IL281009B1 - System, device and method for remote controlling a water heater - Google Patents

Description

SYSTEM, DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REMOTE CONTROLLING A WATER HEATER FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to system, devices and methods for remote controlling operation of a water heater.

BACKGROUND Water heater tanks, such as a boiler, consume a large amount of energy in order to heat the water stored within. In many cases, such water heating elements of the water heaters are connected to the mains and have one thermostat, which is not remotely controlled and is not easily accessible, as in most instances such water heaters are located on roof tops. In order to provide an advanced remote controlling options of such heaters, various infrastructure changes must be made.

Thus, there is a need in the art for systems that can connect to and interact with the existing infrastructure of water heaters and which allow easily accessible remote controlling of water heaters operating parameters, in a safe, efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly manner.

SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to systems, devices and methods for remotely controlling the operation of water heaters, whereby the systems, devices and methods can connect/interact with the existing infrastructure of the water heaters and allow remotely controlling various operation parameters of the water heaters. The advantageous systems, devices and methods are safe, efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly and allow controlling various operating parameters of the water heater, based on real time sensing of various parameters.

According to some embodiments, the systems disclosed herein are advantageous as they allow converting a standard water heating tank system, which is already installed, into a remotely controlled system, without necessitating infrastructure changes, while using the exiting settings, including, for example, existing plumbing, pipes and power routes.

In some embodiments, the remote controlling system disclosed herein includes an external control unit, which is configured to connect to the water heating element of the water heater tank on the one hand, and to an internal control unit (located indoors) on the other hand, using the existing power line connection between the mains and the water heater. Thus, the internal control unit is connected indirectly (via the external control unit) to the heating element of the water heater tank. Advantageously, the external control unit can control operation of the water heating element, based on instructions received from the internal control unit. Further, advantageously, the external control unit is configured to receive temperature information from various regions of the water tank (for example, a lower portion thereof (having water at lower temperature), a central portion and/or an upper region thereof (having water at higher temperature), or in vicinity thereof (for example, environment or ambient temperature). In some embodiments, the temperature may be sensed on lower in-side pipe entering the water tank, at an upper pipe exiting the water tank, and the like. The temperature information may be conveyed to the internal control unit, to allow a user to perceive real time information regarding the operation of the heater and the water status, and accordingly, determine desirable operating parameters of the water heater. Additionally, the internal control unit may include one or more communication modules, which can interact with each other (to create an internal network) and/or with additional communication devices (via wired or wireless routes), to eventually allow remotely controlling operating of the water heater from various indoor locations and/or from a remote location, for example, over the internet.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein are further advantageous as they allow a user to determine (manually or automatically) in real time the desired operation pattern of the water heater. For example, by knowing the exact real time temperature in the tank and/or a gradient between the upper region of the water tank and the lower region thereof and/or the environment temperature, a concise decision may be made, whether to operate (turn on) or deactivate (turn off) the water heating element. Additionally, the systems and methods disclosed herein can allow a user (manually or automatically) to identify the condition of the heating element (for example, by comparing the time required to heat to a designated temperature). In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein can allow a user (manually or automatically) to determine a time of day in which the water temperature in the water heater tank reach a desired temperature. In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein are advantageous as they provide increased safety in operating the water heater, since they prevent the heater from working constantly (for example, if it was left on unintentionally, for a sustained period of time).

In some embodiments, the systems and methods disclosed herein allow one or more of the following operating patterns: instant activation ("turn on"), instant deactivation ("turn off"), activation or deactivation at a desired time, activation for a designated period of time, activation or deactivation based on sensed or calculated temperature parameters. For example, such sensed or calculated temperature parameters may include such parameters as: when the water temperature in the tank is below a determined threshold; when the water temperature in the tank is above a determined threshold; when the water temperature in the lower region of tank is below a determined threshold; when the water temperature in the lower region of tank is above a determined threshold; when the water temperature in the upper region of the tank is below a determined threshold; when the water temperature in the upper region of the tank is above a determined threshold; when the temperature gradient between the upper region of the tank and the lower region of the tank is below or above a threshold; when the environment temperature is above or below a threshold temperature; or the like, or any combination thereof).

In some embodiments, the disclosed systems, devices and methods are advantageous as they are very cost effective and energy efficient and in particularly useful, as they do not require any changes in infrastructure and connect and utilize the existing electrical connections for power, communication and control.

According to some embodiments, there is thus provided a system for remote controlling a water heater container, the system includes: an external control unit, connected to the water heating element of a water heater container;an internal control unit, connected to the external control unit via mains power; wherein the internal control unit is configured to receive operating instructions from a user and to convey said instructions to the to the external control unit, to thereby control operating parameters of the water heater element.

According to some embodiments, the system may further include one or more temperature sensors. In some embodiments, the sensors include a first temperature sensor, configured to sense water temperature at a lower portion of the water heater container and a second temperature sensor configured to sense water temperature at a top region of the water heater container. In some embodiments, there is further provided a third temperature sensor, configured to sense water temperature at a central or middle portion of the water heater container. In some embodiments, there is further provided an additional temperature sensor, configured to sense environmental (ambient) temperature at the vicinity of the water heater container.

In some embodiments, the external control unit may include an operation control module, a power module and a communication module. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules are functionally or physically associated. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules are comprised in a single element. In some embodiments, the operation control module may be configured to receive information from the one or more temperature sensors and control operation of the water heating element, based on said temperature information and/or based on instructions received from the internal control unit. In some embodiments, the power module is configured to provide power to the water heating element and receive power from the internal control unit. In some embodiments, the communication module may be configured to communicate with the internal control unit, to receive and/or output operating instructions and/or operating parameters, wherein the communication route is by wireless routes (such as, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the like) or wired routes (such as, ethernet, rs232, rs 422, over the mains power lines). In some embodiments, the external control unit may further include one or more of: a display, a panel, a user interface.

In some embodiments, the internal control unit may include an internal operation control module, an internal power module and one or more internal communication modules. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules are functionally or physically associated. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules are comprised in a single element. In some embodiments, the internal operation control module may be configured to receive operating instructions from a user and/or output operating instructions to the external control unit. In some embodiments, the internal power module may be configured to receive power from the mains and provide power to the external control unit. In some embodiments, the one or more internal communication modules may be configured to communicate with each other by wired or wireless means. In some embodiments, one or more of the internal communication modules may be configured to communicate with one or more communication devices (such as, for example, smart phone), to receive and/or output instructions and/or one or more operating parameters of the water heater.

In some embodiments, the system may further include one or more electrical valves (solenoids), configured to control water flow into the water heater tank. In some embodiments, the solenoid is controlled by the external control unit.

In some embodiments, the internal control unit may further include one or more of: a user interface, an input device, and a display. In some embodiments, the user interface is selected from: a keyboard, a joystick, a touch screen.

In some embodiments, the internal control unit may include one or more processors and one or more memory modules.

In some embodiments, the external control unit may include one or more processors and one or more memory modules.

In some embodiments, the activation of the water heater element is determined based on one or more operating parameters, selected from: a determined water temperature in the tank, a range of temperatures in the tank, a temperature gradient between an upper region and a lower region of the water heater tank, a time period of operation, timing of operation, environment temperature, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the one or more parameters may be determined by a user, manually, or automatically.

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to be controlled by wireless or wired routes.

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to be controlled via WI-FI, wherein the Wi-Fi connection is facilitated by the one or more communication modules of the internal and/or external control unit.

In some embodiments, the internal and/or external control unit may be configured to connect to a router, said router is configured to connect to one or more computing devices, allowing control over the operating parameters of the system. In some embodiments, the computing devices are selected from: a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a server and a cloud service. In some embodiments, the system may be accessible via an internet connection.

According to some embodiments, there is provided a method of remote controlling a water heating element of a water heating tank, the method includes one or more of the steps of: - connecting an external control unit of a remote control system to the water heating element of the water heater container;- connecting an internal control unit to the external control unit via mains power; and- receiving/inputting operating instructions on the internal control unit and conveying the instructions to the external control unit, to thereby control operating parameters of the water heater element.

According to some embodiments, the method may further include placing one or more temperature sensors.

According to some embodiments, the temperature sensors may be placed or sense temperature at least: in a lower portion of the water heater tank (or in close proximity thereto (externally)), and at an upper portion of the water heater tank (or in close proximity thereto (externally)). In some embodiments, an additional, third temperature sensor may be placed in a central (middle) region of the water heater tank. In some embodiments, the middle sensor is an internal sensor.

According to some embodiments, the method may further include determining the temperature at the lower portion of the water heater tank and at an upper region of the water heater tank.

According to some embodiments, the method may further include placing a an additional temperature sensor at a region external to the water heater tank, to sense environment (ambient) temperature.

