Industrial internet of things smart heating systems and methods that produce and use hydrogen fuel
An intelligent heating system device is provided with processing, communications, and other information technology components, for remote monitoring and control and various value added features and services, embodiments of which use a renewable energy-powered electrolyzer to produce hydrogen as an on-demand fuel stream for a heating element of the heating system.
1. A system for data collection, processing, and utilization of signals from at least a first element in a smart heating system in an industrial environment, the system comprising:
the smart heating system;
a platform including a computing environment connected to a local data collection system configured to receive at least a first sensor signal or a second sensor signal from at least the smart heating system;
a first sensor in the local data collection system connected to the smart heating system for obtaining the first sensor signal from the smart heating system;
a second sensor in the local data collection system for obtaining the second sensor signal from the smart heating system; and
a switch in the local data collection system having multiple inputs and multiple outputs including a first input connected to the first sensor and a second input connected to the second sensor, wherein the multiple outputs include a first output and a second output configured to be switchable between a condition in which the first output is configured to switch between delivery of the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal and a condition in which there is simultaneous delivery of the first sensor signal from the first output and the second sensor signal from the second output, wherein each of the multiple inputs is configured to be individually assigned to any of the multiple outputs, wherein at least one of the first sensor or the second sensor generates an alert based on a sensed condition such that at least one of the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal, respectively, is associated with the sensed condition, and wherein the generated alert indicates at least one action to be taken to counteract the sensed condition causing the alert.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the multiple outputs include unassigned outputs that are configured to be switched off producing a high-impedance state.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the smart heating system includes an electrolyzer for producing hydrogen fuel from water and at least one heating element, wherein the heating element is controlled by a processor and configured to use the hydrogen fuel under control of the processor.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein the processor is connected to a network to enable communication to a remote server, and wherein the remote server includes at least one module for providing at least one of remote monitoring and control of the operation of the smart heating system.
5. The system of claim 3 further comprising a low-pressure hydrogen storage system for storing the hydrogen fuel produced by the electrolyzer.
6. The system of claim 3 further comprising a renewable energy system for powering the electrolyzer to produce the hydrogen fuel, and wherein the renewable energy system is at least one of a solar power system, a wind power system or a hydro-power system.
7. The system of claim 3 further comprising a liquid propane fuel system for providing fuel to the smart heating system, wherein the smart heating system includes a fuel control module in operative connection with the processor to control the use of at least one of the liquid propane fuel or the hydrogen fuel for use by the smart heating system.
8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one interface configured to connect with at least one system external to the smart heating system, wherein the at least one interface is configured to at least one of monitor the smart heating system, control the smart heating system and obtain data collected by the smart heating system via interaction with the at least the one external system, and wherein the interface is at least one of an application programming interface, a machine-to-machine interface, or a graphical user interface.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the smart heating system comprises at least one sensor having at least one of a temperature sensor, a weight sensor, a pressure sensor or a gyro-based sensor.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the smart heating system is an industrial heating system used to provide heat in a manufacturing process.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the industrial heating system is used in at least one of a semi-conductor manufacturing process, a coating process, a molding process, a tooling process, an extrusion process, a pharmaceutical manufacturing process or an industrial food manufacturing process.
12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the industrial heating system is configured for use in an industrial environment including at least one of a marine transportation environment, an air transportation environment, a drilling environment, a mining environment, an agricultural production environment or a pipeline environment and wherein the industrial heating system is configured to communicate with information technology systems of the selected industrial environment.
13. An industrial system, comprising:
a smart heating system; and
a local data collection system configured to receive at least a first sensor signal and a second sensor signal from at least the smart heating system, the local data collection system including: (i) a first sensor connected to the smart heating system for obtaining the first sensor signal from the smart heating system, and (ii) a second sensor for obtaining the second sensor signal from the smart heating system,
wherein the local data collection system includes multiple inputs and multiple outputs including a first input connected to the first sensor and a second input connected to the second sensor,
wherein the multiple outputs include a first output and a second output configured to be selected between a condition in which the first output is configured to be selected between delivery of the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal and a condition in which there is simultaneous delivery of the first sensor signal from the first output and the second sensor signal from the second output,
wherein each of the multiple inputs is configured to be individually assigned to any of the multiple outputs,
wherein at least one of the first sensor or second sensor generates an alert based on a sensed condition such that at least one of the first sensor signal or the second sensor signal, respectively, is associated with the sensed condition, and
wherein the generated alert indicates at least one action to be taken to counteract the sensed condition causing the alert.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the platform is a cloud-based platform and wherein the smart heating system is configured to perform machine pattern recognition of data for at least one of the first sensor or the second sensor to provide data analysis.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the multiple outputs include unassigned outputs that are configured to be switched off producing a high-impedance state.
16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the smart heating system includes an electrolyzer for producing hydrogen fuel from water and at least one heating element, wherein the heating element is controlled by a processor and configured to use the hydrogen fuel under control of the processor.
17. The system of claim 16 further comprising a liquid propane fuel system for providing fuel to the smart heating system, wherein the smart heating system includes a fuel control module in operative connection with the processor to control the use of at least one of the liquid propane fuel or the hydrogen fuel for use by the smart heating system.
18. A computer implemented method for data collection, processing, and utilization of signals from at least a first element in a smart heating system in an industrial environment, the method comprising:
obtaining at least a first sensor signal or a second sensor signal from the smart heating system in the industrial environment;
selecting a first output and a second output of multiple outputs between a condition in which the first output is configured to be selected between delivery of the first sensor signal and the second sensor signal and a condition in which there is simultaneous delivery of the first sensor signal from the first output and the second sensor signal from the second output;
individually assigning one or more inputs to any of the multiple outputs;
generating an alert based on a sensed condition such that the at least one of the first sensor signal or the second sensor signal, respectively, is associated with the sensed condition; and
indicating at least one action to be taken to counteract the sensed condition causing the alert.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the smart heating system includes an electrolyzer for producing hydrogen fuel from water and at least one heating element, wherein the heating element is controlled by a processor and configured to use the hydrogen fuel under control of the processor.
20. The method of claim 18 wherein the alert indicates the at least one action of reducing an amount of hydrogen being produced by controlling a hydrolyzer.