Automated adjustment of an HVAC schedule for resource conservation
First Claim
1. A method of decreasing energy consumption, comprising:
- accessing, by a computer processing system, a temperature setpoint schedule for a thermostat that controls an HVAC system that environmentally conditions an enclosure, the temperature setpoint schedule defining a plurality of temperature setpoints over a time period;
for each periodic time interval of a succession of periodic time intervals, generating, by the computer processing system, an adjusted version of the accessed temperature setpoint schedule, wherein;
the adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule comprises one or more incremental changes being made to at least a subset of the plurality of temperature setpoints; and
the one or more incremental changes each correspond to less energy usage by the HVAC system during one of the periodic time intervals of the succession of periodic time intervals as compared to a previous one of the periodic time intervals;
for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, determining that a user change to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule has not been received via a user input component of the thermostat nor via a computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via a remote energy management system, wherein;
the thermostat comprises a wireless communication interface that communicates with the remote energy management system; and
the thermostat comprises a wired communication interface in wired communication with the HVAC system; and
for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, controlling, by the thermostat, the HVAC system according to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule generated for the corresponding periodic time interval at least partially in response to the user change not being received via the user input component of the thermostat nor via the computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via the remote energy management system.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus, systems, methods, and related computer program products for optimizing a schedule of setpoint temperatures used in the control of an HVAC system. The systems disclosed include an energy management system in operation with an intelligent, network-connected thermostat located at a structure. The thermostat includes a schedule of setpoint temperatures that is used to control an HVAC system associated with a structure in which the thermostat is located. The schedule of setpoint temperatures is continually adjusted by small, unnoticeable amounts so that the schedule migrates from the original schedule to an optimal schedule. The optimal schedule may be optimal in terms of energy consumption or some other terms.
114 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method of decreasing energy consumption, comprising:
-
accessing, by a computer processing system, a temperature setpoint schedule for a thermostat that controls an HVAC system that environmentally conditions an enclosure, the temperature setpoint schedule defining a plurality of temperature setpoints over a time period; for each periodic time interval of a succession of periodic time intervals, generating, by the computer processing system, an adjusted version of the accessed temperature setpoint schedule, wherein; the adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule comprises one or more incremental changes being made to at least a subset of the plurality of temperature setpoints; and the one or more incremental changes each correspond to less energy usage by the HVAC system during one of the periodic time intervals of the succession of periodic time intervals as compared to a previous one of the periodic time intervals; for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, determining that a user change to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule has not been received via a user input component of the thermostat nor via a computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via a remote energy management system, wherein; the thermostat comprises a wireless communication interface that communicates with the remote energy management system; and the thermostat comprises a wired communication interface in wired communication with the HVAC system; and for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, controlling, by the thermostat, the HVAC system according to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule generated for the corresponding periodic time interval at least partially in response to the user change not being received via the user input component of the thermostat nor via the computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via the remote energy management system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A network-connected system for optimizing operation of an HVAC system, the network-connected system comprising:
-
a remote energy management system that communicates with a computerized access device; a thermostat, comprising; a wireless communication interface that communicates with the remote energy management system; and a wired communication interface is in wired communication with the HVAC system; one or more processors; and a memory communicatively coupled with and readable by the one or more processors and having stored therein processor-readable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to; access a temperature setpoint schedule for the thermostat that controls the HVAC system that environmentally conditions an enclosure, the temperature setpoint schedule defining a plurality of temperature setpoints over a time period; for each periodic time interval of a succession of periodic time intervals, generate an adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule, wherein; the adjusted version of the accessed temperature setpoint schedule comprises one or more incremental changes being made to at least a subset of the plurality of temperature setpoints; and the one or more incremental changes each correspond to less energy usage by the HVAC system during one of the periodic time intervals of the succession of periodic time intervals as compared to a previous one of the periodic time intervals; for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, determine that a user change to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule has not been received via a user input component of the thermostat nor via the computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via the remote energy management system; and for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, cause the thermostat to control the HVAC system according to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule generated for the corresponding periodic time interval at least partially in response to the user change not being received via the user input component of the thermostat nor via the computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via the remote energy management system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A non-transitory processor-readable medium, comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to:
-
access a temperature setpoint schedule for a thermostat that controls an HVAC system that environmentally conditions an enclosure, the temperature setpoint schedule defining a plurality of temperature setpoints over a time period; for each periodic time interval of a succession of periodic time intervals, generate an adjusted version of the identified temperature setpoint schedule, wherein; the adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule comprises one or more incremental changes being made to at least a subset of the plurality of temperature setpoints; and the one or more incremental changes each correspond to less energy usage by the HVAC system during one of the periodic time intervals of the succession of periodic time intervals as compared to a previous one of the periodic time intervals; and for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, determine that a user change to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule has not been received via a user input component of the thermostat nor via a computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via a remote energy management system, wherein; the thermostat comprises a wireless communication interface that communicates with the remote energy management system; and the thermostat comprises a wired communication interface in wired communication with the HVAC system; and for each time interval of the succession of time intervals, cause the thermostat to control the HVAC system according to the incrementally adjusted version of the temperature setpoint schedule generated for the corresponding periodic time interval at least partially in response to the user change not being received via the user input component of the thermostat nor via the computerized access device that communicates with the thermostat via the remote energy management system. - View Dependent Claims (22)
-
Specification