Controlling the operation of an electrically heated water tank

1. A water tank comprising:

a heater disposed within a container;

a learning module arranged to learn characteristics of operation of the water tank by measuring the water temperature in the water tank at predefined time intervals and in predefined locations in the water tank, for assessing deteriorating efficiency of the water tank and predicting the duration for water to reach a desired temperature;

a user preference module arranged to receive from a user respective requirements associated with at least one of:

desired hour of hot water use;

desired temperature of the hot water;

desired amount of hot water; and

duration of the hot water use; and

a heater control unit arranged to operate the heater in a specified heating pattern over time based at least partially on the user requirements and the characteristics of operation of the water tank, such that electricity consumption of the heater is reduced.

2. The water tank according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more temperature sensors disposed in specified locations within the container in operative association with the learning module which is further arranged to deduce at least some of the characteristics of operation of the water tank by measuring temperature in one or more locations over time in view of a specified operating pattern of the heater.

3. The water tank according to claim 1 , further comprising a graphical user interface arranged to present the user with an estimated time for meeting the user requirements based on the characteristics of operation of the water tank and current water temperature.

4. The water tank according to claim 1 , wherein the specified pattern of operating the heater by the heater control unit exhibit a dynamic duty cycle in which the duty cycle is based on at least one of:

the characteristics of operation of the water tank,

current water temperature, and

user requirements.

5. The water tank according to claim 1 , further comprising a user behavior module arranged to learn the user's usage patterns of the water tank, wherein the heater control unit is arranged to further base the specified pattern at least partially on the user's usage patterns.

6. A method comprising:

learning characteristics of operation of a water tank comprising a heater disposed within a container by measuring the water temperature in the water tank at predefined time intervals and in predefined locations in the water tank, for assessing deteriorating efficiency of the water tank and predicting the duration for water to reach a desired temperature;

receiving from a user respective requirements associated with at least one of:

desired hour of hot water use;

desired temperature of the hot water;

desired amount of hot water; and

duration of the hot water use; and

operating the heater in a specified heating pattern over time based at least partially on the user requirements and the characteristics of operation of the water tank, such that electricity consumption of the heater is reduced.

7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising deducing at least some of the characteristics of operation of the water tank by measuring temperature in one or more locations over time in view of a specified operating pattern of the heater.

8. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising presenting an estimated time for meeting the user requirements based on the characteristics of operation of the water tank and current water temperature.

9. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising learning the user's usage patterns of the water tank, wherein the specified pattern is based at least partially on the user's usage patterns.

10. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having a computer readable program embodied therewith, the computer readable program being configured to

(a) learn characteristics of operation of a water tank comprising a heater disposed within a container by measuring the water temperature in the water tank at predefined time intervals and in predefined locations in the water tank, for assessing deteriorating efficiency of the water tank and predicting the duration for water to reach a desired temperature;

(b) receive from a user respective requirements associated with at least one of:

desired hour of hot water use;

desired temperature of the hot water;

desired amount of hot water; and

duration of the hot water use; and

(c) operate the heater in a specified heating pattern over time based at least partially on the user requirements and the characteristics of operation of the water tank, such that electricity consumption of the heater is reduced.

11. A system for controlling the operation of an electric heating element in a water tank, said system comprising:

at least one temperature sensor in said water tank;

a main control unit arranged to receive water temperature measurements from said at least one temperature sensor and to control the operation of said electric heating element, said main control unit comprising:

a learning module arranged to learn characteristics of operation of the water tank by analyzing temperature measurements from the at least one temperature sensor in specific intervals over a specified period of time in view of an operating time of the heating element; and learn water tank usage patterns by tracing previous usage patterns, over a specified period of time;

a user interface configured to allow a user to input preferences relating to hot water supply and configured to display information relating to the temperature of the water in said water tank;

a control application configured to activate said electric heating element according to user preferences and said water temperature measurements, wherein said control application is configured to operate the heating elements such that it minimizes the energy consumption of said water tank based on the characteristics of operation of the water tank and the usage pattern of the water tank.

12. The system of claim 11 , further comprising temperature control circuitry associated with said temperature sensor and with said main control unit, said temperature control circuitry arranged to transmit temperature measurements from the temperature sensor to the main control unit over a communication link.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein said main control unit is coupled to said temperature sensor via a communication link and wherein said communication link utilizes power line communication.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein said control application is coupled to said electric heating element via a communication link and wherein said communication link utilizes power line communication.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein said user uses said user interface via at least one of the following: A USB interface, a wire line (LAN) network, a wireless (WLAN) network, a cellular interface, Bluetooth technology, Ethernet.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein said user uses said user interface via SMS commands.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein said main control unit is further configured to monitor changing characteristics of operation of said water tank.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein said main control unit further comprises a water supply module arranged to control at least one of the following indicators:

amounts of incoming and outgoing water into and from said water tank,

water stand in said water tank,

operation of faucets associated with said water tank,

a combination thereof.

19. An apparatus for controlling the operation of an electric heating element in a water tank, said apparatus comprising:

a learning module arranged to:

take temperature measurements at specific time intervals over a specified period of time from at least one temperature sensor in said water tank; and

learn characteristics of operation of said water tank by analyzing said temperature measurements;

a user interface configured to allow a user to input preferences relating to hot water supply; and

a control application configured to activate said electric heating element according to user preferences, said water temperature measurements, and said characteristics of operation of said water tank;

wherein said control application is configured to operate the heating element such that it minimizes the energy consumption of said water tank.