THERMAL TIME CONSTRAINTS FOR DEMAND RESPONSE APPLICATIONS
First Claim
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1. A method for managing energy of a structure executed via a controller with at least one memory storing executable instructions comprising the method, comprising:
- creating thermal characteristic tables with variables comprising time, inside temperatures, outside temperatures, setpoint temperatures and duty cycles, and corresponding to each operating mode of an HVAC unit of the structure, comprising heating modes, cooling modes, fan modes, and an off mode;
calculating time response constants corresponding to each table based on the variables created and with respect to different time durations for the structure to cool and to heat during a heat season and a cooling season; and
determining cost benefit curves based on the time response constants for communicating various temperature schemes to a user.
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Abstract
Apparatus and method for managing energy of a home or other structure are disclosed. The thermal characteristics of a home are determined based on variables such as inside temperatures, outside temperatures, setpoint temperatures, and duty cycles over time. Response time constants of the home are calculated and used to generate at least one transfer function or table to predict and control energy efficiency versus comfort within the home. A user is presented with variations of cost and power consumptions to choose from and be factored into the transfer function.
91 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for managing energy of a structure executed via a controller with at least one memory storing executable instructions comprising the method, comprising:
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creating thermal characteristic tables with variables comprising time, inside temperatures, outside temperatures, setpoint temperatures and duty cycles, and corresponding to each operating mode of an HVAC unit of the structure, comprising heating modes, cooling modes, fan modes, and an off mode; calculating time response constants corresponding to each table based on the variables created and with respect to different time durations for the structure to cool and to heat during a heat season and a cooling season; and determining cost benefit curves based on the time response constants for communicating various temperature schemes to a user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19)
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11. A method for managing energy of a structure executed via a controller with at least one memory storing executable instructions comprising the method, comprising:
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creating thermal characteristic tables with variables comprising time, inside temperatures, outside temperatures, setpoint temperatures and duty cycles, and corresponding to each operating mode of an energy consuming device of the structure; calculating time response constants corresponding to each table based on the variables created and with respect to time durations for the structure to cool and to heat during a heat season and a cooling season; generating at least one transfer function to predict heat-up or cool-down times of each operating mode based on the time response constants, and temperature scheme inputted by the user to control variations of the variables for the structure; and controlling variations of the variables comprising pre-chilling the structure or pre-warming the structure for a predetermined time. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An energy management system for automatically learning thermal characteristics of an enclosure and presenting cost benefit options to a user, comprising:
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a controller coupled to at least one energy consuming device comprising heating components, cooling components, and fan components, and operative to monitor and control energy consumption of the energy consuming device; and a user display coupled to the controller to communicate various temperature schemes for cost savings and comfort to the user; wherein the controller comprises a processor, a memory and a thermal component configured to create thermal characteristic tables in the memory comprising variables of inside temperatures, outside temperatures, setpoint temperatures and duty cycles for each component of the energy consuming device; wherein the controller comprises a timing component coupled to the thermal component configured to calculate time response constants based on the variables of each thermal characteristic table and to calculate a transfer function according to a chosen temperature scheme for stabilizing variations of the variables. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification