JP7494752B2 - Hot water system - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a hot water supply system.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, when the automatic switch on the heat source remote control is turned on, the bathtub begins to fill with water, and the bathroom heater control device issues a command to the bathroom heater remote control to start heating operation, causing the bathroom heater to start heating operation.

JP 2004-053065 A

If the heater for heating the bathroom or changing room is started unconditionally when filling the bathtub with water, inappropriate or unnecessary heating operation may occur.

This disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and aims to provide a hot water supply system that is advantageous in more appropriately performing coordinated operation of operating a heater that heats the bathroom or changing room when filling the bathtub with water.

The hot water supply system of the present disclosure comprises a bath filling means for supplying hot water to a bathtub in a bathroom within the home, and a control means for executing the bath filling when a user interface receives a bath filling instruction which is a user instruction to start filling the bath, the control means being capable of executing a coordinated operation for operating a heater to heat at least one of the bathroom and the changing room adjacent to the bathroom when filling the bath, and a mobile device that can be carried outside the home can be used as the user interface, and the control means is configured to execute the coordinated operation when a mobile device capable of displaying operating status information of the heater receives a bath filling instruction outside the home, and not to execute the coordinated operation when a mobile device incapable of displaying operating status information of the heater receives a bath filling instruction outside the home.
In addition, the hot water supply system of the present disclosure comprises a bath filling means for supplying hot water to a bathtub in a bathroom within the house, and a control means for executing the bath filling when a user interface receives a bath filling instruction which is a user instruction to start filling the bath, and a mobile device that can be carried outside the house can be used as the user interface, and the control means is capable of performing a coordinated operation to operate a heater to heat at least one of the bathroom and the changing room adjacent to the bathroom when filling the bath, and is configured to perform the coordinated operation when a mobile device capable of displaying operating status information of the heater receives the bath filling instruction, and not to perform the coordinated operation when a mobile device that is not capable of displaying operating status information of the heater receives the bath filling instruction.

This disclosure makes it possible to provide a hot water supply system that is advantageous in more appropriately performing coordinated operation of operating a heater that heats the bathroom or changing room when the bathtub is being filled with water.

1 is a diagram showing a hot water supply system according to a first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executed in the hot water supply system according to the first embodiment.

The following describes the embodiments with reference to the drawings. Common or corresponding elements in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and the description is simplified or omitted. In the following description, the terms "water," "hot water," and "hot water" generally mean liquid water, and can include water at low temperatures as well as hot water at high temperatures.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hot water supply system 35 according to a first embodiment. In the following description, the inside of a building in which the hot water supply system 35 is used is referred to as "inside the house", and the outside of the building is referred to as "outside the house". In addition, the operation of supplying hot water to the bathtub 30 in the bathroom 80 in the house to fill the bathtub 30 with hot water is referred to as "filling the bathtub". The hot water supply system 35 is provided with a means for filling the bathtub with hot water. The hot water supply system 35 of this embodiment is a storage-type hot water supply system having a hot water storage tank 8. Note that the hot water supply system of the present disclosure is not limited to a storage-type hot water supply system, and can also be applied to an instantaneous hot water supply system that does not have a hot water storage tank.

The hot water supply system 35 includes a control unit 36 that corresponds to a control means. In the present disclosure, a user instruction to start filling the water is referred to as a "filling water instruction." When the user interface receives the filling water instruction, the control unit 36 executes the filling of the water. In this embodiment, the kitchen remote control 48, the bathroom remote control 49, and the mobile terminal 70 can be used as user interfaces for the hot water supply system 35. However, in the present disclosure, for example, a smart speaker or a television installed in the home may also be used as a user interface for the hot water supply system 35.

The kitchen remote control 48 is installed in the kitchen of the house. The bathroom remote control 49 is installed in the bathroom 80. The kitchen remote control 48 and the bathroom remote control 49 are connected to the control unit 36 by wire. Each of the kitchen remote control 48 and the bathroom remote control 49 is an example of a wired remote control.

The user carries the mobile terminal 70. The user can take the mobile terminal 70 outside the home. The mobile terminal 70 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a wearable terminal.

A bathroom heater 60 for heating the bathroom 80 is provided in the bathroom 80. Operating the bathroom heater 60 when filling the bath is referred to as "linked operation" below. The control unit 36 can execute linked operation according to the user's settings.

