Control system methods for networked water heaters
First Claim
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1. A method for controlling a plurality of fluidly and operably connected water heaters in a network to meet a system demand, comprising steps of:
- providing a value corresponding to relative remaining life of each said water heater, a value corresponding to a minimum output of each said water heater, a flow limiting valve for each said water heater and a pump for each said water heater;
obtaining a number of participating water heaters required to service said system demand by dividing said system demand by said value corresponding to minimum output;
obtaining an average heating load by dividing said system demand by said number of participating water heaters in said network;
selecting participating water heaters by identifying said number of participating water heaters having the longest relative remaining life; and
setting and activating each of said selected participating water heaters at said average heating load to provide a total load meeting said system demand.
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Abstract
Disclosed is a control system for controlling a plurality of fluidly and operably connected water heaters to meet a hot water demand such that overall efficiency is maximized and usage disparity between water heaters is minimized. There is further disclosed a method for detecting a small system demand in said network by adjusting the setting of each flow limiting valve of each water heater. There is still further disclosed a method for enabling seamless addition or removal of a heater in service and heating load distribution to water heaters.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A method for controlling a plurality of fluidly and operably connected water heaters in a network to meet a system demand, comprising steps of:
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providing a value corresponding to relative remaining life of each said water heater, a value corresponding to a minimum output of each said water heater, a flow limiting valve for each said water heater and a pump for each said water heater; obtaining a number of participating water heaters required to service said system demand by dividing said system demand by said value corresponding to minimum output; obtaining an average heating load by dividing said system demand by said number of participating water heaters in said network; selecting participating water heaters by identifying said number of participating water heaters having the longest relative remaining life; and setting and activating each of said selected participating water heaters at said average heating load to provide a total load meeting said system demand. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for detecting a small flow in a plurality of fluidly and operably connected water heaters in a network, each of said plurality of water heaters has a flow limiting valve having a flow range of from zero to a non-zero value, a flow sensor having a minimum detectable flow, a value corresponding to a predetermined potential system demand, a value corresponding to the maximum output of a water heater in said network, comprising steps of:
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obtaining a number of participating water heaters required to service said predetermined potential system demand by dividing said value corresponding to said predetermined potential system demand by said value corresponding to the maximum output of a water heater in said network; obtaining an average flow limiting valve setting by dividing said predetermined potential system demand by said number of participating water heaters in said network; selecting participating water heaters by identifying said number of participating water heaters having the longest relative remaining life; and setting and activating said flow limiting valve of each of said selected participating water heaters at said average flow limiting valve setting.
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Specification