Water heater operation monitoring and notification

Abstract

A water heater monitoring and notification method includes determining, by a controller of a water heater system, a deviation of a duration of a pre-purge operation from a pre-purge duration average value. The method further includes determining, by the controller of the water heater system, a deviation of a flame current from a flame current average value and determining, by the controller of the water heater system, a deviation of a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) parameter from a PWM parameter average value. The method also includes providing a notification related to a combustion system of the water heater system based on at least the deviation of the duration of the pre-purge operation from the pre-purge duration average value, the deviation of the flame current from the flame current average value, and the deviation of the PWM parameter from the PWM parameter average value.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A water heater monitoring and notification method, comprising:
 detecting, by a controller of a water heater system, an anode current of one or more anode rods of a water heater system;   comparing, by the controller, the anode current to a maximum protection current of the one or more anode rods; and   providing, by the controller, a first notification in response to determining that the anode current equals approximately the maximum protection current of the one or more anode rods.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a second notification in response to determining that the anode current is less than the maximum protection current of the one or more anode rods and exceeds a first threshold that is less than the maximum protection current of the one or more anode rods. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising providing a third notification in response to determining that the anode current is less than the maximum protection current of the one or more anode rods and exceeds a second threshold that is less than the maximum protection current of the one or more anode rods and more than the first threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein one or more notifications of the first notification, the second notification, and the third notification are provided via a display interface of the water heater system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein one or more notifications of the first notification, the second notification, and the third notification are transmitted wirelessly or via a wired connection. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first notification indicates a protection provided by the one or more anode rods to a water tank of the water heater system is fully depleted and wherein the third notification indicates the protection provided by the one or more anode rods to the water tank of the water heater system is mostly depleted. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more anode rods are horizontally installed in a water tank of the water heater system. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining, at initial powering of the water heater system or following installation of the one or more anode rods, whether the anode current of the one or more anode rods exceeds a threshold to assess whether a water tank of the water heater system contains soft water or hard water. 
     
     
         9 . A water heater monitoring and notification method, comprising:
 determining a minimum flame current from among multiple flame currents;   determining a maximum flame current from among the multiple flame currents; and   determining whether a subsequent flame current generated at approximately the maximum gas input rate meets an operational requirement, wherein the subsequent flame current meets the operational requirement if the subsequent flame current is more than the minimum flame current, less than the maximum flame current, and more than a threshold flame current.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising receiving the multiple flame currents, wherein the multiple flame currents are generated at approximately a maximum gas input rate and wherein the multiple flame currents are produced during multiple ignition cycles. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising providing a notification in response to determining the subsequent flame current fails to meet the operational requirement and if a combustion system of the water heater system is degraded. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising determining whether the combustion system of the water heater system is degraded based on a speed of a blower of the water heater system and a pulse width of a pulse width modulation signal that is used to adjust the speed of the blower. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising providing a notification indicating the flame sensor is degraded in response to determining that a threshold number of subsequent flame currents generated at approximately the maximum gas input rate during the threshold number of ignition/heating cycles each fails to meet the operational requirement.