Water heating control system and method

• US 8,360,334 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2009
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Steve Nold, Thomas J. Debin
• Original Assignee: Steve Nold, Thomas J. Debin
• Inventors: Nold, Steve, Debin, Thomas J
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Chen Wen
• Application Number:
  US12/461,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20110031323A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• Field of Search: 236/20.R, 236/46.R, 236/51, 700/276, 700/9, 700/19, 700/20, 702/188
• US Class Current: 236/51
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 19/1048 Counting of energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/148 Assessing the current energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/152 Forecasting future energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/215 before heating
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/219 after heating
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/254 Room temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/258 Outdoor temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/262 Weather information or forecast
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 15/355 Control of heat-generating means in heaters
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24019 Computer assisted maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24055 Trace, store a working, operation history
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2614 HVAC, heating, ventillation, climate control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0237 based on parallel systems, e.g. comparing signals produced at the same time by same type systems and detect faulty ones by noticing differences among their responses
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1919 characterised by the type of controller
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1931 to control the temperature of one space

Abstract

The water heating control system and method tracks, monitors and controls energy consumed by systems and/or equipment including, but not limited to, hot water, HVAC, pools, and spas. The system and method controls a given device by utilizing historical and real-time information collected from a system of similar devices at the same and similar locations, as inputs to control processes which, utilizing the blended real-time and historical data, improve device management, including energy savings and maintenance of the entire system of devices over time.

Claims

1. A computerized water heating control system, comprising:

means for automatically monitoring and controlling a plurality of water heating units within a local water heating system;

means for comparing parametric measurements associated with each of the water heating units;

at least one sensor adapted for acquiring current water heating unit data from the plurality of water heating units in the local water heating system, the at least one sensor being connected to the automatically controlling and acquiring means;

means for acquiring water heating unit historical data for both the local water heating system and for a group of similar heating systems, the means for acquiring including means for accessing a remote database through a network;

means for comparing current and historical data of similar water heating units within the local water heating system;

means for comparing current and historical data for a water heating unit within the local water heating system to similar water heating units within the group of similar water heating systems;

means for recording current local weather conditions;

means for factoring in said current local weather conditions with previous historical data from the network of controlled systems when constructing base and future calculations for heat loss from a body of standing water;

means for calculating potential heat gain from the sun

means for improving calculations for the predicted heater start time, said calculations improving means comparing predicted heater run time with actual heater run time, and adjusting for discrepancies;

means for adjusting the system, the system adjusting means allowing the heater to remain off for as long as possible while maintaining desired temperature vs. time profile; and

solar heat gain gauging means occurring on an hourly basis and corrected by the pool heater, if necessary.

2. The water heating control system according to claim 1, further comprising means for predicting and prescribing required maintenance of said water heating units based on comparisons of measured workload with that of similar water heating units throughout the group of water heating systems, including make, age and location of the water heating unit.

3. The water heating control system according to claim 1, further comprising means for load balancing water heating units within water heating systems by measuring time and amount of work performed by the units relative to each other and by comparing to similar units in similar systems.

4. The water heating control system according to claim 3, wherein the water heating control system is an HVAC unit.

5. The water heating control system according to claim 1, further comprising means for identifying site specific environmental factors or usage patterns adversely impacting energy usage.

6. The water heating control system according to claim 1, further comprising means for presenting Energy Sayings Reports, Sensor Exception Reports, Recommended Maintenance Reports, and System Exception Reports, in a graphical display, identifying significant deviations of a single unit from its own past history and from the past history of other similar units in similar systems.

7. The water heating control system according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for acquiring water heating system supply temperature;

means for acquiring water heating system return temperature;

means for acquiring water heating system cold water supply temperature;

means for acquiring outside air temperature;

means for acquiring water heating system heater run time;

means for acquiring water heating system pump run time;

means for acquiring NOAA weather data;

means for calculating the acquired data to compute a predicted standby heat loss, a predicted water temperature drop, and a predicted outside air temperature;

means for determining the extent of the standby heat loss;

means for adjusting supply temperature;

means for computing and recording hot water load, standby heat loss, and heater recovery rates;

means for comparing said hot water load, standby heat loss, and heater recovery rates to historical values for anomalies; and

means for alerting the system and users if the anomalies exist.