According to some embodiments, controlling operation of the water heating element is performed by a user or automatically performed, and may be based on one or more determined or sensed parameters, said parameters are selected from: internal temperature of the water heater tank, temperature at the lower region of the water heater tank, temperature at the upper region of the water heater tank, temperature in the central region of the water tank, temperature gradient in the water heater tank, (for example, between the upper region and the lower region, between the upper region and the central region, between the central region and the lower region, and the like), environment (ambient) temperature, length of operation, timing of operation, or any combination thereof. Each possibility is a separate embodiment.

According to some embodiments, conveying instructions/information to/from the external control unit may be facilitated using suitable power line communication (PLC) protocols.

According to some embodiments, the PLC protocols are selected from: Ethernet, RS 422, RS 232, or any combination thereof.

According to some embodiments, communication between the exertndal control unit and the internal control unit may be be facilitated using suitable power line communication (PLC) protocols.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure may include some, all, or none of the above advantages. One or more other technical advantages may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the figures, descriptions, and claims included herein. Moreover, while specific advantages have been enumerated above, various embodiments may include all, some, or none of the enumerated advantages.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, governs. As used herein, the indefinite articles "a" and "an" mean "at least one" or "one or more" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Some embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference to the accompanying figures. The description, together with the figures, makes apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art how some embodiments may be practiced. The figures are for the purpose of illustrative description and no attempt is made to show structural details of an embodiment in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure. For the sake of clarity, some objects depicted in the figures are not to scale.

In the Figures: Fig. 1 illustrates a system for remote controlling of water heater tank, according to some embodiments; Fig. 2 illustrates an external control unit of the system, according to some embodiments; device (unit), according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates an internal control unit of the system, according to some embodiments; Fig. 4 shows pictogram of a panel of an external control unit showing sensed temperature and various operating parameters, according to some embodiments; and Fig. 5 shows a pictogram of an exemplary graphical user interface (GUI), according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The principles use and implementations of the teachings herein may be better understood with reference to the accompanying description and figures. Upon perusal of the description and figures present herein, one skilled in the art will be able to implement the teachings herein without undue effort or experimentation.

Reference is made to Fig. 1 , which illustrates a schematic view of the system for remotely controlling a water heater tank, according to some embodiments. As shown in Fig. 1, system 2 , includes an external control unit 4and an internal control unit 6 , whereby the external control unit and the internal control unit are connected via mains power line 8 . Further shown in water heater tank 10 , the heating element thereof is connected via mains power line 8 to the external control unit 4 . Also shown are solar panels 12and water pipes transferring water to and from the water tank. Shown are hot water pipes 14A-Band cold water pipes 16A-B . As shown in Fig. 1, the external control unit is placed in close vicinity to the water heater tank and the internal control unit is placed/located in doors, at a remote location from the water heater tank.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2 , which illustrates a schematic view of an external control unit, according to some embodiments. As shown in Fig. 2, external control unit 4 includes several modules, including, a power module, an operation control module and a communication module. The external control unit may further include one or more displays, panels and/or input interface. Further shown are laptop 34C and smart phone 36C that may allow direct control of the external unit and/or allow displaying information from the external unit. Further shown is water heater tank 10 , the heating element 20 thereof is connected via power line 8to external control unit 4 . Also shown are solar panels 12and water pipes transferring water to and from the water tank. Shown are hot water pipes 14A-Band cold-water pipes 16A-B . Further shown in Fig. 2 are temperature sensors 22A-D , each located at a different location and configured to sense temperature thereat and to further provide the related information to the external control unit 4. As shown in Fig. 2, a first temperature sensor 22Ais located, such that it can measure/detect the temperature in or in close proximity to a lower region (portion) of the water heater tank, for example, by being placed at the location where pipe 16B is in close proximity (enters/exit) to the water tank or on pipe 16A. A second temperature sensor 22Bis located such that it can measure/detect the temperature in or in close proximity to an upper region (portion) of the water heater tank, for example, by being placed at the location where water pipe 14B is in close proximity (enters/exit) to the water tank. A third temperature sensor 22Dis located in a central (middle) region (portion) of the water heater tank, in some embodiments, utilizing the location of an existing sensor (i.e., advantageously without making any changes to the structure of the tank). A fourth temperature sensor 22Cis located externally to the water heater tank, to sense environment (ambient) temperature. Further shown in Fig. 2 is optional electric faucet (solenoid) 24connected via power line 26to the external control unit. Solenoid 24 is configured to allow remotely controlling hot water flow into the upper region of the water tank, from the solar panels.

