Patent Description:
A water heater that discharges heated water or heats water for heating generally achieves a specific purpose by causing a combustion reaction and transferring heat generated through the combustion reaction to water. The heating water generated by heating water may be provided for heating, and may be discharged to a source of demand to be used.

The water heater has a burner to cause a combustion engine. The burner may cause the combustion by igniting the introduced fuel and air for combustion. It is necessary to provide a temperature and a humidity that are suitable for the provided air for an efficient combustion. When air having a suitable temperature and a suitable humidity is supplied to the burner, nitrogen oxides (NOx) may be reduced. It is very important to reduce nitrogen oxides in a situation, in which an atmospheric contaminant discharge reference for a boiler becomes higher over time.

In general, exterior air is directly supplied to the water heater, and the air directly supplied from an outside may not include a sufficient humidity, or a specific humidity cannot be maintained according to a difference of seasons and days and nights. <CIT> and <CIT> disclose examples of known water heaters receiving humidified air.

An aspect of the present invention provides a water heater that receives humidified air.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a water heater is provided in accordance with claim <NUM>.

Accordingly, the humidified air may be provided to the burner, and an amount of nitrogen oxides generated by the water heater may be reduced.

This application claims the benefit of priority to <CIT>.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. In adding the reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the identical or equivalent component is designated by the identical numeral even when they are displayed on other drawings. Further, in describing the embodiment of the present invention, a detailed description of the related known configuration or function will be omitted when it is determined that it interferes with the understanding of the embodiment of the present invention.

In describing the components of the embodiment according to the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used. These terms are merely intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or sequence of the components. Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

<FIG> is a conceptual view of a water heater <NUM> according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the water heater <NUM> according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a heating part <NUM> and a humidification part <NUM>. The water heater <NUM> may further include a case <NUM> for embedding other components, a duct <NUM> that passes through the case <NUM> and is configured such that a combustion gas that passed through the humidification part <NUM> is discharged to an outside, and an external air supply pipeline <NUM> that passes through the case <NUM> and introduces air outside the case <NUM> into an interior of the case <NUM>. The water heater may include a boiler for providing heating, a hot water heater for providing hot water (a direct water type hot water heater that is not provided with a separate hot water tank, or a tank type hot water heater provided with a separate hot water tank), a boiler usable for a hot water heater, or the like. Hereafter, a boiler usable for a hot water heater will be described as an example.

The heating part <NUM> is configured to cause a combustion reaction and generate heating water by using heat generated therefrom. The heating water includes at least one of heating water or hot water. The heating part <NUM> includes a burner <NUM>. The heating part <NUM> may include a heat exchanger.

The burner <NUM> is configured to cause a combustion reaction from air and a fuel. Accordingly, the burner <NUM> may include a burner air supply pipeline <NUM> that receives air, a fuel pipeline <NUM> that receives the fuel, and a combustion part <NUM> that causes the combustion reaction by using the received air and fuel.

The heating part <NUM> may include a combustion chamber, in which flames generated through the combustion reaction may be located. The heating part <NUM> may include a housing <NUM> to define a combustion chamber in the housing <NUM>. Water may be injected into an interior of the combustion chamber such that a temperature of the combustion gas is within a specific range. As in the contents on the humidification part <NUM>, which will be described below, the water may be injected in a scheme, in which the water is sprayed into the interior of the combustion chamber, by using a nozzle or the like. The water injected into the combustion chamber may be condensate CW formed through condensation of a combustion gas.

The heat exchanger of the heating part <NUM> may include a heating water heat exchanger <NUM> and a hot water heat exchanger <NUM>. The heating water heat exchanger <NUM> may be embedded in the housing <NUM>. The heating water heat exchanger <NUM> may generate heating water by heating water by using convection heat generated through the combustion reaction, and sensible heat and latent heat received from the combustion gas generated from flames located in the combustion chamber. Accordingly, the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> may be formed in a form of a pipeline, through which water may flow and in which the combustion gas may flow along an outer surface thereof. The heating water heat exchanger <NUM> may further include heat transfer fins for increasing a heat transfer area thereof. However, the form of the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> is not limited thereto, and may be of a plate type. The heating water heat exchanger <NUM> may include a sensible heat type heat exchanger that uses sensible heat, and a latent heat type heat exchanger that uses latent heat. The heating water may be heated first in the latent heat type heat exchanger, and may be heated finally by the sensible heat type heat exchanger. In the drawing, it may be considered that the latent heat type heat exchanger is located on a lower side and the sensible heat type heat exchanger is located on an upper side.

