The invention relates to a method for operating a circulation system comprising a cooling device with an input port and an output port for cooling water. The invention also relates to a circulation system for implementing said method.

The disclosed technology includes an on-demand water heater which uses a heat pump to heat the fluid. The on-demand heat pump water heater can have a low fluid capacity heating chamber which has an inlet and an outlet, a heat pump for heating the fluid, and a controller to control the heat pump and maintain the temperature of the fluid at a predetermined temperature. The on-demand heat pump water heater can include one or more temperature sensors, flow sensors, fluid mixing valves, or supplemental heat sources.

A system for heating a first fluid flow from a first temperature to a second temperature, the system including a hot water supply line for receiving the first fluid flow at a first end and exhausting the first fluid flow at a second end; and a heating system including a heat engine, a thermal battery and a heat exchanger, wherein the thermal battery is configured to be replenished at a point of heat transfer by the heat engine and the hot water supply line is configured to receive heat from the thermal battery via the heat exchanger to elevate the temperature of the first fluid flow from the first temperature to the second temperature.

An apparatus for heating water has a tank for storing water and an air conditioning system that defines a refrigerant flow path through which refrigerant flows. The refrigerant flow path passes through the heat exchanger so that refrigerant heat is contributed to the tank. A control system controls operation of the water heating apparatus.

A heat pump apparatus according to the present disclosure is a heat pump apparatus for supplying a heat medium to a tank unit including a water heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the heat medium and water stored in a hot water storage tank. The heat pump apparatus includes a heat transfer performance determiner to determine heat transfer performance of the water heat exchanger, and a compressor controller. The compressor controller adjusts the rotation speed of the compressor during the hot water storage operation such that the rotation speed of the compressor when the heat transfer performance of the water heat exchanger is determined to be relatively low is higher than the rotation speed of the compressor when the heat transfer performance of the water heat exchanger is determined to be relatively high.

An operation plan correction unit is included which, after start of operation based on an operation plan, predicts a subsequent hot water supply load at a predetermined day on the basis of a hot water supply load result at the predetermined day, and changes a subsequent operation plan at the predetermined day generated by an operation plan generation unit, on the basis of the hot water supply load predicted again and a remaining amount of stored hot water in a hot water storage tank.

A heating system including a water conductor, a valve configured to cooperate with a fluid moving device which together operable to selectively circulate a heat transfer fluid in at least one of a first fluid circuit and a second fluid circuit, a heat exchanger and a blower operable to supply a stream of fluid over the heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger is fluidly connected to the first fluid circuit, wherein the heat exchanger being disposed to transfer heat between the heat transfer fluid and the heat exchanger, a coil fluidly connected to the second fluid circuit, wherein the coil is configured to be disposed on a drainage tube to transfer heat between the heat transfer fluid and the coil, a final heat exchanger configured for thermally coupling the first fluid circuit and the water conductor and the second fluid circuit and the water conductor.

Provided is a method of disinfecting a hot water supply system having a plurality of controllable hot-water outlets and a water heating arrangement including an energy store comprising a phase change material that has a phase transition temperature of less than 60 Celsius, the method comprising: informing an operator of a future disinfection event; increasing a hot water supply temperature from a pre-event temperature of less than 60 Celsius to a disinfection temperature; providing a signal to the operator to cause the operator to open a first of the hot water outlets; providing a signal to the operator to close the first outlet after a disinfection period; providing a signal to the operator to open another hot water outlet; providing a signal to the operator to close the another hot water outlet after a disinfection period; and repeating the signalling to the operator to open and then, after a disinfection period, to close each of the plurality of controllable hot-water outlets; reducing the hot water supply temperature to the pre-event temperature of less than 60 Celsius from the disinfection temperature; and indicating to the operator the completion of the disinfection event. A corresponding hot water supply system is also provided, the system preferably including a heat pump.

The present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method of predictively preparing a water provision system installed in a building, the water provision system comprising a heat pump configured to transfer thermal energy from outside the building to a thermal energy storage medium inside the building and a control module configured to control operation of the heat pump, the control module having executing thereon a first machine learning algorithm, MLA, having previously been trained to determine a correlation between cold water usage and a subsequent heated water demand, the water provision system being configured to provide water heated by the thermal energy storage medium to an occupant of the building at one or more water outlets, the method being performed by the control module and comprising: receiving first sensor data indicating cold water usage at a first water outlet; determining whether the cold water usage at the first water outlet is correlated to a subsequent heated water demand at a second water outlet by inputting the first sensor data to the first MLA; and upon determining that the cold water usage at the first water outlet is correlated to a subsequent heated water demand at a second water outlet, preparing the water provision system for delivering heated water.

A combined air-conditioning and hot water supply system simultaneously executes the cooling operation of a use unit and the hot water supply operation of a hot water supply unit, wherein the combined air-conditioning and hot water supply system operates in a cooling priority mode when the temperature differential T.sub.wm between a set hot water supply temperature T.sub.wset and the inlet water temperature T.sub.wi of a plate water-heat exchanger is smaller than a priority operation determination threshold M that is set in advance, and operates in a hot water supply priority mode when the temperature differential T.sub.wm becomes equal to or higher than the priority operation determination threshold M. This simultaneous execution of cooling and hot water supply operations prevents hot water from running out.