Reference is made to Fig. 3 , which illustrates a schematic view of an internal control unit, according to some embodiments. As shown in Fig. 3, internal control unit 6 , which is placed indoors, includes several modules, including, a power module, an operation control module and one or more communication modules as well as an interface module 32, allowing a user to interact with the internal control unit and/or a panel or display. The power module is connected to the mains power 8on the one hand and to the external control unit (not shown), via power line 8. In some embodiments, the commands and/or parameters to and from the external control unit may be transferred on such main power wires with ethernet, rs232, rs422 and the like, or any other suitable communication protocols of PLC (power line communication). The communication module (comm.) is configured to communicate wirely or wirelessly with one or more other communication modules and/or with one or more communication devices, directly or indirectly, by being connected to a network, for example, via an internal router or external router 30. To the router 30 (or directly to the communication module) one or more additional devices or communication modules may be connected, such as, for example, PCs/laptops 34A-B, smartphones 36A-B, dedicated mobile units (such as mobile units 37A-C), and the like.

Such units may be interconnected. The connection between the various devices may be via any known communication protocols, including wired and wireless connections, such as, over the internet, via Wi-fi, ethernet connection, Bluetooth, and the like. With such settings, the internal control unit can allow controlling the water heater (via the external control unit) from any location and with any desired setting. In some embodiments, more than one communication modules may be used, such that they communicate with each other (either directly via an internal router, or via an external router), to from a network, whereby, each communication module may be placed is a discrete location (for example, in different rooms).

According to some embodiments, the control unit may be further configured to obtain, record or store operating parameters and/or data related thereto, and process said data to identity operating patterns of a user. In some embodiments, the data thus obtained with respect of the operating patterns of a user may be applied to allow automatic operation of the system, in accordance with the identified operating patterns. In some embodiments, the processing and/or automatic operation may be based, at least in part on suitable algorithms, including, for example, machine learning ((ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. In some exemplary embodiments, operating patterns may include, for example, but not limited to: desired water temperature, operating hours (time of day), length of use, amount of water used, time of year, number or users, day of the week, and the like, or any combination thereof.

Fig. 4 shows a pictogram of a panel 50 of an internal control unit showing various parameters, including, for example, sensed temperatures at various locations in the water heater tank (52, 54, and 56, which relate to sensed temperatures in the upper region, middle region and lower region, respectively, of the water heating tank); desired/requested target temperatures in each region (60, 62 and 64, relating to desired temperatures in the upper region, middle region and lower region, respectively, of the water heating tank). Further shown is the sensed external temperature, 58. Also shown are operating threshold 66. Also shown is operating indicator (on/off), 70, as well as operating mode (once, continuous, intermittent, cyclic, etc., 68). As detailed herein, the panel may be controlled manually using a suitable interface, such as, keyboard, touch screen (shown for example in Fig. 4), buttons, and the like. In some embodiments, the user interface may allow setting for one or more of the temperature sensors, a range of active temperatures, operating mode, and the like.

Fig.5 shows a pictogram of an exemplary graphical user interface (GUI) accessible over the internet (for example, on a web browser) and showing real time measured parameters of the water heater tank (for example, temperature at a lower region, middle region and upper region), environment temperature. Further shown are the desired (programmed/selected) temperatures in various regions of the water heater tank (for example, lower region, middle region and upper region), and further allow remote controlling operation of the water heater (for example, instant turn on ("on"), or operating when desired conditions are met ("fixed").

According to some embodiments, the systems disclosed herein allow converting an electrical device, such as a device having a water heating element to a remotely controlled device.

As used herein, the terms "water heater tank", "water tank", "water heater container" and "water container" may interchangeably be used.

According to some embodiments, the system includes one or more processors or processing modules. According to some embodiments, terms such as "processing", "computing", "calculating", "determining", "estimating", "assessing", "gauging" or the like, may refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data, represented as physical (e.g. electronic) quantities within the computing system’s registers and/or memories, into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system’s memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Embodiments of the present disclosure may include apparatuses for performing the operations herein. The apparatuses may be specially constructed for the desired purposes or may include a general-purpose computer(s) selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), electrically programmable read­only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and capable of being coupled to a computer system bus. The processes and displays presented are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the desired method(s). In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the present disclosure as described herein.

Aspects of the disclosure may be described in the general context of computer­executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and so forth, which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Disclosed embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

In the description and claims of the application, the words "include" and "have", and forms thereof, are not limited to members in a list with which the words may be associated.

