Traditional tank-type water heaters are rather wasteful. Firing up the throughout the day to keep the water at a certain temperature while most people only need it in the morning and evening is not particularly energy and cost efficient (gas, propane or electric water heater keeps 30, 40, or more gallons of water continuously hot in a tank).
Aquanta water heater controllers promise to change this inefficiency by learning about your water usage patterns. To give you an example, these nifty devices will know there’s not much demand for hot water in the middle of the night whereas in the early morning, before going to school and work, demand peaks.
The controllers are easily installed on your existing water heater and the accompanying smartphone app allows you to control your water heater to match those patterns and save energy. It can for example suggest a water heating schedule.
On top of the newfound insights, Aquanta will alert you to maintenance issues via your smartphone, tablet or home networking platform.
The networked water heater controllers are a highly useful addition to the smart home if you ask us. Especially considering the fact that water heating with almost 20% takes up the second largest chunk of the energy bill (after space heating)
Aquanta controllers by Sunnovations, a solar water heater company, seem to offer a welcome and affordable alternative to tankless water heaters. On-demand water heaters, firing up only when you need hot water, are more efficient yet rather costly, both regarding installing and purchase costs.
As a spokesman of the company reports:
“Cool technology for hot water. We aim to bring this dumb appliance into the connected-home ecosystem,”
See how it works in this short video:
You can back this project now on Kickstarter.
Last Updated on November 25, 2014 by Tyler