Patent ID: 6208806
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: F24H

Abstract:
An electric water heater which includes:a) a water tank;b) an electric heating element disposed within said tank;c) a cold water inlet into said tank;d) a hot water outlet from said tank;e) at least one thermostat in said tank or a water meter connected to said inlet or outlet to measure the amount of water used and/or a calendar/clock and timer connected to said element;f) a memory store connected to at least one of said thermostat, water meter and calendar/clock and timer to record daily readings ofi) the average temperature of the tank or the amount of water used in the period from one heating period to the next, orii) the power used or the time required to heat the water in the tank to the desired temperature,and store the readings for a predetermined number of days;g) a programmable means programmed to analyze the readings in the memory store and calculate for each day the time duration required to bring the water to the desired temperature;h) said memory store including power load curve data collected from the power generator appropriate to the day of week and season; andi) said programmable means being programmed to match the required heating duration to a low cost portion of the load curve.