generator Waste Heat Recovery System

For my final year capstone project, my team developed a waste heat recovery system for residential generators. This system captures waste heat from the exhaust of the combustion engine to be stored in a thermal battery. This thermal battery is then used to preheat water entering the hot water tank, thereby reducing energy costs for water heating.

We designed a theoretical system that can be installed in a home as a retrofit for current generator owners, or as part of a new installation. The performance of the theoretical system was validated through a scaled prototype system using a repurposed pressure washer engine. The system utilizes a control system for monitoring fluid temperatures, calculating energy and cost savings, auto start/stop, and emergency shutdown.