Thermistor Emulating CT Clamp

• US 20160003492A1
• Filed: 06/30/2015
• Published: 01/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Trane International Inc. (Trane Technologies plc)
• Original Assignee: Trane International Inc. (Trane Technologies plc)
• Inventors: Mutchnik, Karl, Klein, Kit William, Schull, Robert Frederick
• Application Number:
  US14/755,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20160003492A1
• 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 11/47 Responding to energy costs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• 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 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1905 associated with tele control

Abstract

A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system with a thermostat operable to receive, process, and display power consumption information received via a thermistor input of the thermostat. The thermostat receives power consumption information from a measurement device in communication with the thermostat via a wired interface and the thermistor input, wherein the measurement device comprises a clamp portion positionable about an electric conductor, a measurement portion, and a conditioning component.

Claims

1. A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:

a thermostat comprising at least one thermistor input;

a measurement device in communication with the thermistor input of the thermostat, the measurement device having a clamp portion and a measurement portion, the clamp portion positioned about an electrical conductor to promote the measurement, by the measurement portion, of an electric current of the electric conductor; and

a conditioning component configured to convert the measured electric current, from the measurement portion, to resistance measurable by the thermostat, via the thermistor input, the thermostat having logic and a display to display information related to the measured electric current based on the converted resistance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the clamp portion and measurement portion of the measurement device and the conditioning component are contained within the same housing.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the electric current measured from the electric conductor indicates power consumption for at least a portion of a structure.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the display of the thermostat displays information related to the power consumption for the structure.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein power consumption is displayed as instantaneous power consumption.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein power consumption is displayed as cumulative over a time period.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system communicates information with a home intelligence system, and the home intelligence system stores and analyzes the information indicated by the measure electric current.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the home intelligence system communicates the information with a personal device, such as a computer or mobile device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the measurement device and conditioning component are retrofitted to the system and replace an existing thermistor in communication with the thermostat via the thermistor input.

10. A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:

a measurement system having;

a clamp portion configured to be positionable about an electric conductor;

a measurement portion configured to measure electric current from the electric conductor; and

a conditioning component configured to convert the measured electric current to resistance for output to a 10 k thermistor input;

wherein the measurement system is operable to communicate the resistance to a thermistor input of a thermostat.

11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a wired interface attached to the conditioning component, wherein one end of the wired interface is configured to attach to a thermistor input of a thermostat.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising multiple clamp portions configured to be positionable about multiple electric conductors.

13. The system of claim 10 further comprising multiple measurement devices operable to communicate with the same thermostat, wherein the multiple measurement devices are operable to communicate different resistance measurements to the thermostat.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein the resistance relates to a power consumption measurement associated with the electric conductor.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein software of the thermostat is operable to receive, process, and display the resistance as a power consumption measurement.

16. A thermostat comprising:

at least one thermistor input;

logic to receive and process resistance measurements via the at least one thermistor input; and

a display operable to present information communicated via the thermistor input;

wherein the thermostat is operable, via the logic and display, to process and display resistance measurements to indicate power consumption for at least a portion of a structure.

17. The thermostat of claim 16, wherein the power consumption is displayed as kilowatt hours.

18. The thermostat of claim 16, wherein the power consumption is displayed as a cost estimate of the power consumption, and wherein the thermostat is operable to receive energy cost information from an energy provider.

19. The thermostat of claim 16, wherein the power consumption is displayed as an instantaneous measurement.

20. The thermostat of claim 16, wherein the power consumption is displayed as a cumulative measurement over a set time period.