Although not shown, a changing room heater for heating the changing room adjacent to the bathroom 80 may be provided. The coordinated operation in this disclosure may be a system in which both the bathroom heater 60 and the changing room heater are operated when the bath is filled. The coordinated operation in this disclosure may also be a system in which the changing room heater is operated instead of the bathroom heater 60 when the bath is filled. In that case, the bathroom heater 60 does not need to be provided. Hereinafter, the operation of the bathroom heater 60 or the changing room heater may be simply referred to as "heating operation." In addition, below, for the sake of convenience, at least one of the bathroom heater 60 and the changing room heater will be simply referred to as "bathroom heater 60." In other words, in the following description, the term "bathroom heater 60" can be read as "changing room heater."

By using the coordinated operation, the temperature of the bathroom 80 or the changing room can be raised by heating operation before bathing, so that the bather can be reliably prevented from experiencing heat shock.

The control unit 36 is configured to execute a coordinated operation when a command to fill the water is received from inside the home, and not to execute a coordinated operation when a command to fill the water is received from outside the home. When a command to fill the water is received from outside the home, it is assumed that the user is out, and the user is not aware of the situation inside the home. In such a situation, if a heating operation is performed while filling the water, the user will not be aware that a heating operation is being performed. This may result in unnecessary or inappropriate heating operation. In contrast, in this embodiment, the control unit 36 does not execute a coordinated operation when a command to fill the water is received from outside the home, thereby reliably preventing unnecessary or inappropriate heating operation.

When the kitchen remote control 48 or bathroom remote control 49 installed in the house receives a command to fill the bath, the control unit 36 executes the linked operation. In this case, it is assumed that the user is inside the house, so the heating operation can be executed appropriately through the linked operation.

When the mobile device 70 receives a command to fill the water in the bath, the control unit 36 executes the linked operation. In this case, it is assumed that the user in the house has issued the command to fill the water in the bath using the mobile device 70, and therefore the heating operation can be executed appropriately through the linked operation.

In contrast, if the mobile device 70 receives a bath-filling command outside the home, the control unit 36 does not execute the linked operation. In this case, it is assumed that the user who is out of the home has issued the bath-filling command using the mobile device 70, and therefore this corresponds to a bath-filling command issued from outside the home.

The mobile terminal 70 may have a function to display the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 on a display. Such a mobile terminal 70 is hereinafter referred to as a "mobile terminal 70 capable of displaying the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60." The operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 may include, for example, at least one of the following information for the bathroom heater 60: on/off, set room temperature, current room temperature, air volume, and air direction.

When a mobile device 70 capable of displaying operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 receives a command to fill the water with water, the control unit 36 may execute a linked operation even if the command is from outside the home. If the mobile device 70 is capable of displaying operating status information of the bathroom heater 60, the user can recognize the operating status of the bathroom heater 60 even when the user is out. This allows heating operation to be performed appropriately, and executing the linked operation is more convenient.

The mobile device 70 may not have the function of displaying the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 on a display. Such a mobile device 70 is referred to below as a "mobile device 70 incapable of displaying the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60." If a mobile device 70 incapable of displaying the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 receives a command to fill the bath water outside the home, the control unit 36 will not execute linked operation. This can reliably prevent unnecessary or inappropriate heating operation from being performed. The control unit 36 can determine, for example, from a signal from the mobile device 70 whether the mobile device 70 is capable of displaying the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 or not.

The mobile terminal 70 may have a function that allows the user to remotely control the bathroom heater 60. Such a mobile terminal 70 is referred to below as a "mobile terminal 70 capable of remotely controlling the bathroom heater 60." The mobile terminal 70 capable of remotely controlling the bathroom heater 60 may be configured to allow the user to change at least one of the following for the bathroom heater 60: on/off, set room temperature, airflow, and air direction.

When a mobile device 70 capable of remotely controlling the bathroom heater 60 receives a command to fill the bath, the control unit 36 may execute a coordinated operation, even if the command is from outside the home. If the user can remotely control the bathroom heater 60 using the mobile device 70, the heating operation can be performed appropriately even when the user is out, and thus executing the coordinated operation improves usability. For example, after heating operation has started through the coordinated operation, the user can use the mobile device 70 while away from home to adjust the bathroom heater 60's set room temperature, air volume, air direction, and other settings to more appropriate settings.

