HVAC controller with fault sensitivity

• US 10,533,761 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2011
• Issued: 01/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barton, Eric, Leen, Cary, Zywicki, Stan
• Primary Examiner(s): Norton, Jennifer L
• Application Number:
  US13/325,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20130158718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,953 Days
• Field of Search: 700726, 700276, 236 74 R, 236 51
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/32 Responding to malfunctions or emergencies
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/38 Failure diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays

Abstract

An HVAC controller may be programmed to identify one or more faults with respect to the operation of a connected HVAC system. In some cases, the HVAC controller may record a fault to a fault log and/or display an alert on the display of the HVAC controller only after a predetermined number of faults of the same fault type have been identified by the HVAC controller, sometime within a predetermined number of cycles of the HVAC system or within a predetermined amount of time.

Claims

1. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controller configured to control a set of components of an HVAC system, the HVAC controller comprising:

a user interface including a display;

a memory; and

a controller coupled to the user interface and the memory, the controller configured to;

provide control signals for controlling the set of components of the HVAC system;

receive signals from one or more components of the set of components of the HVAC system indicating operating conditions of the one or more components of the set of components of the HVAC system;

identify, based at least on one or more of the received signals, two or more faults that occur during operation of the HVAC system, each of the faults having a fault type of two or more fault types, the controller does not commence recording a prospective fault entry in a fault log that is stored in the memory of the HVAC controller until after a predetermined number of faults of a same fault type have been identified by the controller, wherein the predetermined number is greater than one,

determine if any of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or more of a set of conditions related to one or more of an indoor air temperature, an indoor humidity level, an outdoor temperature and a call for humidification;

determine if any of the predetermined number of faults occur during one or both of a utility shutoff period or a defrost cycle;

record the prospective fault entry to the fault log if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or more of the set of conditions, if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or both of the utility shutoff period and the defrost cycle, and if at least the predetermined number of faults of the same fault type have been identified by the controller;

accept from a user, via the user interface, an input that affects the predetermined number of faults; and

display, if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or more of the set of conditions, if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or both of the utility shutoff period and the defrost cycle, and if at least the predetermined number of faults of the same fault type have been identified by the controller, an alert on the display of the user interface.

2. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the input comprises a first integer number for the predetermined number of faults of the same fault type.

3. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the two or more faults include a delta T fault.

4. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the two or more fault types comprise a first fault type and a second fault type, wherein a fault of the first fault type includes a delta T fault for a first heating stage of the HVAC system, and a fault of the second fault type includes a delta T fault for a second heating stage of the HVAC system.

5. The HVAC controller of claim 1, wherein the two or more fault types comprise a first fault type and a second fault type, wherein a fault of the first fault type includes a delta T fault for a heating stage of the HVAC system, and a fault of the second fault type includes a delta T fault for a cooling stage of the HVAC system.

6. A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) controller configured to control a set of components of an HVAC system, the HVAC controller comprising:

a user interface including a display;

a memory;

a controller coupled to the user interface and the memory, the controller configured to;

control operation of the set of components of the HVAC system;

receive information from one or more components of the set of components of the HVAC system;

identify from the information received from the one or more components of the set of components of the HVAC system, two or more faults that occur during operation of the HVAC system, each of the two or more faults having a fault type of two or more fault types with respect to the operation of the HVAC system, the controller further configured to not commence recording a prospective fault entry in a fault log that is stored in the memory of the HVAC controller until after a predetermined number of faults of a same fault type have been identified by the controller, wherein the predetermined number is greater than one, and wherein the two or more faults include a delta T fault, and a fault of a first fault type of the two or more fault types includes a delta T fault for a first heating stage of the HVAC system, and a fault of a second fault type of the two or more fault types includes a delta T fault for a second heating stage of the HVAC system;

determine if any of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or more of a set of conditions related to one or more of an indoor air temperature, an indoor humidity level, an outdoor temperature and a call for humidification;

determine if any of the predetermined number of faults occur during one or both of a utility shutoff period or a defrost cycle;

record the prospective fault entry to the fault log if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or more of the set of conditions, if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or both of the utility shutoff period and the defrost cycle, and if at least the predetermined number of faults of the same fault type have been identified by the controller; and

display, if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or more of the set of conditions, if none of the predetermined number of faults corresponding to the prospective fault entry occur during one or both of the utility shutoff period and the defrost cycle, and if at least the predetermined number of faults of the same fault type have been identified by the controller, an alert on the display of the user interface.

7. A method of monitoring a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the HVAC system including a set of HVAC components that are controlled, at least in part, by an HVAC controller having a user interface including a display, a memory, and a controller, the method comprising:

receiving, by the controller, information indicative of a measured delta T for at least one stage or stage combination of the HVAC system;

determining, by the controller, a delta T fault for the at least one stage or stage combination of the HVAC system,

wherein the controller does not commence recording a prospective delta T fault entry corresponding to the delta T fault in a fault log that is stored in the memory of the HVAC controller until after a predetermined number of delta T faults of a same fault type for the at least one stage or stage combination exceeds a predetermined delta T fault limit for that fault type, wherein the predetermined delta T fault limit is greater than one;

determining if any of the predetermined number of delta T faults corresponding to the prospective delta T fault entry occur during one or more of a set of conditions related to one or more of an indoor air temperature, an indoor humidity level, an outdoor temperature and a call for humidification;

determining if any of the predetermined number of delta T faults occur during one or both of a utility shutoff period or a defrost cycle;

recording the prospective delta T fault entry to the fault log if none of the predetermined number of delta T faults corresponding to the prospective delta T fault entry occur during one or more of the set of conditions, if none of the predetermined number of delta T faults corresponding to the prospective delta T fault entry occur during one or both of the utility shutoff period and the defrost cycle, and if at least the predetermined number of delta T faults of the same fault type have been identified by the controller;

accepting from a user, by the controller and via the user interface, an input that affects the predetermined number of delta T faults; and

displaying, by the controller, if none of the predetermined number of delta T faults corresponding to the prospective delta T fault entry occur during one or more of the set of conditions, if none of the predetermined number of delta T faults corresponding to the prospective delta T fault entry occur during one or both of the utility shutoff period and the defrost cycle, and if at least the predetermined number of delta T faults of the same fault type have been identified by the controller, an alert on the display of the user interface.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the input comprises a first integer number for the predetermined number of delta T faults for the at least one stage or stage combination.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the delta T fault for the at least one stage or stage combination includes a delta T fault while operating a first heating stage of the HVAC system.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the delta T fault for the at least one stage or stage combination includes a delta T fault while operating a first heating stage and a second heating stage of the HVAC system.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the delta T fault is an over fault type, under fault type, or off fault type.