8. A water heating control method, comprising the steps of:

automatically monitoring and controlling a plurality of water heating units within a water heating system;

comparing parametric measurements associated with each of said water heating units;

acquiring water heating unit historical data;

comparing current and historical data of other similar water heating units within the same water heating system;

comparing current and historical data of similar water heating units within separate but similar water heating systems;

recording current local weather conditions;

factoring in the current local weather conditions with previous historical data from the network of controlled water heating systems when constructing base and future calculations for heat loss from a body of standing water;

calculating potential heat gain from the sun;

improving calculations for the predicted heater start time, the calculations improving step including comparing predicted heater run time with actual heater run time and adjusting for discrepancies;

adjusting the water heating system in order to allow the heater to remain off for as long as possible while maintaining desired temperature vs. time profile; and

gauging solar heat gain on an hourly basis and corrected by the pool heater if necessary.

9. The water heating control method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of predicting and prescribing required maintenance of said water heating units based on comparisons of measured workload with that of similar water heating units throughout the set of water heating systems, including make, age and location of the water heating unit.

10. The water heating control method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of balancing load of the water heating units within water heating systems by measuring time and amount of work performed by the units relative to each other and by comparing to similar units in similar water heating systems.

11. The water heating control method according to claim 10, wherein the water heating control system is an HVAC unit.

12. The water heating control method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of identifying site specific environmental factors or usage patterns adversely impacting energy usage.

13. The water heating control method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of presenting Energy Sayings Reports, Sensor Exception Reports, Recommended Maintenance Reports, System Exception Reports, in a graphical display, identifying significant deviations of a single water heating unit from either its own past history, or the past history of other similar water heating units in similar water heating systems.

14. The water heating control method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

acquiring water heating system supply temperature;

acquiring water heating system return temperature;

acquiring water heating system cold water supply temperature;

acquiring outside air temperature;

acquiring water heating system heater run time;

acquiring water heating system pump run time;

acquiring NOAA weather data;

utilizing the acquired data in a calculation that computes a predicted standby heat loss, computes a predicted water temperature drop, and computes a predicted outside air temperature;

determining the extent of the standby heat loss;

adjusting supply temperature;

computing and recording hot water load, standby heat loss, and heater recovery rates;

comparing said hot water load, standby heat loss, and heater recovery rates to historical values for anomalies; and

alerting the system and users if the anomalies exist.

15. A computerized water heating control system, comprising:

means for automatically monitoring and controlling a plurality of water heating units within a local water heating system;

means for comparing parametric measurements associated with each of the water heating units;

at least one sensor adapted for acquiring current water heating unit data from the plurality of water heating units in the local water heating system, the at least one sensor being connected to the automatically controlling and acquiring means;

means for acquiring water heating unit historical data for both the local water heating system and for a group of similar heating systems, the means for acquiring including means for accessing a remote database through a network;

means for comparing current and historical data of similar water heating units within the local water heating system;

means for comparing current and historical data for a water heating unit within the local water heating system to similar water heating units within the group of similar water heating systems;

means for acquiring water heating system supply temperature;

means for acquiring water heating system return temperature;

means for acquiring water heating system cold water supply temperature;

means for acquiring outside air temperature;

means for acquiring water heating system heater run time;

means for acquiring water heating system pump run time;

means for acquiring NOAA weather data;

means for calculating the acquired data to compute a predicted standby heat loss, a predicted water temperature drop, and a predicted outside air temperature;

means for determining the extent of the standby heat loss;

means for adjusting supply temperature;

means for computing and recording hot water load, standby heat loss, and heater recovery rates;

means for comparing said hot water load, standby heat loss, and heater recovery rates to historical values for anomalies; and

means for alerting the system and users if the anomalies exist.