Smart thermostat with model predictive control
First Claim
1. A thermostat for monitoring and controlling temperature of a building zone, the thermostat comprising:
- a base configured to attach to a mounting surface upon which the thermostat is mounted;
an equipment controller physically coupled to the base and configured to drive the temperature of the building zone to an optimal temperature setpoint by operating HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the building zone, wherein operating the HVAC equipment causes the HVAC equipment to add heat to the building zone or remove heat from the building zone, thereby affecting the temperature of the building zone; and
a model predictive controller physically coupled to the base and configured to determine the optimal temperature setpoint by;
generating a cost function that accounts for a cost operating the HVAC equipment during each of a plurality of time steps in an optimization period;
using a predictive model to predict the temperature of the building zone during each of the plurality of time steps, wherein the predictive model comprises a thermal mass storage model that defines the temperature of the building zone as a function of at least one of;
heat transfer between air within the building zone and solid mass within the building zone;
heat transfer between the building zone and the HVAC equipment; and
an unmeasured heat load disturbance; and
optimizing the cost function subject to a constraint on the predicted temperature of the building zone to determine optimal temperature setpoints for each of the plurality of time steps.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermostat includes an equipment controller and a model predictive controller. The equipment controller is configured to drive the temperature of a building zone to an optimal temperature setpoint by operating HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the building zone. The model predictive controller is configured to determine the optimal temperature setpoint by generating a cost function that accounts for a cost operating the HVAC equipment during each of a plurality of time steps in an optimization period, using a predictive model to predict the temperature of the building zone during each of the plurality of time steps, and optimizing the cost function subject to a constraint on the predicted temperature of the building zone to determine optimal temperature setpoints for each of the time steps.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A thermostat for monitoring and controlling temperature of a building zone, the thermostat comprising:
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a base configured to attach to a mounting surface upon which the thermostat is mounted; an equipment controller physically coupled to the base and configured to drive the temperature of the building zone to an optimal temperature setpoint by operating HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the building zone, wherein operating the HVAC equipment causes the HVAC equipment to add heat to the building zone or remove heat from the building zone, thereby affecting the temperature of the building zone; and a model predictive controller physically coupled to the base and configured to determine the optimal temperature setpoint by; generating a cost function that accounts for a cost operating the HVAC equipment during each of a plurality of time steps in an optimization period; using a predictive model to predict the temperature of the building zone during each of the plurality of time steps, wherein the predictive model comprises a thermal mass storage model that defines the temperature of the building zone as a function of at least one of; heat transfer between air within the building zone and solid mass within the building zone; heat transfer between the building zone and the HVAC equipment; and an unmeasured heat load disturbance; and optimizing the cost function subject to a constraint on the predicted temperature of the building zone to determine optimal temperature setpoints for each of the plurality of time steps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method performed by a thermostat for a building zone for monitoring and controlling temperature of the building zone, the method comprising:
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attaching a base of the thermostat to a mounting surface upon which the thermostat is mounted and physically coupling the base to a processing circuit of the thermostat; generating, by the processing circuit, a cost function that accounts for a cost operating HVAC equipment during each of a plurality of time steps in an optimization period; using, by the processing circuit, a predictive model to predict the temperature of the building zone during each of the plurality of time steps, wherein the predictive model comprises a thermal mass storage model that defines the temperature of the building zone as a function of at least one of; heat transfer between air within the building zone and solid mass within the building zone; heat transfer between the building zone and the HVAC equipment; and an unmeasured heat load disturbance; optimizing, by the processing circuit, the cost function subject to a constraint on the predicted temperature of the building zone to determine optimal temperature setpoints for each of the plurality of time steps; and operating, by the processing circuit, HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the building zone to drive the temperature of the building zone to the optimal temperature setpoints, wherein operating the HVAC equipment causes the HVAC equipment to add heat to the building zone or remove heat from the building zone, thereby affecting the temperature of the building zone. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A thermostat for monitoring and controlling temperature of a building zone, the thermostat comprising:
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a base configured to attach to a mounting surface upon which the thermostat is mounted; an equipment controller physically coupled to the base and configured to drive the temperature of the building zone to a zone temperature setpoint by operating HVAC equipment to provide heating or cooling to the building zone, wherein operating the HVAC equipment causes the HVAC equipment to add heat to the building zone or remove heat from the building zone, thereby affecting the temperature of the building zone; and a model predictive controller physically coupled to the base and configured to determine the zone temperature setpoint by; generating a cost function that accounts for a cost operating the HVAC equipment during each of a plurality of time steps in an optimization period; using a predictive model to predict the temperature of the building zone during each of the plurality of time steps, wherein the predictive model comprises a thermal mass storage model that defines the temperature of the building zone as a function of at least one of; heat transfer between air within the building zone and solid mass within the building zone; heat transfer between the building zone and the HVAC equipment; and an unmeasured heat load disturbance; and performing an optimization of the cost function subject to a constraint on the predicted temperature of the building zone to determine a temperature setpoint trajectory comprising a temperature setpoint value for each of the plurality of time steps.
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Specification