Provided is a method for adaptively controlling the charging time of a storage heater, comprising: determining a stored energy requirement of the heater; determining a background heat requirement of the heater; determining a daily energy requirement (DER) based on the stored energy requirement and the background heat requirement; and determining a daily run time (DRT) at a predetermined time to calculate the charging time for a following period of time based on the daily energy requirement (DER).

The utility model relates to a phase change heat storage-type electrical water heater, comprising a phase change heat storage device, wherein the phase change heat storage device comprises a housing; the housing is internally filled in with a phase change material; a heat exchange pipe is embedded in the phase change material; the heat exchange pipe has one end connected with a circulating medium inflow pipe and the other end connected with a circulating medium outflow pipe; the circulating medium inflow pipe and the circulating medium outflow pipe are externally connected with a circulating medium backflow pipe there-between; the circulating medium inflow pipe, the heat exchange pipe, the circulating medium outflow pipe and the circulating medium backflow pipe form a circulating system in which a circulating medium flow; the circulating medium backflow pipe is provided with a circulating pump, an electrical heater, a function switching valve and a heat exchanger in turn; and the heat exchanger is provided with a water inlet pipe for heating tap water and a water outlet pipe. Compared with the prior art, the phase change heat storage-type electrical water heater heats water for a long time, has a high yield of hot water, and is safe and reliable.

An improved thermal store is provided. The thermal decouples the heat output from the thermal store from the energy provided to the heater.

Provided is a method for adaptively controlling the charging time of a storage heater, comprising: determining a stored energy requirement of the heater; determining a background heat requirement of the heater; determining a daily energy requirement (DER) based on the stored energy requirement and the background heat requirement; and determining a daily run time (DRT) at a predetermined time to calculate the charging time for a following period of time based on the daily energy requirement (DER).

Systems and methods are described herein that improve grid performance by smoothing demand using thermal reserves. The smoothed demand can reduce peak loads as well as the ramp rate of demand that will otherwise require the use of inefficient, expensive generation sources. These improvements are tied to the selective switching on or off electrical loads that are coupled to thermal reserves, effectively using the thermal reserves as an energy storage mechanism. Historical data of past usage can be used to create load model and ensure that effects on customer comfort are minimized while still accomplishing the beneficial effects for the overall grid, which enables grid owners to both reduce their operational cost by avoiding expensive generation and improve system reliability by achieving more predictable power demand.

A method for controlling a system including a heat pump, a space heater, a space cooler, a thermal battery, an electrical battery and a grid access system, the method including turning on at least one of discharging of the thermal battery and discharging of the electric battery, if a hot water demand exists; turning on at least one of the heat pump, charging of the thermal battery, charging of the electric battery and discharging of the electric battery, if a space heating demand exists; turning on charging of the thermal battery, if a space cooling demand exists; and backfeeding electricity from the electric battery to a grid through the grid access system, if electricity sale is desired.

A water heater including a storage tank and an energy source is disclosed. The storage tank may be configured to store water. The storage tank comprises a top portion and a bottom portion. The bottom portion includes an enclosure configured to store a phase changing material (PCM). The energy source may be configured to heat the PCM to a predefined temperature via a heating source disposed in the enclosure. The PCM may be configured to transfer heat to the water stored in the storage tank when a temperature of water stored in the storage tank drops below the predefined temperature.

The disclosure provides a control method and apparatus for an energy storage heat exchange electric water heater. The energy storage heat exchange electric water heater includes a water tank, an energy storage electric heater, a heat exchanger, a flow-through electric heater and a thermostatic valve, the flow-through electric heater and the thermostatic valve are controlled to be in an activated operating state at the same time, thus the thermostatic valve is able to mix cold water with hot water outputted from the heat exchanger and then allow mixed water to flow through the flow-through electric heater for being heated. The flow-through electric heater is able to directly heat the mixed water outputted from the thermostatic valve, without heating cold water in the thermostatic valve. Therefore, the temperature of water outputted after the flow-through electric heater heats the mixed water is able to reach the second preset temperature value quickly.