The heating water may be delivered to a heating pipeline <NUM> located in a heating target that requires external heating to be used as the heating water. A closed circuit that allows the heating water to return to the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> in an interior of the heating part <NUM> such that the heating water is circulated after heat is transferred to the heating target may be formed.

The heating water may be delivered to the hot water heat exchanger <NUM> by a circulation pipeline <NUM> connected to the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> to be used to generate hot water. Opposite ends of the circulation pipeline <NUM> may be connected to the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> and may be configured such that the heating water is circulated. The hot water heat exchanger <NUM> may be disposed outside the housing <NUM>, but may be disposed in an interior of the housing <NUM>. The hot water heat exchanger <NUM> may receive direct water and generate hot water by exchanging heat with the heating water. The hot water may be discharged to a source of demand to be used. The hot water heat exchanger <NUM> may be configured such that a hot water direct water pipeline <NUM> passes therethrough such that the direct water is introduced from the outside and is discharged after becoming hot water. A direct water pipeline <NUM>, through which direct water is introduced from the outside to an interior of the case <NUM> may be divided into the hot water direct water pipeline <NUM> and a humidifying direct water pipeline <NUM>.

Although it has been described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure that the heat exchanger includes the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> and the hot water heat exchanger <NUM>, it may include only one of the heating water heat exchanger <NUM> and the hot water heat exchanger <NUM>, and the hot water heat exchanger <NUM> of a type that directly uses heat generated through a combustion reaction in heating hot water may be used. The heating part <NUM> is not limited to the one described and illustrated in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, and may be formed of a hot water storage type.

The combustion gas may be condensed to generate condensate CW. The condensate CW may be discharged through a water discharge pipeline <NUM> located at a lower end of the heating part <NUM>. A trap may be disposed in the water discharge pipeline <NUM> such that the combustion gas is prevented from being discharged therethrough, and a neutralization device may be disposed to neutralize and discharge the condensate CW that is acidic.

To provide the combustion gas to the humidification part <NUM>, which will be described below, the heating part <NUM> may further include an intermediate pipeline <NUM> that connects the housing <NUM> and the humidification part <NUM>. The intermediate pipeline <NUM> may deliver the combustion gas that passed through the heat exchanger to exchange heat to the humidification part <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the humidification part <NUM> of the water heater <NUM> according to the first embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is a perspective view illustrating the humidification part of <FIG>, from another angle. <FIG> is a view illustrating the humidification part of the water heater according to the first embodiment of the present invention, from an upper side to a lower side. <FIG> is a view illustrating the humidification part of the water heater according to the first embodiment of the present invention, from the lower side to the upper side. <FIG> is a view illustrating flows that occur in the humidification part <NUM> of the water heater <NUM> and parts connected to the humidification part <NUM>, according to the first embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is a view illustrating flows in wet channels <NUM> and dry channels <NUM> of the humidification part <NUM> of the water heater <NUM> according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The humidification part <NUM> is a component that is configured to provide humidified air to the burner <NUM>. The humidification part <NUM> is configured to generate steam by steaming water and provide the steam, together with the air, to the burner <NUM>. To generate steam, the humidification part <NUM> may use the combustion gas that is generated through the combustion reaction and is discharged from the heating part <NUM> after heat is transferred to the heating water. Because the combustion gas has a high temperature after the heat is transferred to the heating water, the humidification part <NUM> may generate steam by using heat left in the combustion gas. Because the humidification part <NUM> performs an operation of generating the steam, the humidification part <NUM> may be formed of a material having a corrosion-resistant property, such as stainless steel, to be prevented from being corroded due to moisture and durability thereof from being degraded.

The humidification part <NUM> may include a plurality of wet channels <NUM> and a plurality of dry channels <NUM>. The dry channels <NUM> provide a space, through which the combustion gas passes, and the wet channels <NUM> provide a space, through which the air delivered from the outside flows and passes, from which the water is ejected, and in which the ejected water is steamed to become steam. The wet channels <NUM> and the dry channels <NUM> may be divided such that different materials cannot be communicated therebetween.