The mobile device 70 may not have the functionality to allow the user to remotely control the bathroom heater 60. Such a mobile device 70 is referred to below as a "mobile device 70 that cannot remotely control the bathroom heater 60." When a mobile device 70 that cannot remotely control the bathroom heater 60 receives a command to fill the bath outside the home, it is desirable for the control unit 36 not to perform linked operation. This can reliably prevent unnecessary or inappropriate heating operation from being performed. The control unit 36 can determine, for example, from a signal from the mobile device 70 whether the mobile device 70 can or cannot remotely control the bathroom heater 60.

The hot water supply system 35 of this embodiment will be further described below. The hot water supply system 35 includes a tank unit 33 and an HP unit 7 that utilizes a heat pump cycle. The HP unit 7 and the tank unit 33 are connected via an HP forward pipe 14, an HP return pipe 15, and electrical wiring (not shown). A control unit 36 is built into the tank unit 33. The operation of the various valves and pumps included in the tank unit 33 and the HP unit 7 is controlled by the control unit 36 that is electrically connected to them. The control unit 36 includes, for example, a microcomputer having at least one memory and at least one processor. The control unit 36 may have a timer function that manages the date and time.

The kitchen remote control 48 and the bathroom remote control 49 have the function of accepting user operations such as operation commands and changes to setting values. The kitchen remote control 48 and the bathroom remote control 49 are equipped with a display unit that displays information such as the status of the hot water supply system 35, an operation unit such as switches operated by the user, a speaker, a microphone, etc. The display units of the kitchen remote control 48 and the bathroom remote control 49 function as notification means that notify the user of information. In this embodiment, the kitchen remote control 48 and the bathroom remote control 49 are equipped with a display unit as notification means, but as a modified example, they may be equipped with other notification means such as a voice guidance device.

The bathtub 30 in the bathroom 80 is provided with a bathtub plug 50 that can be opened and closed automatically. The bathtub plug 50 is electrically connected to the control unit 36. The control unit 36 can check the open/closed state of the bathtub plug 50 and send instructions to automatically open and close the bathtub plug 50. In the following explanation, the hot and cold water in the bathtub 30 may be referred to as "bath water." In addition, the temperature of the bath water in the bathtub 30 is referred to as the "bathtub temperature."

The control unit 36 is connected to an external communication device 44, which corresponds to a communication means. The control unit 36 can perform external line communication by the external communication device 44. The external line is, for example, an Internet line via a broadband router in the home. The control unit 36 may be able to connect to a cloud server via the external communication device 44.

Bathroom heater 60 includes bathroom heater control unit 61, bathroom heater external communication device 62, and bathroom temperature sensor 63 that detects the bathroom temperature. Bathroom heater external communication device 62 may be connectable to a cloud server via external communication device 44. Bathroom heater 60 performs heating operation by blowing warm air heated by a heat source such as a heater into bathroom 80. Bathroom heater 60 may be configured to automatically change the blowing direction of the warm air, i.e., the wind direction, by driving a louver. For example, when heating bathroom 80 evenly, bathroom heater 60 may blow warm air toward the center of bathroom 80.

The control unit 36 can communicate with the bathroom heater external communication device 62 of the bathroom heater 60 via the external communication device 44. The control unit 36 can receive information on the bathroom temperature detected by the bathroom temperature sensor 63 and information on the operating status of the bathroom heater 60 from the bathroom heater 60. The control unit 36 can send a command signal to the bathroom heater external communication device 62. The bathroom heater control unit 61 controls the operating status of the bathroom heater 60 in response to the command signal.

The control unit 36 can communicate with a mobile terminal 70 outside or inside the home by external line communication via the external communication device 44. The control unit 36 may transmit information on bath filling, general hot water supply, heating operation, bathroom temperature, and the like to the mobile terminal 70. The control unit 36 can determine whether the mobile terminal 70 is inside or outside the home. For example, if the mobile terminal 70 is in a state where it can communicate with the external communication device 44 via short-range wireless communication, it may determine that the mobile terminal 70 is inside the home, and if not, it may determine that the mobile terminal 70 is outside the home.

The bathroom heater external communication device 62 of the bathroom heater 60 may communicate with a mobile terminal 70 outside or inside the home by external line communication via the external communication device 44. The bathroom heater external communication device 62 may transmit operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 to the mobile terminal 70. The bathroom heater external communication device 62 may receive a remote control signal from the mobile terminal 70. The bathroom heater control unit 61 controls the operation of the bathroom heater 60 in response to the remote control signal.

