In a method for operating a heating device, fluid is initially introduced into a fluid chamber, then the heating elements of the heating device are switched on and a leakage current is detected as a temperature-dependent current flow through a dielectric insulation layer. A supply voltage of the heating devices is measured and is taken into account in an evaluation of the temperature at the fluid chamber as a function of the leakage current. The leakage current is converted into a leakage voltage by means of a resistor, which is then divided by the measured supply voltage. Subsequently, the quotient obtained may be multiplied by a compensation value in order to obtain a normalized leakage signal, which is normalized to a base value of the supply voltage. The normalized leakage signal is used, if a particular absolute value of the leakage signal is exceeded or if a particular slope of the profile of the leakage signal is exceeded, in order to top up the fluid chamber with more fluid and/or to reduce the heating power of at least one heating element.

A tankless water heater comprising a bare wire heating element is disclosed which is connected to an electronic temperature control system. At least one sensor is furthermore connected to the electronic temperature control system. A fluid heating chamber is made of insulating non conductive material wherein the heating element is located. At least one switch is connected to at least one bare wire heating element and to a phase of an AC line. An electrode system and an electronic detecting circuit are interconnected. The electrode system is arranged in a fluid channel, in a short distance from the bare wire heating element which acts like electrode 1. The electrode 2 of the electrode system is made from a conductive tube material hydraulically connected to a throttle valve made from non conductive material to insulate the electrode 2 from the grounded collector. The electrode 2 is electrically connected to a electronic control system via a conductive material.

An electrical power distribution control system configured to issue a demand response signal to cut power to a plurality of electrical power consuming loads within an electrical power distribution network to reduce a peak power demand within an electrical power grid during a peak power demand. Unlike conventional demand response systems, the controller in each consumer residence includes both a distributed control based on the ability to track individual 24 hour usage patterns and selectively delay the demand response signal on individual resistive heating loads based on usage patterns for the purpose of reducing a likelihood of consumers experiencing effects of the reduced peak power demand.

The present invention relates to a system that allows the temperature of water inlet and outlet tubes in a water cylinder to be measured, making it possible to estimate the energy stored in the device and to estimate the times when the hot water is being used, in addition to allowing user behaviour to be predicted, anomalies in the hot water to be detected, and the power consumption of the device to be optimised. The device comprises: a water cylinder controller (100) disposed on the case; two thermocouple cables (300) for measuring the water inlet and outlet temperature in the cylinder; and an antenna (200) coupled to an antenna connector (12) in order to connect the controller (100) to another server or to the cloud, where the information is processed.

A method for detecting malfunction of an electric boiler, the method including: a) detecting over scale accumulation by the steps of: metering the boiler's heating cycle, being a time from activating the boiler by a thermostat thereof until deactivating the boiler by the thermostat; if the heating cycle is longer than a threshold, then indicating over accumulation of scale in the boiler; b) detecting a malfunction of insulation of the boiler, by the steps of: metering the boiler's cooling cycle, being a time from deactivating the boiler by a thermostat thereof until reactivating the boiler by the thermostat; if the cooling cycle is shorter than the threshold, then indicating malfunction of insulation of the boiler; thereby allowing indicating malfunction of said boiler only by metering the heating and cooling cycles of said boiler.

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for a portable heater that may be used in an area used for human occupancy, to provide heat to that area. Such a heater can be portable, and comprise an environmental detector that senses ambient air conditions, and may provide data used to shut down the heater in threshold conditions. In one implementation, a portable heater for use in high altitudes can comprise a housing configured for portability, in which a combustion region and a fuel supply component are disposed. The heater can comprise an environmental detector with a flameless sensor configured to detect an ambient level of a constituent of the atmosphere, and generate a signal indicative of the constituent level; and a sensor interface that can control flow of fuel from the fuel supply, based at least upon a signal received from the sensor.

One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for a vent-free heater that may be installed in an area used for human occupancy, to provide heat to that area. Such a heater can comprise an environmental detector that senses ambient air conditions, and may provide data used to shut down the heater in predetermined threshold condition. In one implementation, a vent-free heater for installation in high altitudes can comprise a combustion region and a fuel supply component. The heater can comprise an environmental detector with a flameless sensor configured to detect an ambient level of a constituent of the atmosphere and generate a signal indicative of the constituent level; and a sensor interface that can control flow of fuel from the fuel supply, based at least upon a signal received from the sensor.

A fluid heater is disclosed and which has a heater, pump, and a plurality of temperature sensors which are electrically coupled with first and second temperature controlled relays, and wherein the fluid heater is operable to maintain a source of fluid used by an object of interest within a predetermined temperature range and further, is operable under given temperature conditions to discontinue operation so as to protect the object of interest and the heater from becoming damaged through overheating of the fluid which is utilized by same.

A low leakage current fluid heater and systems and methods thereof. The fluid heater has a configuration whereby a heating element is isolated from a fluid channel so as to leak into fluid passing through the channel an allowed amount of leakage current. Fluid passing through the fluid heater can be heated to a desired temperature. A controller can provide control signals to driver the fluid heater to the desired temperature and maintain the temperature at the desired temperature.

A water heater that includes a cylindrical storage tank and at least one heating element, is modeled using a one-dimensional model that includes: a vertical stack of disks representing the water volume in the cylindrical storage tank, and a stack of annular segments surrounding the vertical stack of disks. Various temperature measurements are determined via resistance calculations of the at least one heating element. The stack of annular segments represents the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical storage tank. The one-dimensional model may be used by a condition-based maintenance system comprising an electronic data processing device configured to detect a failure mode present in the water heater based on an output of the water heating model component. Some illustrative failure modes include insulation disturbance, heating element failure, excessive sediment buildup, or a drip tube rupture.