The plurality of dry channels <NUM> and the plurality of wet channels <NUM> may be alternately disposed such that heat is efficiently exchanged. Because the dry channels <NUM> and the wet channels <NUM> are disposed alternately, a heat exchange area becomes larger, whereby the heat of the combustion gas that passes through the dry channels <NUM> may be efficiently transferred to water drops "D" formed on inner surfaces of the wet channels <NUM> after being ejected from the wet channels <NUM>. Furthermore, the fluids that flow in the wet channels <NUM> and the dry channels <NUM> may not directly meet each other but may indirectly exchange heat.

The humidification part <NUM> may include a plurality of partition plates <NUM>. The partition plates <NUM> having a plate shape may be disposed in parallel to each other at a specific interval, and may define the plurality of wet channels <NUM> and the plurality of dry channels <NUM>.

The humidification part <NUM> may further include a plurality of heat transfer fins. The heat transfer fins may be disposed between adjacent partition plates <NUM>. The heat transfer fins may contact at least one of the adjacent partition plates <NUM> to increase a heat transfer area of the partition plate <NUM>. The heat transfer fins may be disposed on the surfaces of the partition plates <NUM> to protrude from the surfaces. Among the plurality of heat transfer fins, heat transfer fins that protrude in opposite directions and face each other may contact each other. The heat transfer fins may be disposed on an inner side of the wet channels <NUM> and the dry channels <NUM> to increase heat exchange efficiencies in the channels. In the drawings, the heat transfer fins are not illustrated separately.

Among the side surfaces of the partition plates <NUM>, side surfaces that define inner surfaces of the wet channels <NUM> may be hydrophilic surfaces. A hydrophilic treatment is performed on the inner surfaces of the wet channels <NUM>, and thus they may become hydrophilic surfaces. Chemical etching, a solgel method, a surface coating method, and a negative ion exchange method may be used as the hydrophilic treatment. Depressions and bosses may be formed on the inner surfaces of the wet channels <NUM> such that water drops are generated so that heat may be easily transferred. Because the inner surfaces of the wet channels <NUM> are hydrophilic, the ejected water may be easily located on the inner surfaces of the wet channels <NUM>, and the heat of the combustion gas that passes through the dry channels <NUM> may be easily transferred for steaming.

The humidification part <NUM> may further include a nozzle <NUM>. The nozzle <NUM> is configured to eject water to the plurality of wet channels <NUM>. The nozzle <NUM> may be disposed on an upper side of the plurality of wet channels <NUM>, and may be configured such that the ejected water is lowered by the self-weight thereof to be uniformly distributed in the wet channels <NUM>. The nozzle <NUM> may directly eject the water to the wet channels <NUM>, but may be disposed to eject the water to an upper side while facing the upper side. The nozzle <NUM> may spray the water in a form of small water drops.

The water may be provided by direct water that is delivered from at least one water source. Accordingly, the nozzle <NUM> may eject the direct water to the plurality of wet channels <NUM> by using a direct hydraulic pressure. The nozzle <NUM> may be connected to the humidifying direct water pipeline <NUM> to receive direct water.

The humidification part <NUM> may include a humidification body <NUM>, a first passage guide part <NUM>, and a second passage guide part <NUM>. The first passage guide part <NUM> may be disposed on a lower side of the humidification body <NUM> and the second passage guide part <NUM> may be disposed on an upper side of the humidification body <NUM>, but the dispositions thereof are not limited thereto.

The humidification body <NUM> may include a main dry channel and a main wet channel. The first passage guide part <NUM> may include a first passage guide dry-channel and a first passage guide wet-channel, and the second passage guide part <NUM> may include a second passage guide dry-channel and a second passage guide wet-channel. The dry channel <NUM> may be formed by sequentially connecting the first passage guide dry-channel, the main dry channel, and the second passage guide dry-channel. The wet channel <NUM> may be formed by sequentially connecting the second passage guide wet-channel, the main wet channel, and the first passage guide wet-channel. A combustion gas discharge passage, through which the combustion gas flows from the heating part <NUM> to the outside to be discharged, is formed along the dry channels <NUM>, and an air supply passage, through which the air and the steam are introduced from the outside to the burner <NUM>, is formed along the wet channels <NUM>. The air supplied by the air supply passage and the combustion gas discharged by the combustion gas discharge passage cross each other in the humidification part <NUM> for heat exchange. In particular, the supplied air and the combustion gas may counterflow with respect to each other in opposite directions in the humidification body <NUM> as illustrated, for heat exchange.