The HP unit 7 functions as a heating means for heating the low-temperature water guided from the hot water storage tank 8 provided in the tank unit 33. The HP unit 7 has a compressor 1, a water-refrigerant heat exchanger 3, an expansion valve 4, and an air heat exchanger 6 connected in a ring shape by refrigerant piping 5 to form a heat pump cycle. The water-refrigerant heat exchanger 3 is for exchanging heat between the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant piping 5 and the low-temperature water guided from the tank unit 33.

The tank unit 33 includes the following various components and piping. The hot water tank 8 is for storing hot water. In the following description, the hot water stored in the hot water tank 8 may be referred to as "tank water". A third water supply pipe 9c is connected to a water inlet 8a provided at the bottom of the hot water tank 8. Water supplied from a water source such as a mains water is adjusted to a predetermined pressure by a pressure reducing valve 31 and flows into the hot water tank 8 through the third water supply pipe 9c. A branch section 76 connected to a hot water inlet 8d provided at the top of the hot water tank 8 is connected to a hot water supply pipe 21 for supplying the hot water stored in the hot water tank 8 to the outside of the hot water supply system 35, and a hot water supply pipe 13.

Hot water heated by the HP unit 7 flows into the hot water tank 8 through the hot water inlet 8d, and low temperature water from the third water supply pipe 9c flows into the hot water tank 8 through the water inlet 8a, so that hot water is stored so that a temperature difference occurs between the top and bottom. In addition, multiple hot water temperature sensors 42, 43 are attached at different heights on the surface of the hot water tank 8. By detecting the temperature distribution of the hot water in the hot water tank 8 with these hot water temperature sensors 42, 43, the amount of remaining hot water and the amount of stored heat in the hot water tank 8 are grasped, and the start and stop of the boiling operation of the hot water in the hot water tank 8 by the HP unit 7 is controlled.

The tank unit 33 includes a circulation pump 12 and a bath heat exchanger 20. The circulation pump 12 is a pump for circulating hot and cold water through various pipes, and is provided on the HP forward pipe 14. The bath heat exchanger 20 exchanges heat between the fluid flowing through the primary flow path 20a and the bath water flowing through the secondary flow path 20b. One end of the secondary flow path 20b is connected to the bathtub 30 via the bath forward pipe 27. The other end of the secondary flow path 20b is connected to the bathtub 30 via the bath return pipe 28. The secondary flow path 20b, the bath forward pipe 27, the bath return pipe 28, and the bathtub 30 form a bath circulation circuit. In the middle of the bath forward pipe 27, a bath forward temperature sensor 37 for detecting the temperature of the bath water coming out of the bath heat exchanger 20, a water flow detection means 46 for determining the circulation of the bath water, and a water level sensor 47 for detecting the water level of the bathtub 30 are installed. A bath circulation pump 29 that circulates the bath water and a bath return temperature sensor 38 that detects the temperature of the bath water coming out of the bathtub 30 are installed in the bath return pipe 28.

The tank unit 33 has a first water supply pipe 9a, a second water supply pipe 9b, a hot water supply mixing valve 22, a bath mixing valve 23, a first hot water supply pipe 24, and a second hot water supply pipe 25. One end of the first water supply pipe 9a is connected to a water source such as a water line, and the other end of the first water supply pipe 9a is connected to the second water supply pipe 9b and the third water supply pipe 9c via a pressure reducing valve 31. The second water supply pipe 9b branches off midway and is connected to the hot water supply mixing valve 22 and the bath mixing valve 23, respectively. In addition, the hot water supply pipe 21 branches off midway and is connected to the hot water supply mixing valve 22 and the bath mixing valve 23, respectively.

The hot water supply mixing valve 22 and the bath mixing valve 23 adjust the flow rate ratio between the high-temperature hot water supplied from the hot water supply pipe 21 and the low-temperature water supplied from the second water supply pipe 9b to generate hot water at the set temperature set by the user using the kitchen remote control 48 or the bathroom remote control 49, and allow it to flow into the first hot water supply pipe 24 and the second hot water supply pipe 25, respectively. The hot water adjusted in temperature by the hot water supply mixing valve 22 is supplied from the first hot water supply pipe 24 to the hot water tap 34 and then to the shower 82 or a faucet (not shown) in the bathroom 80. In the middle of the second hot water supply pipe 25, there is a bath solenoid valve 26 that opens and closes the second hot water supply pipe 25, and a bath flow sensor 45 that detects the flow rate of the hot water passing through the second hot water supply pipe 25. The hot water adjusted in temperature by the bath mixing valve 23 is supplied from the second hot water supply pipe 25 to the bathtub 30 via the bath solenoid valve 26, the bath flow sensor 45, the bath supply pipe 27, and the bath return pipe 28.

