Method, apparatus and system for monitoring water quality in a bathing unit system

A water quality monitoring system for a bathing unit system, the bathing unit system including a bathing receptacle, a set of bathing unit components including a pump and a bathing unit controller for issuing signals for controlling operations of the set of bathing unit components, the pump being configured for alternating between an activated state and a deactivated state in response to control signals received from the bathing unit controller, wherein in the activated state the pump is configured for causing water to circulate through a circulation system of the bathing unit system, said water quality monitoring system comprising:

• a. a monitoring device configured to be positioned in-line with the circulation system of the bathing unit system, the monitoring device comprising at least one sensor configured to obtain water quality measurements conveying one or more characteristics of water within the circulation system;
• b. a communication module in communication with the monitoring device for receiving the water quality measurements and with the bathing unit controller, the communication module receiving operational information conveying status information for one or more bathing unit components in the set of bathing unit components, the status information including information conveying an activation status for the pump, the activation status for the pump conveying one of the activated state and the deactivated state;
• c. the communication module being configured to establish a communication channel with a remote server over a computer network and being programmed for transmitting the water quality measurements to the remote server concurrently with tags conveying the activation status for the pump when the water quality measurements were obtained.

A server for monitoring a bathing unit system, the bathing unit system including a bathing receptacle, a set of bathing unit components including a pump and a network-enabled water quality monitoring system, the pump being configured for alternating between an activated state and a deactivated state in response to control signals received from the bathing unit controller, wherein in the activated state the pump is configured for causing water to circulate through a circulation system of the bathing unit system, said server comprising one or more processing units programmed for:

• a. receiving, from the water quality monitoring system, water quality measurements, the water quality measurements including corresponding tags conveying activation status information for the pump of the bathing unit system when the water quality measurements were obtained, the activation status for the pump conveying one of the activated state and the deactivated state;
• b. processing the water quality measurements to derive water quality analysis information conveying at least one of:
• 1. water quality analysis data;
• or
• 2. recommendations to initiate one or more actions for regulating water quality within the bathing unit system, said recommendations conveying at least one of an addition of an amount of sanitizer to the bathing unit system, an addition of a PH increaser solution, an addition of a PH reducer solution or an addition of an amount of water the bathing unit system;
• wherein processing the water quality measurements to derive the water quality analysis information includes deemphasizing a set of water quality measurements corresponding to tags conveying that the pump was in the deactivated state when water quality measurements in said set of water quality measurements were taken relative to other water quality measurements;
• and
• c. transmitting the water quality analysis information to at least one of:
• i. the water quality monitoring system of the bathing unit system;
• or
• ii. a user device associated with a user of the bathing unit system.

A water quality monitoring system for a bathing unit system including a pump and a controller for controlling operations of the pump, said water quality monitoring system comprising:

• a monitoring device to be positioned in-line within a circulation system of the bathing unit system for obtaining water quality measurements;
• and
• a communication module in communication with the monitoring device and configured to establish a communication channel with a remote server over a computer network for performing an analysis of water quality, the communication module receiving information conveying an activation status for the pump from the controller;
• wherein the communication module is programmed for:
• (a) selectively transmitting the water quality measurements obtained by the monitoring device such that at least some measurements obtained when the pump is deactivated are omitted from transmissions made to the remote server;
• and/or (b) transmitting the water quality measurements to the remote server concurrently with tags conveying the activation status for the pump when the water quality measurements were obtained.