Battery-integrated water heater system and method

Abstract

A method of determining an operating configuration of a water heater that includes: a power cord connected to a receptacle; a housing; a battery disposed within the housing, and a water tank configured to hold a volume of water and having one or more heating elements. The method includes obtaining power availability data; and determining an operating configuration including one of: a full power configuration where the water tank operates at a maximum power greater than 120V input voltage based on power from both the receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery, and a reduced power configuration where the water tank operates at a reduced power less than the maximum power, based on power solely from the receptacle or power solely from the battery.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method of determining an operating configuration of an electric water heater, the method comprising:
 obtaining water heater use data associated with the electric water heater, the electric water heater comprising:
 a power cord connected to a 120V receptacle; 
 a charger that obtains power from the 120V receptacle; 
 a housing; 
 a rechargeable 180 VDC-250 VDC lithium-based battery integrally disposed within the housing, the battery configured to receive power from and be charged by the charger; 
 a water tank configured to hold a volume of water of at least 25 gallons and comprising an upper heating element and a lower heating element, the upper and lower heating elements configured to operate in a plurality of heating configurations including: a first configuration with only power from the battery, a second configuration with only power from the 120V receptacle and a third configuration with power from both the battery and the 120V receptacle, 
 a heat pump that includes a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator and a fan, the heat pump configured to operate in a plurality of heat pump configurations including: the first configuration with only power from the battery, the second configuration with only power from the 120V receptacle and the third configuration with power from both the battery and the 120V receptacle; and 
 a controller comprising a thermostat to measure a temperature of the volume of water within the water tank, the controller at least configured to maintain a water temperature of the volume of water within a range by activating or deactivating the upper and lower heating elements; 
 wherein the obtained water heater use data comprises:
 information regarding a current state of the water tank, and 
 information regarding a current state of the heat pump, 
 
   obtaining power availability data that includes information regarding power availability from the 120V receptacle via the power cord and information regarding power availability from the battery;   determining an operating configuration based at least in part on the obtained water heater use data and the obtained power availability data, the determined operating configuration including one of:
 a full power configuration where the upper and lower heating elements operate at a maximum power greater than 120V input voltage based on power from both the 120V receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery, and 
 a reduced power configuration where the upper and lower heating elements operate at a reduced power less than the maximum power, based on power solely from the 120V receptacle or power solely from the battery, and 
   switching to the determined operating configuration including one of: switching from the full power configuration to the reduced power configuration or switching from the reduced power configuration to the full power configuration.   
     
     
         2 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the full power configuration comprises the upper and lower heating elements operating at 240V input voltage based on power from both the 120V receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery. 
     
     
         3 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the operating configuration is further based at least in part on the obtained power availability data that indicates that power has become unavailable from the 120V receptacle or that power has become unavailable from the battery. 
     
     
         4 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising a supplementary power line operably coupled to and providing 120V power to the electric water heater directly from one or more solar panels, the supplementary power line configured to provide power to and charge the battery and configured to provide power to the charger. 
     
     
         5 . A computer implemented method of determining an operating configuration of a water heater, the method comprising:
 obtaining water heater use data associated with the water heater, the water heater comprising:
 a power cord connected to a 120V receptacle; 
 a charger that obtains power from the 120V receptacle; 
 a housing; 
 a rechargeable 180 VDC-250 VDC battery integrally disposed within the housing, the battery configured to receive power from and be charged by the charger; 
 a water tank configured to hold a volume of water and comprising one or more heating elements, the one or more heating elements configured to operate in a plurality of heating configurations including two or more of: a first configuration with only power from the battery, a second configuration with only power from the 120V receptacle and a third configuration with power from both the battery and the 120V receptacle; and 
 a heat pump configured to operate in a plurality of heat pump configurations including two or more of: the first configuration with only power from the battery, the second configuration with only power from the 120V receptacle and the third configuration with power from both the battery and the 120V receptacle; 
   obtaining power availability data that includes information regarding power availability from the 120V receptacle via the power cord and information regarding power availability from the battery;   determining an operating configuration based at least in part on the obtained water heater use data and the obtained power availability data, the determined operating configuration including one of:
 a full power configuration where the water tank operates at a maximum power greater than 120V input voltage based on power from both the 120V receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery, and 
 a reduced power configuration where the water tank operates at a reduced power less than the maximum power, based on power solely from the 120V receptacle or power solely from the battery, and 
   switching to the determined operating configuration including one of: switching from the full power configuration to the reduced power configuration or switching from the reduced power configuration to the full power configuration.   
     
     
         6 . The computer implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the battery is lithium-based, including at least one of: lithium-ion (Li-ion), LiFePO 4  (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and lithium-ion polymer (LiPo). 
     
     
         7 . The computer implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the water tank is configured to hold a volume of water of at least 20 gallons. 
     
     
         8 . The computer implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the heat pump includes a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator and a fan. 
     
     
         9 . The computer implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the full power configuration comprises the one or more heating elements operating at greater than 200V input voltage based on power from both the 120V receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery. 
     
     
         10 . The computer implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein the obtained water heater use data comprises one or more of:
 information regarding a current state of the water tank, and   information regarding a current state of the heat pump.   
     
     
         11 . A computer implemented method of determining an operating configuration of a water heater, the method comprising:
 obtaining water heater use data associated with the water heater, the water heater comprising:
 a power cord connected to a receptacle; 
 a housing; 
 a battery disposed within the housing, and 
 a water tank configured to hold a volume of water and comprising one or more heating elements, 
   obtaining power availability data that includes information regarding power availability from the receptacle via the power cord and information regarding power availability from the battery;   determining an operating configuration based at least in part on the obtained water heater use data and the obtained power availability data, the determined operating configuration including one of:
 a full power configuration where the water tank operates at a maximum power greater than 120V input voltage based on power from both the receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery, and 
 a reduced power configuration where the water tank operates at a reduced power less than the maximum power, based on power solely from the receptacle or power solely from the battery, and 
   switching to the determined operating configuration including one of: switching from the full power configuration to the reduced power configuration or switching from the reduced power configuration to the full power configuration.   
     
     
         12 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the water heater further comprises a charger that obtains power from the receptacle; and wherein the battery is configured to receive power from and be charged by the charger. 
     
     
         13 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the battery is rechargeable, 180 VDC-250 VDC, and disposed within the housing. 
     
     
         14 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the water tank is configured to operate in a plurality of heating configurations including two or more of: a first configuration with only power from the battery, a second configuration with only power from the receptacle and a third configuration with power from both the battery and the receptacle. 
     
     
         15 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the water heater further comprises a heat pump configured to be powered in two or more configurations, including two or more of a first configuration with only power from the battery, a second configuration with only power from the receptacle and a third configuration with power from both the battery and the receptacle. 
     
     
         16 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the water heater further comprises a heat pump configured to operate in a plurality of configurations, including:
 a full power configuration where the heat pump operates at a maximum power greater than 120V input voltage based on power from both the receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery, and   a reduced power configuration where the heat pump operates at a reduced power less than the maximum power, based on power solely from the receptacle or power solely from the battery.   
     
     
         17 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the full power configuration comprises the one or more heating elements operating at 240V input voltage based on power from both the receptacle and the battery or power solely from the battery. 
     
     
         18 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein determining the operating configuration is further based at least in part on the obtained power availability data that indicates that power has become unavailable from the receptacle or that power has become unavailable from the battery. 
     
     
         19 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the obtained water heater use data comprises information regarding a current state of the water tank. 
     
     
         20 . The computer implemented method of  claim 11 , wherein the water tank is configured to hold a volume of water of at least 15 gallons.