FAQs

Operational

• How do I know if Aquanta is compatible with my water heater?

  Aquanta is designed to work with most residential and small commercial storage-style water heaters - the most common type in the US and Canada - but please double-check the Compatibility checklist on the Buy Now page before purchasing.

• How does Aquanta control my water heater?

  The control box (the blue one in pictures) is a junction box to an electric tank's power source, so it turns on/off the power to the tank per the control algorithm or your commands. This can also “virtually” control the temperature in the tank. In gas tanks, Aquanta plugs into the electronic ignition control of the heating element and does the same thing (i.e. turn power on/off to the tank) to provide the control.

• I have two water heaters in the house; do I need two Aquanta units?

  Yes, you need an Aquanta unit per water heater, as each would control an individual tank to match its particular usage patterns. However, a single user account can be associated with and set individualized controls for multiple Aquantas across multiple locations.

• Will my water heater work if my site loses power, WiFi and/or Internet connectivity?

  In the case of loss of WiFi or internet connectivity, Aquanta will continue to gather data and operate according to the last transmitted schedule or command (e.g. “Away” mode) until connectivity is restored. Aquanta can be manually re-set by pressing a button on the controller to put it into “Monitor” mode (i.e. no Aquanta control of water heating). In the event of a power outage and you have an electric or power-vented gas water heater, neither your water heater nor Aquanta will work until power is restored as they both are tied to the site’s power. For atmospheric-vented water heaters, Aquanta will continue to operate according to the last transmitted schedule or command until power and connectivity is restored.

• How do the safety and maintenance features work?

  The optional leak detection sensor is meant to be installed in the drain pan of your water heater. If moisture is detected, it will cause the Aquanta controller to continuously beep until it is turned off, and also send you an email and/or text alert. With regard to temperature control, Aquanta cannot heat the water higher than the nominal set-point of the physical thermostat of the water heater, ensuring that Aquanta’s on-line “virtual” thermostat cannot be inadvertently be turned to an unsafe temperature. Aquanta also has high (in the case of potential overheating) and low (in case of potential freezing) temperature alert functions, and will autonomously cut power to the water heater and issue an alert if the tank temperature crosses a high threshold (75C°/167F°) that potentially indicates a dangerous thermostat failure.

• What about product and installation support?

  Product support questions should be directed to support@aquanta.io

Using Aquanta

• Is there any access fee?

  Nope! End users are responsible for maintaining connectivity to enable Aquanta, but there are no charges associated with accessing your Aquanta user interface, reports, alerts, etc. There will be charges to fleet users (i.e. those looking to track and/or control a large number of units) for access to certain dashboard, analytic and data integration features, however.

• What will I be able to do and see from the user dashboard?

  You'll be able to: see how much hot water is available; set manual water heater on/off schedules; adjust Aquanta auto-efficiency settings; compare hot water usage and energy data from week to week and month to month; set Away periods and adjust Alert settings. Since the dashboard is cloud-based, as we add new features they will be immediately available to you.

• How much will I save with Aquanta?

  Residential water heaters in the US use on average 2662 kWh (for electric water heaters) or 210 therms (for gas) of energy a year according to the US Energy Information Administration, and our data suggest that at least 20% and up to 50% of that energy in a typical home is wasted through "standby loss". We are being careful to not overpromise, and have 3rd party testing underway to more specifically quantify the saving opportunity. However, our internal studies and modeling suggest that between 10-30% of water heating energy can be saved by intelligent control through Aquanta. The economic value of intelligent control of water heaters is much higher when factoring in peak or time-of-use pricing and utility peak demand reduction and similar incentives.

• I live outside of the US and Canada; can I get an Aquanta where I live?

  Right now, we are only shipping to the US and Canada as this is where we are pursuing the relevant product certifications. Also, storage-style water heaters often are designed and function a little differently in other parts of the world, in ways that may be incompatible with Aquanta’s design. However, we very much plan on having versions for certain international markets, and will announce them when available.

• What is the TOU feature and how does it work?

  It is designed for users on utility Time of Use rates, automatically controlling their water heater to avoid heating during the most expensive price periods and save them money while assuring hot water availability. It works on all Aquanta models, but is intended primarily for electric storage water heaters as they draw large amounts of electricity from the utilities. Not all utility pricing programs and pilots are currently pre-loaded in Aquanta’s TOU feature. If not currently pre-loaded, users can create and add their own program to the Scheduler.

Aquanta & Other Systems

• Will Aquanta integrate with my other smart home devices or hub?

  We have a cloud-based data interface that allows us to integrate and exchange data with other smart home devices, and have integration activities underway with several of the leading smart home platforms. These will be announced as they become available. At this time we are not offering an open API.

• Can Aquanta interconnect with my other devices through my LAN?

  We don’t have immediate plans to offer local communications and control, but that may change as our distribution relationships evolve.

• I have a solar hot water system; will Aquanta work with it?

  Aquanta should pair very nicely with most solar hot water systems in that you will be able to control the backup heating so that it won't turn on unless absolutely necessary. Make sure that your solar tank is compatible with the tanks noted in Installation section. Our background is in solar water heating, so we love this combo.