The tank unit 33 is provided with a three-way valve 11, a four-way valve 18, and a heat recovery switching valve 19. The water outlet 8b at the bottom of the hot water storage tank 8 is connected to port a of the three-way valve 11 by piping 10. The outlet of the primary side flow path 20a is connected to port b of the three-way valve 11 by piping 73. The three-way valve 11's port c is connected to the water inlet of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 3 by the HP forward piping 14. The water outlet of the water-refrigerant heat exchanger 3 is connected to port c of the four-way valve 18 by the HP return piping 15.

The hot water tank 8 is provided with a hot water inlet 8c and a heat recovery outlet 8e. The heat recovery outlet 8e is located at the bottom of the hot water tank 8. The hot water inlet 8c is located higher than the heat recovery outlet 8e. The a port of the four-way valve 18 is connected to the hot water inlet 8c by piping 16. A branch section 71 is formed in the HP forward piping 14 downstream of the circulation pump 12. The b port of the four-way valve 18 is connected to the branch section 71 by piping 17. The d port of the four-way valve 18 is connected to the branch section 76 by the hot water supply piping 13.

The a port of the heat recovery switching valve 19 is connected to the inlet of the primary flow path 20a by a pipe 72. The b port of the heat recovery switching valve 19 is connected to a branch 75 formed in the hot water supply pipe 13 by a pipe 74. The c port of the heat recovery switching valve 19 is connected to the heat recovery outlet 8e by a pipe 77.

Next, the bath filling operation for filling the bathtub 30 with hot water will be described. During the bath filling operation, the control unit 36 controls the bath mixing valve 23 so that the hot water temperature detected by the bath inlet temperature sensor 37 or the bath outlet temperature sensor 38 is equal to the set temperature set by the user as the desired bath water temperature, thereby allowing hot water at the set temperature to fill the bathtub 30. When the set amount of hot water has been supplied, the control unit 36 closes the bath solenoid valve 26 to end the bath filling operation.

After the bath filling operation is completed, the control unit 36 may continue to execute automatic bath operation to keep the bathtub temperature constant. In automatic bath operation, the control unit 36 performs control, for example, as follows. The bath circulation pump 29 is operated periodically (for example, every 10 minutes) to circulate the bath water in the bathtub 30 through the bath circulation circuit, and the bathtub temperature is detected by the bath return temperature sensor 38. If the bathtub temperature has dropped below the set temperature, reheating operation is started, and if the bathtub temperature has risen to the set temperature, reheating operation is stopped. The control unit 36 continues to operate the automatic bath operation until the user manually stops it when leaving the bath, or until the set time has elapsed. The automatic bath operation corresponds to a warming operation.

During the reheating operation, the control unit 36 performs control as follows, for example. The circulation pump 12 and the bath circulation pump 29 are operated. High-temperature tank water flowing out from the hot water inlet 8d of the hot water storage tank 8 flows into the primary flow path 20a through the branch 76, the hot water supply pipe 13, the branch 75, the pipe 74, the heat recovery switching valve 19, and the pipe 72. The bath water heated in the bath heat exchanger 20 flows into the bathtub 30 through the bath supply pipe 27. In the bath heat exchanger 20, the tank water loses heat to the bath water, lowering the temperature of the tank water. The lowered temperature tank water flows into the hot water storage tank 8 through the pipe 73, the three-way valve 11, the HP supply pipe 14, the circulation pump 12, the branch 71, the pipe 17, the four-way valve 18, the pipe 16, and the hot water inlet 8c.

