Water heater

A method of controlling a temperature of water in a water heater including a tank for storing water and a heating element capable of being powered by a power source, the method comprising the acts of:

• determining a tank characteristic of the tank;
• sensing a temperature of the water in the tank;
• calculating an amount of power to be provided to the heating element based at least in part on the tank characteristic and water temperature;
• and
• transmitting the amount of power from the power source to the heating element.

A method of controlling a temperature of water in a water heater including a tank for storing water and a heating element capable of being powered by a power source, the method comprising the acts of:

• sensing an ambient temperature exterior to the water heater;
• sensing a temperature of the water in the tank;
• calculating an amount of power to be provided to the heating element based at least in part on the ambient temperature and the water temperature;
• and
• transmitting the amount of power from the power source to the heating element.

A software program for generating a signal resulting in an amount of power to be transmitted to a heating element, the heating element being disposed within a tank containing a liquid and the liquid having a temperature being sensed by a temperature sensor, the software program generating the signal by:

• obtaining a water heater code from a memory unit, the water heater code based at least in part on a one of a heating element characteristic and a tank characteristic.
• receiving the temperature of the liquid from the temperature sensor;
• calculating the amount of power to transmit to the heating element based at least in part on the water heater code and the sensed temperature;
• and
• generating a signal resulting in the amount of power being provided to the heating element.

A water heater, comprising:

• a water tank having a tank characteristic;
• a water inlet line for introducing cold water into the tank;
• a water outlet line capable of removing hot water from the tank;
• a heating element having a heating surface disposed within the tank and having an element characteristic;
• a temperature sensor capable of sensing a temperature of the water within the tank;
• and
• a controller in communication with the heating element and the temperature sensor, the controller being operable to receive the sensed temperature from the temperature sensor, to calculate a heating strategy for the water heater based at least in part on a one of the element characteristic and the tank characteristic, and to generate a signal activating the heating element in response to the heating strategy.

A storage-type water heater, comprising:

• a permanently enclosed water tank to store water while the water is being heated to a set-point temperature;
• a water inlet line for adding cold water to the water tank;
• a water outlet line for withdrawing heated water from the water tank;
• at least one electric resistance heating element extending into the water tank to heat water in the water tank;
• at least one water temperature sensor operable to sense a water temperature;
• and
• a control circuit operable to conduct electric power to the electric resistance heating element in bursts, each burst followed by a period during which electric power is not conducted to the electric resistance heating element, thereby improving the efficiency of heating the water in the water tank, and operable to change the proportion of on to off time in response to the sensed water temperature and at least one of an element characteristic, a tank characteristic, an external water tank temperature, a water consistency, and a history of water use.

A storage-type water heater, comprising:

• a permanently enclosed water tank to store water while the water is being heated to a set-point temperature;
• a water inlet line for adding cold water to the water tank;
• a water outlet line for withdrawing heated water from the water tank;
• at least one electric resistance heating element extending into the water tank to heat water in the water tank;
• at least one water temperature sensor operable to sense a water temperature;
• and
• a control circuit capable of conducting electric power to the electric resistance heating element in bursts, each burst followed by a period during which electric power is not conducted to the electric resistance heating element, thereby improving the efficiency of heating the water in the water tank, the control circuit including a microcontroller and software for operating the microcontroller to change the proportion of on to off time in response to the sensed water temperature and at least one of an element characteristic, a tank characteristic, an external water tank temperature, a water consistency, and a history of water use.