A building envelope, in particular a wall, a floor, or a roof of a building with at least two shells spaced some distance apart from one another, which encloses an intermediate space, said space being essentially empty with the exception of weight-bearing and/or construction-engineering elements or being filled at least in sections with porous, open-celled material and sealed from the interior and exterior of the building, wherein controllable sealing means are provided for sealing the intermediate space from the interior and exterior and optionally separated building envelope sections from one other.

A heating and hot water supply system includes: a combustion means; a heat exchanger; a heating terminal; a circulation passage that connects the heat exchanger and the heating terminal; a circulation means; a bypass passage branched from the circulation passage and bypassing the heating terminal; a distribution means for distributing a heating medium to the circulation passage and the bypass passage; a hot water supply heat exchanger for the bypass passage; and a hot water supply passage; wherein the distribution means can adjust the distribution ratio so as to correspond to a heating operation, a hot water supply operation, and a simultaneous heating and hot water supply operation, and when the distribution ratio on the circulation passage side of the distribution means is smaller than a prescribed value during the simultaneous heating and hot water supply operation, the blowing operation of the blower at the heating terminal is prohibited.

A water heating solar module designed for being connected to a boiler of a water heating system, the module comprises a vessel having a water inlet and a water outlet, a first heating element installed in the vessel, and a power supply for feeding the first heating element with electric power produced from solar energy. The module is arranged as follows: the vessel is positioned near the boiler, so that the vessel's bottom portion is placed not higher than the boiler's bottom portion; the water inlet is provided at the vessel's bottom portion and is adapted for receiving water from the boiler; the water outlet is provided at the vessel's top portion and is adapted for delivering water from the vessel to the boiler; the power supply is electrically connectable to a photoelectric device for receiving electric energy there-from, and to the first heating element, for heating water in the vessel. The invention also describes a system comprising the described module connected to the mentioned boiler, and a method of upgrading an existing water heating solar system by the described module.

A method for controlling a water heater comprising: receiving report information transmitted by a user-wearable device at a predetermined frequency; determining whether a user is coming back according to user location information included in the report information; and if the user is coming back, turning on a return water pump to permit water outputted from a water outlet of the water heater to return to the water heater through a water return port. The present disclosure determines a movement direction and the user location by using report information transmitted by the user-wearable device. If the user is coming back, the return water pump is turned on to permit water to return, so that the user can take a hot bath immediately after arriving home, thereby improving user's experience.

Control process of a thermal plant including a distribution circuit for a carrier fluid having a delivery line and a return line, a central thermal treatment group placed on the circuit, and channels, each of which is hydraulically interposed between the delivery line and the return line to serve respective environments. For each of the channels, the plant includes a respective exchange unit, a flow regulator to regulate a flow rate of carrier fluid through in the respective channel, an ambient temperature detector, a temperature detector of the carrier fluid for detecting a delivery temperature of the carrier fluid in each channel, and a return temperature of the carrier fluid in each channel. The process also includes a thermal optimization procedure as a function of ambient temperature, delivery temperature and return temperature of the carrier fluid.

A building envelope, in particular a wall, a floor, or a roof of a building with at least two shells spaced some distance apart from one another, which encloses an intermediate space, said space being essentially empty with the exception of weight-bearing and/or construction-engineering elements or being filled at least in sections with porous, open-celled material and sealed from the interior and exterior of the building, wherein controllable sealing means are provided for sealing the intermediate space from the interior and exterior and optionally separated building envelope sections from one other.

A highly versatile control system which is able to control devices in a linked manner is provided. The control system is configured to condition air of a single space 9, and includes: an air conditioner 2 and a floor heating apparatus 3 which cannot directly communicate with each other; a router 4 which is able to communicate with the air conditioner 2 and the floor heating apparatus 3 via communication lines 11 and 12; and a terminal device 5 which is connectable to the Internet 10 and is able to communicate with the router 4 via a communication line 13. The air conditioner 2 and the floor heating apparatus 3 are controlled in a linked manner by a control signal sent from the terminal device 5 via the router 4.

A highly versatile control system which is able to control devices in a linked manner is provided. The control system is configured to condition air of a single space 9, and includes: an air conditioner 2 and a floor heating apparatus 3 which cannot directly communicate with each other; a router 4 which is able to communicate with the air conditioner 2 and the floor heating apparatus 3 via communication lines 11 and 12; and a terminal device 5 which is connectable to the Internet 10 and is able to communicate with the router 4 via a communication line 13. The air conditioner 2 and the floor heating apparatus 3 are controlled in a linked manner by a control signal sent from the terminal device 5 via the router 4.

Systems and methods for a thermosyphonic water heating system for a storage tank. A DC heat pump receives power from a DC power source and heats water via a heat exchanger using a thermosyphonic piping system. A passive back-flushing having a cold water inlet pipe connected to the hot water return pipe draws cold water into the storage tank through the heat exchanger. A vertical array of temperature sensors distributed throughout the storage tank monitor temperature of stored water at multiple heights and a communication unit communicates monitored data to an external control device.

A heat pump system and a cooling/heating system using same, the heat pump system being able to prevent the occurrence of a vortex in a process in which fluid flows into a heat storage tank, and to supply and maintain constant-temperature cooling and heating. The heat pump system according to the present invention includes: an indoor unit which functions as a condenser during heating and functions as an evaporator during cooling; an outdoor unit which functions as an evaporator during heating and functions as a condenser during cooling; a heating medium for heat exchange; and a heat storage tank in which the heating medium for cold/hot water is stored.