Rather than heat all the water in a hot water tank, the Mixergy Tank applies volumetric heating to supply hot water in a quantity specified by the consumer, who can control the system with an app.
According to Mixergy, it does this by exploiting thermal stratification and in doing so delivers hot water five times faster for direct electric tanks and two times faster for indirect gas tanks. As well as saving on energy, the tank provides up to 30 per cent more useable hot water via the use of inlet diffusers that reduce the mixing of cold water that enters the cylinder as hot water is drawn from it.
Mixergy says its tank has the added benefit of being the first hot water product certified to deliver grid balancing services to the National Grid. Through turning on/off when national energy demand misaligns with energy supply, the Mixergy tank can reduce network strain and use renewable energy more effectively.
The company said this has been achieved through developments in sensing and control along with a software platform, which optimises household heating schedules across a national network of smart connected hot water tanks.
Mixergy said it will use the funding – led by was led by Foresight Williams Technology – to further develop the technology and support the national roll-out of Mixergy tanks with British Gas. FWT was joined by Centrica, Oxford Sciences Innovation, and IP Group.
“This investment validates Mixergy’s core product – one that is capable of both delivering direct benefits to the consumer while having a positive net impact on energy consumption,” said Martin Fiennes, Principal at Oxford Sciences Innovation.