As used herein, the term "about" may be used to specify a value of a quantity or parameter (e.g. the length of an element) to within a continuous range of values in the neighborhood of (and including) a given (stated) value. According to some embodiments, "about" may specify the value of a parameter to be between 80 % and 120 % of the given value. For example, the statement "the length of the element is equal to about 1 m" is equivalent to the statement "the length of the element is between 0.8 m and 1.2 m".

According to some embodiments, "about" may specify the value of a parameter to be between 90 % and 110 % of the given value. According to some embodiments, "about" may specify the value of a parameter to be between 95 % and 105 % of the given value.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, governs. As used herein, the indefinite articles "a" and "an" mean "at least one" or "one or more" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

It is appreciated that certain features of the disclosure, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the disclosure, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the disclosure. No feature described in the context of an embodiment is to be considered an essential feature of that embodiment, unless explicitly specified as such.

Although steps of methods according to some embodiments may be described in a specific sequence, methods of the disclosure may include some or all of the described steps carried out in a different order. A method of the disclosure may include a few of the steps described or all of the steps described. No particular step in a disclosed method is to be considered an essential step of that method, unless explicitly specified as such.

Although the disclosure is described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that numerous alternatives, modifications and variations that are apparent to those skilled in the art may exist. Accordingly, the disclosure embraces all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. It is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components and/or methods set forth herein. Other embodiments may be practiced, and an embodiment may be carried out in various ways.

ABSTRACT Provided herein are systems, devices and methods for remote controlling of operation of water heater, wherein the systems include an external control unit, connected to the water heating element of a water heater container and an internal control unit, connected to the external control unit via mains power.

Claims (21)

1.CLAIMS1. A system for remote control of an existing hot water heater comprising: temperature sensors mounted in or near a solar energy water heater tank operative to measure temperatures of water in said tank or water flowing into said tank or water flowing out of said tank, said temperature sensors being in electrical communication with existing wiring that electrically connects electrical components of said solar energy water heater tank with an existing switch in a room of a building, and a display in electrical communication with said temperature sensors to display temperatures measured by said temperature sensors.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display is mounted near said existing switch.

3. The system according to claim 1, comprising a first temperature sensor, configured to sense water temperature at a lower portion of the water heater container and a second temperature sensor configured to sense water temperature at a top region of the water heater container.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1-3, further comprising a third temperature sensor, configured to sense water temperature at a middle portion of the water heater container.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising an additional temperature sensor, configured to sense environmental temperature at the vicinity of the water heater container.

6. The system according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the temperature sensors are in electrical communication with a home control unit comprising an operation control module, a power module and a communication module.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the operation control module is configured to receive information from the one or more temperature sensors and control operation of the water heating element, based on said temperature information and/or based on instructions received from the home control unit.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the power module is configured to provide power to the water heating element and receive power from the home control unit.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein the communication module is configured to communicate with the home control unit, to receive and/or output operating instructions and/or operating parameters, wherein the communication route is by wireless or wired routes.

10. The system according to any one of claims 6-9, wherein the home control unit comprises an internal operation control module, an internal power module and one or more internal communication modules.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the internal operation control module is configured to receive operating instructions from a user and/or output operating instructions to the boiler control unit.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the internal power module is configured to receive power from the mains and provide power to the boiler control unit.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the one or more internal communication modules are configured to communicate with each other, by wired or wireless means.

14. The system according to any one of claims 10-13, wherein one or more of the internal communication modules are configured to communicate with one or more communication devices, to receive and/or output instructions and/or one or more operating parameters of the water heater.

15. The system according to any one of claims 1-14, further comprising one or more solenoids, configured to control water flow into the water heater tank.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the solenoid is controlled by the boiler control unit.

17. The system according to any one of claims 6-16, wherein the home control unit further comprises one or more of: a user interface, an input device, and a display.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the user interface is selected from: a keyboard, buttons or a touch screen.

19. The system according to any one of claims 1-18, wherein the home control unit comprises one or more processors and one or more memory modules.

20. The system according to any one of claims 6-19, wherein the boiler control unit comprises one or more processors and one or more memory modules.

21. The system according to any one of claims 1-20, wherein the activation of the water heater element is determined based on one or more operating parameters, selected from: a determined water temperature in the tank, a range of temperatures in the tank, a temperature gradient between an upper region and a lower region of the water heater tank, a time period of operation, timing of operation, environment temperature, or any combination thereof.