Figure 2 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed in the hot water supply system 35 according to the first embodiment. The following description will be made with reference to Figure 2. When the kitchen remote control 48, the bathroom remote control 49, or the mobile terminal 70 receives a user's instruction to fill the bath, in step S1, the control unit 36 opens the bath solenoid valve 26 and starts filling the bath. Next, in step S2, the control unit 36 determines whether or not the linked operation is possible, as described above. If it is determined that the linked operation is possible, the process proceeds to step S3, where the control unit 36 starts the heating operation. That is, the control unit 36 instructs the bathroom heater 60 to start the heating operation from the external communication device 44 through the bathroom heater external communication device 62. The bathroom heater 60, upon receiving this, starts the heating operation. After step S3, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the linked operation is not possible, the control unit 36 skips step S3 and proceeds to step S4 without starting the heating operation.

In step S4, the control unit 36 checks whether the water filling is complete. That is, the control unit 36 determines whether the amount of water in the bathtub 30 has reached the set amount. If the water filling is not yet complete, the process proceeds to step S5, and if the water filling is complete, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S5, it is checked whether there is an instruction to end the bath filling. The instruction to end the bath filling is a user instruction to end the bath filling process. If the kitchen remote control 48, bathroom remote control 49, or mobile terminal 70 receives the instruction to end the bath filling process, the control unit 36 ends the bath filling process and proceeds to step S6. If there is no instruction to end the bath filling process, the process returns to step S4.

In step S6, since the bath has finished filling the water, the control unit 36 instructs the bathroom heater 60 to end the heating operation from the external communication device 44 via the bathroom heater external communication device 62. The bathroom heater 60 ends the heating operation upon receiving the instruction to end the bath in step S5. If the bath is finished upon receiving the instruction to end the bath in step S5, the control unit 36 stops the heating operation in step S6 regardless of the user interface through which the instruction was received. For example, the control unit 36 stops the heating operation in step S6 even if the instruction to end the bath is received on a mobile device 70 that cannot display the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60, or even if the instruction to end the bath is received on a mobile device 70 that cannot remotely control the bathroom heater 60. This is because it would be inconvenient to continue the heating operation alone when an instruction to end the bath is received from outside the house, for example.

In the example of FIG. 2, the control unit 36 stops the heating operation when the bathtub is filled, but the heating operation may continue even after the bathtub is filled while the automatic bathtub operation is in progress, and the control unit 36 may stop the heating operation when the set time has elapsed and the automatic bathtub operation is finished. Alternatively, the control unit 36 may stop the heating operation when a user interface such as the bathroom remote control 49 or the mobile terminal 70 receives an instruction to stop the automatic bathtub operation, which is a user instruction to stop the automatic bathtub operation, while the automatic bathtub operation is in progress. In this case, the control unit 36 stops the heating operation regardless of the user interface that receives the instruction to stop the automatic bathtub operation. For example, the control unit 36 stops the heating operation even when the mobile terminal 70 that cannot display the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60 receives the instruction to stop the automatic bathtub operation, or even when the mobile terminal 70 that cannot remotely operate the bathroom heater 60 receives the instruction to stop the automatic bathtub operation. This is because it would be inconvenient to continue the heating operation only when the automatic bathtub operation is finished when an instruction to stop the automatic bathtub operation is received from outside the house.

The hot water supply system 35 may be configured so that the user can set the outside operation cooperation mode. For example, the user may be able to set whether to enable or disable the outside operation cooperation mode using the kitchen remote control 48, the bathroom remote control 49, or the mobile terminal 70. If the outside operation cooperation mode is set to enabled, when a user interface such as the mobile terminal 70 outside the home receives a bath filling instruction, the control unit 36 executes the cooperation operation regardless of the type of the user interface, regardless of the user interface through which the bath filling instruction is received. For example, the control unit 36 executes the cooperation operation even if the bath filling instruction is received by a mobile terminal 70 that cannot display the operating status information of the bathroom heater 60, or even if the bath filling instruction is received by a mobile terminal 70 that cannot remotely operate the bathroom heater 60.

Restricting the execution of linked operation in response to a bath-filling command from outside the home may reduce usability in the following cases, for example. Suppose elderly parents live in a residence with a bathroom 80, and their children live in a separate residence and are caring for the elderly parents. When performing linked operation at the elderly parents' home, it would be inconvenient for the children to have to go to the elderly parents' home to give the command to fill the bath. In contrast, by setting the outside-home operation linked mode to enabled, the children can issue a bath-filling command from their own home using their mobile device 70, ensuring that linked operation is executed. This eliminates the need to go to the elderly parents' home.

In the unlikely event that a wired remote control such as the kitchen remote control 48 or the bathroom remote control 49 breaks down, the mobile terminal 70 may be used as an alternative to the wired remote control. The control unit 36 may be configured not to execute linked operation when the mobile terminal 70 receives a command to fill a bath when the wired remote control is normal, and to execute linked operation when the mobile terminal 70 receives a command to fill a bath when there is an abnormality such as a malfunction in the wired remote control. This ensures that linked operation can be executed reliably when the wired remote control breaks down and the mobile terminal 70 is used as an alternative, improving convenience. The control unit 36 may determine whether the wired remote control is normal or abnormal, for example, based on a response signal from the wired remote control.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which information is collected in the water heater's control unit 36, and the control unit 36 determines and instructs the coordinated operation. However, in the present disclosure, for example, a cloud server connected via broadband may determine and instruct the coordinated operation, or the bathroom heater control unit 61 may determine and instruct the coordinated operation.

1 Compressor, 3 Water-refrigerant heat exchanger, 4 Expansion valve, 5 Refrigerant piping, 6 Air heat exchanger, 7 HP unit, 8 Hot water tank, 8a Water inlet, 8b Water outlet, 8c Hot water inlet, 8d Hot water outlet, 8e Heat recovery outlet, 9a First water supply piping, 9b Second water supply piping, 9c Third water supply piping, 10 Piping, 11 Three-way valve, 12 Circulation pump, 13 Hot water supply piping, 14 HP forward piping, 15 HP return piping, 16 Piping, 17 Piping, 18 Four-way valve, 19 Heat recovery switching valve, 20 Bath heat exchanger, 20a Primary flow path, 20b Secondary flow path, 21 Hot water supply piping, 22 Hot water supply mixing valve, 23 Bath mixing valve, 24 First hot water supply pipe, 25 Second hot water supply pipe, 26 Bath solenoid valve, 27 Bath supply pipe, 28 Bath return pipe, 29 Bath circulation pump, 30 Bathtub, 31 Pressure reducing valve, 33 Tank unit, 34 Hot water tap, 35 Hot water supply system, 36 Control unit, 37 Bath supply temperature sensor, 38 Bath return temperature sensor, 42, 43 Hot water storage temperature sensor, 44 External communication device, 45 Bath flow rate sensor, 46 Water flow detection means, 47 Water level sensor, 48 Kitchen remote control, 49 Bathroom remote control, 50 Bathtub stopper, 60 Bathroom heater, 61 Bathroom heater control unit, 62 Bathroom heater external communication device, 63 Bathroom temperature sensor, 70 Mobile terminal, 71 Branching unit, 72 Pipe, 73 Pipe, 74 Pipe, 75 Branching unit, 76 Branch, 77 Piping, 80 Bathroom, 82 Shower

Claims (4)

A bath filling means for supplying hot water to a bathtub in a bathroom in the house;
a control means for executing the water filling operation when a user interface receives a water filling instruction, which is a user instruction to start the water filling operation;
Equipped with
The control means is capable of executing a coordinated operation of operating a heater that heats at least one of the bathroom and a dressing room adjacent to the bathroom during the bath filling,
A portable terminal that can be taken outside the home can be used as the user interface,
The control means is configured to execute the coordinated operation when the mobile device capable of displaying the operating status information of the heater receives the bath filling instruction outside the home, and to not execute the coordinated operation when the mobile device not capable of displaying the operating status information of the heater receives the bath filling instruction outside the home . A bath filling means for supplying hot water to a bathtub in a bathroom in the house;
a control means for executing the water filling operation when a user interface receives a water filling instruction, which is a user instruction to start the water filling operation;
Equipped with
A portable terminal that can be taken outside the home can be used as the user interface,
The control means is capable of executing a coordinated operation of operating a heater that heats at least one of the bathroom and a dressing room adjacent to the bathroom during the bath filling,
The control means is configured to execute the coordinated operation when the hot water filling instruction is received by the mobile terminal capable of displaying the operating status information of the heater, and to not execute the coordinated operation when the hot water filling instruction is received by the mobile terminal not capable of displaying the operating status information of the heater. A wired remote control installed in the home can be used as the user interface,
The hot water supply system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the linked operation is carried out when the wired remote control receives the command to fill the water tank. A hot water supply system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means stops operation of the heater in either of the following cases after the start of the coordinated operation: when the water filling is finished, when the heat retention operation for keeping the hot water in the bathtub warm is finished after the water filling is finished, or when a user instruction to stop the heat retention operation is received.

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