High efficiency water heater

Abstract

A high-efficiency water heating system includes at least one source of heat and a processor interfaced to the at least one source of heat. The processor controls the operation of the at least one source of heat (e.g. energizes a heating element to provide heat to the water). At least one source of data related to a consumption of hot water from the high-efficiency water heating system is provided. Software running on the processor analyzes the data and calculates a predicted demand for the hot water based upon the data, then controls the operation of the at least one source of heat in response to the predicted demand.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A high-efficiency water heating system comprising:
 at least one source of heat, the source of heat interfaced to a water supply such that the source of heat controllably transfers heat into water from the water supply, thereby producing heated water;   a processor interfaced to the source of heat, the processor controlling the operation of the source of heat;   at least one source of data, the data related to a consumption of the heated water from the high-efficiency water heating system; and   software running on the processor, the software analyzing the data and the software calculating a predicted demand for the heated water and the software controlling the operation of the at least one source of heat responsive to the predicted demand.   
     
     
         2 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one source of data is selected from the group consisting of indoor ambient temperature, indoor ambient humidity, outdoor ambient temperature, outdoor ambient humidity. 
     
     
         3 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 1 , further comprising a network interface, the network interface operatively coupled to the processor and the network interface providing a connection between the processor and a network. 
     
     
         4 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one source of data includes external data from an external provider, the external provider connected to the processor through the network and the processor accessing the external data through the network and the network interface. 
     
     
         5 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 1 , further comprising a water storage tank, at least one of the at least one sources of heat being operatively coupled to the water storage tank such that, when the at least one sources of heat that is operatively coupled to the water storage tank is energized, heat is transferred to water within the storage tank to produce the heated water. 
     
     
         6 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the at least one sources of heat is an on-demand heating element. 
     
     
         7 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 6 , further comprising at least one electrically controlled valve, each of the at least one electrically controlled valve is operatively connected to the processor such that, under control of the processor, heated water is supplied from the water storage tank, the on-demand heating element(s), or a combination of both the water storage tank and the on-demand heating element(s). 
     
     
         8 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 1 , further comprising a flow sensor, the flow sensor operatively coupled to the processor, and the flow sensor providing to the processor a measurement of current demand for the heated water. 
     
     
         9 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the software running on the processor uses neural networks to calculate the predicted demand. 
     
     
         10 . A method of providing heated water, the method comprising:
 (a) calculating a predicted demand for heated water over a period of time;   (b) prior to and during the period of time, signaling one or more sources of heat to energize based upon the predicted demand, the sources of heat interfaced to a water supply such that the sources of heat provide heat to water to produce a quantity of the heated water;   (c) measuring a rate of flow of the heated water during the period of time; and   (d) feeding the rate of flow of the heated water back into the step of calculating to improve the accuracy of the step of calculating; and   (e) repeating steps a-e.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of calculating uses a neural network. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of calculating takes into account ambient conditions. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of calculating takes into account a schedule of users of the heated water. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of calculating takes into account external data. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of calculating takes into account historic demand for heated water. 
     
     
         16 . A high-efficiency water heating system comprising:
 at least source of heat operatively coupled to a water storage tank such that, when the at least one source of heat is energized, heat is transferred into water within the storage tank, thereby producing heated water;   at least one on-demand heating device connected to a supply of water such that, when the at least one on-demand heating device is energized, heat is transferred into water from a supply of water by the at least one on-demand heating device, thereby producing the heated water;   a first electrically controlled valve connected between the output of the storage tank and heated water plumbing;   a second electrically controlled valve connected between the output of the at least one on-demand heating device and the heated water plumbing;   a processor interfaced to the at least one source of heat and to the at least one on-demand heating device, the processor controlling the operation of the at least one source of heat, the at least one on-demand heating device, the first valve, and the second valve;   a flow sensor, the flow sensor operatively coupled to the processor, and the flow sensor providing a measurement of current demand for the heated water;   at least one source of data, the data related to a consumption of the heated water from the high-efficiency water heating system; and   software running on the processor, the software analyzing the data and the measurement of current demand, the software calculating a predicted demand for the heated water, and the software controlling the operation of the at least one source of heat, the at least one on-demand heating device, the first valve, and the second valve, responsive to the predicted demand.   
     
     
         17 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one source of data includes measurement data selected from the group consisting of indoor ambient temperature, indoor ambient humidity, outdoor ambient temperature, outdoor ambient humidity. 
     
     
         18 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 16 , wherein the software further records historical data that includes data from the flow sensor such that, in the future, the software uses the historical data to adjust the predicted demand based upon both the data and the historical data. 
     
     
         19 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 16 , wherein the software running on the processor uses neural networks to calculate the predicted demand. 
     
     
         20 . The high-efficiency water heating system of  claim 16 , further comprising a plurality of sensors, the sensors interfaced to the processor, the sensors providing at least part of the data, wherein the sensors are selected from the group consisting of temperature sensors, humidity sensors, and ambient light sensors.