The first passage guide dry-channel is configured to guide the combustion gas discharged from the heating part <NUM> to the main dry channel. Accordingly, the first passage guide dry-channel may be connected to the intermediate pipeline <NUM> and the humidification body <NUM>. The first passage guide wet-channel is configured to guide the air and the steam discharged from the main wet channel to the burner <NUM>. Accordingly, the first passage guide wet-channel may be connected to the burner air supply pipeline <NUM> and the humidification body <NUM>.

The second passage guide wet-channel is configured to guide the air supplied from an outside of the humidification part <NUM> to the main wet channel. Accordingly, the second passage guide wet-channel may be connected to the external air supply pipeline <NUM>, which is a pipeline that is opened to the outside such that the external air is introduced therethrough, and the humidification body <NUM>. The second passage guide dry-channel is configured to guide the steam discharged from the main dry channel to the duct <NUM>. Accordingly, the second passage guide dry-channel may be connected to the duct <NUM> and the humidification body <NUM>.

The first passage guide may have a first body surface <NUM> that is a surface connected to the humidification body <NUM>. The outlet of the first passage guide dry-channel and the inlet of the first passage guide wet-channel may be disposed together on, among the side surfaces of the first passage guide, the first body surface <NUM> that is a surface connected to the humidification body <NUM>. However, the inlet of the first passage guide dry-channel and the outlet of the first passage guide wet-channel may be disposed, respectively, on a first passage guide inlet surface <NUM> and a first passage guide outlet surface <NUM> that are, among the side surfaces of the first passage guide, two surfaces that are different from the first body surface <NUM>. That is, when viewed in the same direction as that of <FIG>, the first passage guide may have a triangular shape. Because the first passage guide outlet surface <NUM> may be formed to face a lower side, the outlets of the wet channels <NUM> formed on the first passage guide outlet surface <NUM> may be opened to face the lower side. Accordingly, the steam included in the supplied air provided through the wet channels <NUM> or the water injected into the wet channels <NUM> may flow along the wet channels <NUM> or drop to reach the inlet of the burner air supply pipeline <NUM>. The outlet of the humidification part <NUM> may include the outlets of the wet channels <NUM> formed in the first passage guide part <NUM>, and the outlets of the dry channels <NUM> formed in the second passage guide part <NUM>.

The second passage guide may have a second body surface <NUM> that is a surface connected to the humidification body <NUM>. The inlet of the second passage guide dry-channel and the outlet of the second passage guide wet-channel may be disposed together on, among the side surfaces of the second passage guide, the second body surface <NUM> that is a surface connected to the humidification body <NUM>. However, the outlet of the second passage guide dry-channel and the inlet of the second passage guide wet-channel may be disposed, respectively, on a second passage guide outlet surface <NUM> and a second passage guide inlet surface <NUM> that are, among the side surfaces of the second passage guide, two surfaces that are different from the second body surface <NUM>. That is, when viewed in the same direction as that of <FIG>, the second passage guide may have a triangular shape. However, the shapes of the first passage guide and the second passage guide are not limited thereto.

The first passage guide may be directly or indirectly coupled to the intermediate pipeline <NUM> of the heating part <NUM> through brazing welding. The second passage guide may be coupled to the duct <NUM> through brazing welding. Accordingly, the humidification part <NUM> may be easily coupled to other components. Furthermore, the components of the humidification part <NUM> also may be formed as a single body through brazing welding, or all or some components may be integrally formed through a scheme, such as injectionmolding. That is, the first passage guide part <NUM>, the second passage guide part <NUM>, and the humidification body <NUM> have been described in the specification as separate components, but at least some of them may constitute an integral component. The above-described brazing-welded part may be further sealed by further using another unit.

