ENCLOSURE COOLING USING EARLY COMPRESSOR TURN-OFF WITH EXTENDED FAN OPERATION
First Claim
1. A method for cooling an enclosure comprising:
- initiating a first phase of a first cooling cycle in the enclosure using an air conditioning system having a compressor, an evaporator coil and a fan adapted to pass air over the evaporator coil, the first phase including activation of the compressor and the fan;
subsequent to the first phase, initiating a second phase of the first cooling cycle wherein the fan is activated and the compressor is not activated;
measuring of one or more parameters during at least the second phase of the first cooling cycle; and
altering a duration of a second phase of a subsequent cooling cycle based at least in part on the measurements during the first cooling cycle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are described for controlling fan-only cooling duration following normal air conditioning operation. Following normal AC cooling, economical fan cooling is used. The duration of the fan cooling period is adjusted based on temperature measurements made during the previous cooling cycle that ended with fan cooling. An expected temperature drop to be provided by fan cooling as well as an expected time to achieve that drop is calculated based on prior measurements. The expected values are then used improve fan cooling for subsequent cooling cycles. In some cases, fan cooling is not initiated unless: (1) a time limit has an elapsed, such that sufficient condensation is allowed to form on the evaporator coil during the first phase, and (2) indoor relative humidity is below a predetermined threshold.
37 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for cooling an enclosure comprising:
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initiating a first phase of a first cooling cycle in the enclosure using an air conditioning system having a compressor, an evaporator coil and a fan adapted to pass air over the evaporator coil, the first phase including activation of the compressor and the fan; subsequent to the first phase, initiating a second phase of the first cooling cycle wherein the fan is activated and the compressor is not activated; measuring of one or more parameters during at least the second phase of the first cooling cycle; and altering a duration of a second phase of a subsequent cooling cycle based at least in part on the measurements during the first cooling cycle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16)
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13. A method according to claim A12 wherein the predetermined threshold is between 45 and 60 percent relative humidity.
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17. A method for cooling an enclosure comprising
initiating a first phase of a cooling cycle using an air conditioning system having a compressor, an evaporator coil and a fan adapted to pass air over the evaporator coil, the first phase including activation of the compressor and the fan; -
measuring relative humidity within the enclosure; and subsequent to the first phase, when the measured relative humidity is below a threshold level, initiating a second phase of the cooling cycle wherein the fan is activated and the compressor is not activated. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for controlling cooling in an enclosure using a thermostat comprising
under control of the thermostat, initiating a first phase of a cooling cycle using an air conditioning system having a compressor, an evaporator coil and a fan adapted to pass air over the evaporator coil, the first phase including activation of the compressor and the fan; -
automatically detecting if a fan control wire is connected to the thermostat; and subsequent to the first phase, and when a connection of a fan control wire to the thermostat is detected, initiating a second phase of the cooling cycle wherein the fan is activated and the compressor is not activated. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification