Water heating is the second largest user of energy in the home accounting for 17%-29% of energy use. The AQUA SMART system was developed to allow the homeowner to manage the operation of the electric water heater during periods when the homeowner is away from home for short periods of time, on vacation or allows the homeowner to program the daily operation of the water heater. Power companies across the US are now switching billing rates from flat rates to tiered rates, referred to as time of use (TOU) pricing. TOU pricing sets user rates by time of day charging higher rates when there is high demand, usually when the air conditioner or electric furnaces are in use. With the Aqua Smart installed on your electric water heater, you can program the time of day to operate your water heater, preferably not when other high use kilowatt appliances are in operation. No longer does a homeowner have to go to the water heater, remove the excess panels and turn back the onboard thermostats. All adjustments can now be made on the wireless, remote transmitter mounted in the home's living area. The wireless operating distance can be up to 100 feet. The AQUA SMART operates on 208-240 VAC and can be installed on water heaters with a wattage ratings from 3000W to 6000 W. NOT FOR INSTALLATION ON NEWER ELECTRIC WATER HEATERS WITH FACTORY INSTALLED ENERGY SAVING FEATURES with a DIGITAL DISPLAY. The AQUA SMART is approved for installations in the US and Canada and carries the ETL approval label along with FCC and IC radio frequency certifications.
J**L
They Almost Got it Right!
I was so excited to order this for our new home and pair it with our new 50 gallon high efficiency (not digitally controlled, though) water heater. It arrived and I quickly installed the unit. I got through the programming and set up process, and was ready to go. A couple notes to this point:- installation was a snap- creating the program was ok, and I was surprised that the unit lacked the functionality to copy one day's program to another like my HVAC thermostat. This would knock significant time off the programming step.- also, it would be nice to be able to eliminate a day part. We are not home at all in the afternoon during the week; so, I pretty much have to have the water heater turn on and off at the same time for that day part.Then, came the living with it. Here is where they really lost the 2 stars. In the manual they tell you what they don't tell you here. In program mode, the unit completely disables the bottom element, thereby only heating the top of the tank when the heater is activated. They give an explanation for this, which I won't go into here, but regardless of the explanation your 50 gallon water heater becomes a 25 gallon at best when in program mode! If you switch to on mode, both elements run normally based on the on board thermostat setting. However, if you don't remember to switch back to program mode, you have given up all the energy savings... That's lazy, folks and I was hoping for better. Now, if you have a short fat water heater instead of a tall slender one your experience may differ.Here is my fix: the unit tops out at 120 degrees F for safety. However, part of setup is "balancing" the magnetic thermosensor, so, I lied and told the unit the water was 5 degrees colder than it was when I tested it. This small change bought us a bit more mileage out of our capacity, and admittedly cost a little safety cushion. With our family of 5, though, and not often a lot of time to plan an hour in advance for hot water usage it was unavoidable due to the design shortcomings of the unit.My advice to the buyer: don't be surprised because now I have told you. Buy it anyway, but know going in what you are getting.My advice to aqua smart: pull it together, boys!!!! GE or Whirlpool or Honeywell are going to figure this out and do it right and you are going to be left wondering what happened.... This product is innovative and you can do better; so, DO BETTER!!!
K**D
This could become a great addition and money saving device, if they would update the software.
While the unit itself was a breeze to install, set up was a bit tedious because you have to program 3 time periods, with hi and low temps for each of the 7 days of the week. There needs to be a copy function like ALL other modern day programmable thermostats.Second and why I deducted two starts is, ONE: you can't set the temperature above 120 degrees, that is not their call if a customer wants to risk a higher water temperature. And, TWO: there is not timer override for the heater, yes you can adjust the temperature while in program mode, but who would need to adjust the temp by a degree or two anyways, so you have to hold the up button while it slowly goes from 75 to 120 degrees. The unit should let you add an hour or more by pressing the up arrow key, instead of having to wait until the next programmed temp change or worse setting the mode to 'ON' and maybe forgetting to turn it back to program mode. HUGE Shortcoming in my opinion. A smartphone app would also help tremendously.
M**Y
Too restrictive, not good if you want to take a bath
I love having more control over the hot water heater and to reduce waste. Unfortunately, there are some serious downsides to this device. In program mode, I can't set the temperature above 120 degrees. The manufacturer indicates this is a safety feature but I think this is completely unnecessary and inconvenient since I have more control over the hot water heater without this device. Since it does not allow the bottom element of the hot water heater to operate in program mode, there is not enough hot water for a bath. I have to turn it to the on mode for at least 30 minutes in order to get enough hot water for a single bath. This would be easier if I could control it from my phone but it has to be controlled from the remote control. This is a great idea and would be perfect if I have total control over the temperature, the bottom element is not disabled in program mode and if it had wireless control through my phone. I am considering replacing this with a control that does not have these constraints.
A**A
Couldn’t be without it. I read the reviews that ...
Couldn’t be without it. I read the reviews that put me on the fence because of using one heating element or not able to take a bath because you run out of hot water, or the can’t set temp above 120 degrees. Below has been my experience thus far.1. Not being able to program the degrees above 120? I simply by pass programming and hit the ON button. The thermostat goes to its normal energy waisting temp,of above 160degress. Haven’t even used that solution.2. Using only element. Hasn’t made a difference to my experience. Haven’t taken a cold shower yet.3. Run out of hot water for baths. Once again I symply go to the ON setting and all set, temp goes above 120 and for as long as I need. Then I returned to Program.If you use Nest or any product to monitor or be energy conscious this product is a must. I would buy again anytime!
J**R
As published and initial setup was straightforward.
Up and running! All tests indicate it works as published. Be careful with the new batteries they send in the unit, mine were corroded and useless but AAA batteries are easy to find. Be careful with mounting the base, if the unit twists it can off center the holes to receive the cover. It took a little playing around with but it worked fine. The thermo-sensor was easy to place on my Rheem even though it’s a glass tank, there’s a metal area (just like the directions indicate) that the magnet hold no problem. If there are any problems I’ll revise my review but for now it’s all good.To the manufacturer: I’m looking forward to the wi-fi controlled next gen units. Please keep the price point down and please make sure the WiFi can be used without another base or net to be used.