A siphon part <NUM> may be connected to an inlet of the burner air supply pipeline <NUM> that connects the humidification part <NUM> and the combustion part <NUM>, which is connected to the humidification part <NUM>. The siphon part <NUM> may be a pipe that has a "U"-shaped part to cause a siphon phenomenon and has a serpentine shape. The water that is generated through condensation again as the supplied air including the steam discharged to the burner air supply pipeline <NUM> is condensed, or the water that is injected into the humidification part <NUM> but has not been steamed yet, and flows down and drops may gather in the siphon part <NUM>. The gathering water may be collected in the siphon part <NUM> to define a "U"-shaped trap. When a specific volume or more of water gathers in the siphon part <NUM>, the siphon phenomenon occurs and the water that defines the trap may be discharged at the same time.

Meanwhile, in a modification of an embodiment of the present invention, an air/water discharge part including a pipeline connected to a separate valve and an outside, instead of the siphon part <NUM>, may be further formed to be connected to the burner air supply pipeline <NUM>. Similarly to the siphon part <NUM>, the water may be collected in the air/water discharge part, and the water may be discharged to the outside as the valve is opened.

<FIG> is a conceptual view of a water heater <NUM> according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The water heater <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present invention basically has the same configuration as that of the water heater <NUM> according to the first embodiment of the present invention, except for some parts thereof. Accordingly, only the different parts will be further described. In the water heater <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present invention, condensate CW instead of direct water may be supplied to the nozzle <NUM>. Accordingly, the water heater <NUM> may include a pump <NUM> and a condensate pipeline <NUM>, and may have a direct water pipeline <NUM> that is not branched from the humidifying direct water pipeline (<NUM> of <FIG>). The condensate pipeline <NUM> connects the water discharge pipeline <NUM>, in which the condensate CW gathers, and the nozzle <NUM>, and the pump <NUM> is disposed in the condensate pipeline <NUM> to pump the condensate CW to the humidification part <NUM>. The nozzle <NUM> may eject the condensate CW to the plurality of wet channels <NUM> by using a pressure applied to the condensate CW by the pump <NUM>.

Although it has been described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention that the direct water and the condensate CW are ejected by the nozzle <NUM>, the water may be provided by at least one of the direct water and the condensate CW to be ejected, and the water heater, in which both of the direct water and the condensate are ejected by the nozzle or one of them is selectively ejected, may be carried out.

The flames generated by the burner that received humidified air may be stabilized and the temperature of the flames may be made to become lower, by using a scheme, in which the water is ejected to the supplied air and exchanges heat with the combustion gas as in the humidifier of the water heater of the present invention. Accordingly, nitrogen oxides and soot may be reduced. Because a concentration of steam in the supplied air may be increased, convection heat transfer and a concentration of radicals may be increased, whereby pollutants may be reduced. Furthermore, because the wasted heat recovery efficiency of the combustion gas increased, more condensate is generated, and fine dust and water soluble nitrogen oxides also may be easily collected.

A higher concentration of steam in the supplied air may be obtained by using a scheme of transferring heat of the combustion gas and heating the water for humidification, as in the scheme of using the water heater of the present invention, as compared with a case, in which humidification is made in a scheme of simply ejecting water to the supplied air.

In an steaming/cooing device that has a structure that is similar to that of the humidification part of the present invention, the air discharged from an interior may be humidified through steaming while passing through the wet channels, and the exterior air introduced into the interior may be cooled by latent heat during steaming while passing through the dry channels. In the humidification part of the present disclosure, humidification is made through steaming while the combustion gas that is heated to a high temperature passes through the dry channels and the exterior air passes through the wet channels. It may be seen that the exterior air and the interior air, a temperature difference of which is not explicit, exchange heat in the steaming/cooling device, but a temperature difference between the combustion gas of a high temperature and the exterior air is relatively large whereby heat transfer from the combustion gas to the exterior air and the sprayed water may be more effectively made in the humidification part of the present invention. Furthermore, in the steaming/cooling device, an obtained advantage is mere because the interior air discharged to the outside is heated. However, according to the humidification part of the present disclosure, a material, such as PVC, which has a relatively low heat-resistant property may be used as a component, such as a duct, which is used for discharging the combustion gas, by cooling the discharged combustion gas, whereby the selection of the material may be widened, and a durability of the components used for discharging the combustion gas may be increased.

