HVAC ZONING DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS

• US 20150369503A1
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Flaherty, James, Kraft, Nathaniel D., Gilmer, Preston, Emmons, David
• Granted Patent: US 10,242,129 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/54 using one central controller connected to several sub-controllers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/70 Control systems characterised by their outputs; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/74 for controlling air flow rate or air velocity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/50 Air quality properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/00 Control inputs relating to users or occupants
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/20 Feedback from users
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2130/20 Sunlight
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/40 Damper positions, e.g. open or closed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 : Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system may be controlled by an HVAC control system. The HVAC control system may include a communications block, a controller and a user interface. The communications block may receive sensed data from sensing devices located within spaces of a building. The sensing devices may be located at different spaced sensor locations within the building. The controller may receive the sensed data from the communications block and based, at least in part, on the received sensed, determine recommended setting changes to the HVAC control system. The user interface may display the recommended setting changes to a user.

Claims

1. An HVAC control system for controlling an HVAC system of a building, the HVAC control system comprising:

a communications block for receiving sensed data from each of two or more sensing devices located at different spaced sensor locations within the building;

a controller operatively coupled to the communications block, the controller configured to receive the sensed data from the communications block, and based at least in part on the received sensed data, determine a recommended setting change to the HVAC control system; and

a user interface operatively coupled to the controller for displaying the recommended setting change.

2. The HVAC control system of claim 1, further comprising a memory configured to store an indicator of the sensor location of each of the two or more sensing devices within the building, and wherein the controller is configured to determine the recommended setting change to the HVAC control system based at least in part on the received sensed data and the stored indicators of the sensor locations for the two or more sensing devices within the building.

3. The HVAC control system of claim 2, wherein the HVAC system includes two or more registers located at different spaced register locations within the building, wherein the memory is further configured to store an indicator of the register location of each of the two or more registers within the building, and wherein the controller is further configured to determine the recommended setting change to the HVAC control system based at least in part on the received sensed data, the stored indicators of the sensor locations, and the stored indicators of the register locations.

4. The HVAC control system of claim 3, wherein at least some of the two or more registers are manually adjustable by a user to change air flow characteristics of the register, and wherein the recommended setting change includes a recommended manual adjustment to one or more of the manually adjustable registers.

5. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein the recommended setting change includes a recommendation to incorporate an electronically controllable register to the HVAC system of the building at a specified location.

6. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein the recommended setting change includes a recommendation to change a fan setting of the HVAC system to one of an on mode, an off mode, an auto mode, and a circulation mode.

7. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein the recommended setting change includes a recommendation to change a position of a window treatment of the building.

8. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein at least part of the controller of the HVAC control system is implemented remotely from the building.

9. The HVAC control system of claim 8, wherein at least part of the controller of the HVAC control system is implemented in the cloud.

10. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is implemented as part of a thermostat of the HVAC control system that is located within the building.

11. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is implemented as part of a mobile application running on a mobile device.

12. The HVAC control system of claim 1, wherein the controller of the HVAC control system is configured to determine the recommended setting change to the HVAC control system based at least in part on an analysis of a number of thermodynamic properties of the building.

13. The HVAC control system of claim 12, wherein the analysis of the number of thermodynamic properties of the building is based at least in part on historical sensed data that is received from the communications block.

14. A cloud server configured to communicate with a plurality of HVAC systems each in a separate building, wherein each of the plurality of HVAC systems includes two or more spaced sensing devices and an HVAC controller for controlling one or more HVAC components of the corresponding HVAC system, the cloud server comprising:

a communications block configured to receive HVAC data from each of the plurality of HVAC systems, wherein the HVAC data includes environmental data that is based at least in part on one or more environmental parameters sensed by the two or more spaced sensing devices of a corresponding HVAC system;

a memory for storing the received HVAC data;

a controller configured to analyze at least part of the received HVAC data stored in the memory and to determine a recommended setting change for a first HVAC system of the plurality of HVAC systems; and

the controller is further configured to output the recommended setting change to a user interface via the communications block, wherein the user interface is located remotely from the cloud server.

15. The cloud server of claim 14, wherein the user interface is implemented as part of the HVAC controller of the first HVAC system or as part of a mobile application running on a mobile device.

16. The cloud server of claim 14, wherein the memory is further configured to store an indicator of a sensor location for each of the two or more spaced sensing devices for each of the plurality of HVAC systems, and wherein the controller is configured to determine the recommended setting change for the first HVAC system based at least in part on the received HVAC data stored in the memory and the stored indicators of the sensor locations for the two or more spaced sensing devices of the first HVAC system.

17. The cloud server of claim 16, wherein the first HVAC system includes two or more registers located at different spaced register locations within the building serviced by the first HVAC system, wherein the memory is further configured to store an indicator of the register location for each of the two or more registers of the first HVAC system, and wherein the controller is further configured to determine the recommended setting change to the HVAC system based at least in part on the received HVAC data stored in the memory, the stored indicators of the sensor locations for the two or more spaced sensing devices of the first HVAC system, and the stored indicators of the register locations of the first HVAC system.

18. The cloud server of claim 17, wherein at least one of the two or more registers of the first HVAC system is manually adjustable by a user to change the air flow characteristics of the register, and wherein the recommended setting change includes a recommended manual adjustment to one or more of the manually adjustable registers.

19. The cloud server of claim 14, wherein the recommended setting change includes a recommendation to incorporate an electronically controllable register to the first HVAC system.

20. A method for operating an HVAC control system, comprising:

collecting environmental sensor data via two or more sensing devices located at two or more identified locations within a building;

analyzing the collected environmental sensor data in conjunction with the two or more identified locations to determine a recommended setting change to the HVAC control system; and

displaying the recommended setting change to a user via a user interface that is associated with the HVAC control system.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the recommended setting change includes a manual adjustment to one or more manually adjustable register dampers and/or to incorporate an electronically controllable register damper to the building at a specified location.