A swingable solar electric heater comprises an electric heater structure including a head swing element, a heating element, a timer, a base, and a safety dump switch. The head swing element is used to swing back and forth to perform radiant heating within a fixed angle, the timer is connected to the heating element, and the safety dump switch is used to turn off the heating element when the tilt angle of the base exceeds a limit. A current capture device captures the image data of the scene where the electric heater structure is located to obtain and output the corresponding current scene image. An early warning control device is used to extract each pixel value of each pixel in the current scene image, to calculate the standard deviation in the current scene image, and to send a blockage warning signal when the standard deviation exceeds a limit.

A controller, a water source heat pump and a computer useable medium are disclosed herein. In one embodiment the controller includes: (1) an interface configured to receive operating data and monitoring data from the water source heat pump and transmit control signals to components of thereof and (2) a processor configured to respond to the operating data or the monitoring data by operating at least one motor-operated valve of the water source heat pump via a control signal.

A joint connects to a hot water source, a toilet tank of a toilet, and a hot water outlet. A set of pipes connecting the hot water source and the joint may be referred to herein as “main hot water pipes.” Water exiting the hot water source into the main hot water pipes is above a desired water temperature. As time passes, however, water that rests in the main hot water pipes may fall below the desired water temperature. Rather than wasting all of the cooled water resting in the main hot water pipes in order to use hot water at the hot water outlet, at least a portion of the cooled water may be used to refill the toilet tank. Therefore less cooled water exits the hot water outlet before fresh water reaches the hot water outlet.

An illustrative HVAC controller may include a communication module for wirelessly communicating with a network and wiring terminals for receiving a wired connection to a remote temperature sensor that is situated remote from the HVAC controller and in a living space of the building. A controller may be operably coupled to the communication module and the wiring terminals and may be configured to implement a thermostat control algorithm to generate one or more control signals, wherein the one or more control signals are provided by a wired connection to the HVAC system to control one or more HVAC components of the HVAC system. The thermostat control algorithm may be configured to compare a sensed temperature received from the remote temperature sensor via the wiring terminals and a temperature setpoint received from the server via the network.

Methods and systems are provided for managing environmental conditions and energy usage associated with a site. One exemplary method of regulating an environment condition at a site involves a server receiving environmental measurement data from a monitoring system at the site via a network, determining an action for an electrical appliance at the site based at least in part on the environmental measurement data and one or more monitoring rules associated with the site, and providing an indication of the action to an actuator for the electrical appliance.

Methods and systems are provided for managing environmental conditions and energy usage associated with a site. One exemplary method of regulating an environment condition at a site involves a server receiving environmental measurement data from a monitoring system at the site via a network, determining an action for an electrical appliance at the site based at least in part on the environmental measurement data and one or more monitoring rules associated with the site, and providing an indication of the action to an actuator for the electrical appliance.

A floor warming system includes floor warming elements for coupling to a floor and a first sensor assembly for generating a first signal indicative of at least one of a floor temperature and a floor warming element temperature. A thermostat controller receives the first signal and a second signal indicating an ambient outdoor temperature for controlling operation of the floor warming elements. The thermostat controller includes memory storing an instruction set and data related to a user setpoint and a processor for running the instruction set. The processor is operative to calculate an operational floor setpoint based on the first signal, the second signal and the user setpoint.

A hot water energy storage system (100) comprises a storage vessel (102); a pump (151); a heat exchanger (152) arranged to receive water from the storage vessel (102) and to output water to the storage vessel (102); a diverting valve (158) to divert a proportion of the water output from the heat exchanger (152) back to an inlet of the heat exchanger (152), bypassing the storage vessel (102); a temperature sensor (120a-c) to measure a temperature of water within the system (100); and a control system (130). The control system (130) controls the pump (151) and the diverting valve (158), based on a temperature measurement of the water and the desired quantity of heat to be transferred by the heat exchanger (152), so as to maintain the return temperature of water entering the storage vessel (102) within a specified range whilst transferring the desired quantity of heat.

A solar photovoltaic (PV) water heating system includes a tank including at least a first heating unit having at least first and second heating elements, at least one of which is switchable; a PV solar collector; an inverter adapted to convert the output from the PV collector to an alternating power supply; a modulator to modulate the alternating power supply from the inverter; a controller adapted to control the modulator and the switching of the or each switchable heating element; wherein the controller is adapted to control the modulator and the switchable heating elements to maximize the energy drawn from the PV collector.

An apparatus and system for a combination space and water heater including a controller device and a method for control. The controller device is a self-contained system that can be added to, or in combination with, existing water heaters and hydronic air heating systems using standard plumbing connections, and provides a potable water system without any need of an intermediary heat exchanger. The controller device automatically monitors a heating capacity of the water heater and the hydronic heating coil over time, and correlates measured heating loads with one or more environmental temperatures, thermostats, user settings, and/or a supplemental heating system.