<FIG> is a perspective view illustrating a humidification part 40b of according to a third embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is a view conceptually illustrating flows that occur in the humidification part 40b according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Configurations of the humidification part 40b according to the third embodiment of the present invention are similar to those of the humidification part <NUM> according to the first embodiment but only some of them are different, and thus only different parts will be additionally described. Referring to the drawings, the humidification part 40b according to the third embodiment of the present invention may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape as illustrated. Wet channels 431b and dry channels 432b may be stacked alternately along an upward/downward direction. Accordingly, the supplied air and the combustion gas that flow in the wet channels 431b and the dry channels 432b may not directly meet each other but may indirectly exchange heat.

The inlets and the outlets of the wet channels 431b may be disposed, respectively, on the front surface and the rear surface of the humidification part 40b, which is viewed in the drawing, and the inlets and the outlets of the dry channels 432b may be disposed, respectively, on the left side surface and the right side surface of the humidification part 40b. Accordingly, as viewed in the drawings, the supplied air that flows through the wet channels 431b and the combustion gas that flows through the dry channels 432b may indirectly cross each other in a form of cross-flows, in an interior of the humidification part 40b. Because the humidification part 40b according to the third embodiment of the present invention is formed as illustrated, the humidification part 40b having a simplified configuration and a reduced volume may be constituted.

A nozzle 44b for ejecting water to the wet channels 431b may be disposed to be adjacent to the front surface of the humidification part 40b. The nozzle 44b may apply the steaming water to the wet channels 431b in a scheme of ejecting water strongly toward the rear side, unlike the nozzle <NUM> of the first embodiment, which is formed such that the inlets of the wet channels <NUM> face the upper side to inject the water in a scheme of dropping the water. The nozzle 44b may be disposed on a front side of the front surface of the humidification part 40b, may be disposed to be adjacent to an upper end of the front surface, and may be inclined in a direction that becomes closer to the front surface of the humidification part 40b with respect to the lower side to uniformly eject the water to the wet channels 431b.

Although it has been described in the third embodiment that the wet channels 431b and the dry channels 432b of the humidification part 40b are disposed to face the horizontal direction, it indicates a relative direction for convenience of description, and the directions, which the wet channels 431b and the dry channels 432b face may be changed according to an angle, at which the humidification part 40b is disposed.

Although it may have been described until now that all the elements constituting the embodiments of the present invention are coupled to one or coupled to be operated, the present invention is not essentially limited to the embodiments. That is, without departing from the purpose of the present invention, all the elements may be selectively coupled into one or more elements to be operated. Furthermore, because the terms, such as "comprising", "including", or "having" may mean that the corresponding element may be included unless there is a specially contradictory description, it should be construed that another element is not extruded but may be further included. In addition, unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. The terms, such as the terms defined in dictionaries, which are generally used, should be construed to coincide with the context meanings of the related technologies, and are not construed as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

Claim 1:
A water heater (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprising:
a heating part (<NUM>) including a burner (<NUM>) configured to cause a combustion reaction from air and a fuel, and configured to generate heating water by using heat generated through the combustion reaction; and
a humidification part (<NUM>, 40b) configured to generate steam by steaming water by using a combustion gas generated through the combustion reaction and discharged from the heating part (<NUM>), and to provide the steam, together with the air, to the burner,
wherein an outlet of the humidification part (<NUM>, 40b), from which the air and the steam, which are to be provided to the burner (<NUM>), are discharged, is formed to face a lower side of the humidification part (<NUM>, 40b), and
wherein the water heater (<NUM>, <NUM>) further comprises:
a burner air supply pipeline (<NUM>) connecting the outlet of the humidification part (<NUM>, 40b) and the burner (<NUM>); and
a siphon part (<NUM>) connected to a lower side of the burner air supply pipeline (<NUM>) at an inlet of the burner air supply pipeline (<NUM>) on a downstream side of the outlet of the humidification part (<NUM>, 40b) with respect to a flow direction of the air and the steam , while having a "U"-shaped part such that the water, which is collected, is discharged due to a siphon phenomenon when a volume of the collected water becomes a specific volume or more while the water that flows down from the burner air supply pipeline (<NUM>) is collected to define a trap.