Virtual water usage sensor for tank water heater and method

Abstract

Virtual water usage sensors for tank water heaters and methods associated therewith. The virtual water usage sensors estimate water usage in a water heater based on inlet water temperature data and tank water temperature data to allow the water usage to be measured without having to add a flow meter to the tank water heater to directly measure water mass flow from the water heater. Inlet water temperature data can be obtained from a temperature sensor located directly at the inlet of the tank water heater or at remote locations along the water lines upstream from the water heater, such as along a community water supply line or at a water treatment facility. The water usage estimates may be incorporated with a model predictive controller that forecasts water demand using a hybrid machine learning model to dynamically adjust heating schedules of the water heater based on the forecast water demand.

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