METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR OPTIMIZED HVAC OPERATION
First Claim
1. A system for controlling indoor environmental conditions of a building, the system comprising:
- at least one processor configured to;
store at least one user preference;
acquire indoor environmental conditions from sensor data;
acquire an occupancy level;
acquire outdoor environmental conditions;
predict future building conditions based on the indoor environmental conditions, the occupancy level, the at least one user preference, and the outdoor environmental conditions;
select at least one control output based on the future building conditions; and
transmit a control signal based on the at least one control output to at least one of heating equipment, cooling equipment, and ventilation equipment.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment in a building may be controlled to improve building performance and/or occupant comfort. For a building, such as a low-load building, with multiple sub-systems of an overall HVAC system that can be actuated to impact indoor environmental conditions, an operational mode used to control such HVAC equipment may be selected. The selection may be based on input data from sensors, including indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, and occupancy level in combination with multiple models. Data collected over time may be used to form multiple types of models, including predictive models of building performance, future indoor conditions, and occupancy levels, and/or energy usage. The models may be used to select a control strategy. Based on the selected strategy and user preferences, a set of rules may be applied to generate control signals that control operation of HVAC subsystems.
127 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system for controlling indoor environmental conditions of a building, the system comprising:
at least one processor configured to; store at least one user preference; acquire indoor environmental conditions from sensor data; acquire an occupancy level; acquire outdoor environmental conditions; predict future building conditions based on the indoor environmental conditions, the occupancy level, the at least one user preference, and the outdoor environmental conditions; select at least one control output based on the future building conditions; and transmit a control signal based on the at least one control output to at least one of heating equipment, cooling equipment, and ventilation equipment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of operating equipment to control indoor environmental conditions of a building, the method comprising:
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acquiring at least one current indoor state from at least one indoor sensor; predicting a future occupancy level based on occupancy data; setting, selectively based on the predicted future occupancy level, a target state based on user preferences; setting, selectively based on the predicted future occupancy level, the target state based on at least one of a duration of time to reach user preferences and a minimization of at least one energy metric; and controlling at least one of heating equipment, cooling equipment, and ventilation equipment based on the target state and the at least one current indoor state. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. At least one non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, perform a method of operating equipment, the method comprising:
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acquiring at least one current indoor state from at least one indoor sensor; predicting a future occupancy level based on measured occupancy data; receiving input indicating a user preference; setting a target state based on the user preference by; when the user preference is a first preference, selecting the target state such that the user preference can be reached within a duration of time; and when the user preference is a second preference, selecting the target state based on at least one energy metric; and controlling at least one of heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment based on the target state and the at least one current indoor state. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. A system for controlling indoor environmental conditions of a building by generating control signals to a plurality of subsystems of an HVAC system, the system comprising:
at least one processor configured to; receive user input indicating a user preferred environmental condition; acquire sensor data; for each of a plurality of scenarios for controlling the plurality of subsystems; simulate control of the HVAC system in accordance with the strategy and the acquired sensor data; compare a simulated result of control according to the scenario to a criteria relating to building operation; and based on the comparison and a comparison made for at least one other scenario of the plurality of scenarios, determine whether to apply the control scenario; and generate to control values to the subsystems of the HVAC system in accordance with a control scenario determined to be applied. - View Dependent Claims (27)
Specification