Hydronic Boiler Control System with Weather Anticipation

• US 20180058704A1
• Filed: 02/17/2017
• Published: 03/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iot Cloud Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Iot Cloud Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: Lewis, Matthew James
• Granted Patent: US 10,527,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 19/1009 for central heating
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 2220/042 Temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 3/00 Hot-water central heating systems district heating systems F24D10/00; central heating systems using heat accumulated in storage masses F24D11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1934 each space being provided with one sensor acting on one or more control means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A microcomputer-based controller has control outputs operably connected to a hydronic boiler of a building, a network connection for receiving weather forecast information from a meteorological server, and an input operably connected to an outside temperature transducer. The controller is configured to an appropriate set-point temperature for the boiler based on both the current outside temperature and a forecasted outdoor temperature from the meteorological server. Remote zone temperature sensors report zone temperatures to the controller, based on which further adjustment of the set point temperature are made if a notable number of zones all have temperatures notably shifted in a same direction from a normally expected zone temperature. The zone temperature sensors and controller are connected as nodes in a mesh network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of controlling operation of a hydronic boiler, said method comprising automatically obtaining a current outdoor air temperature, automatically obtaining meteorological forecast data through one or more internet based HTTP web servers, automatically assigning a set point temperature of the hydronic boiler based on both the current outdoor air temperature and the meteorological forecast data, and operating the boiler according to said assigned set point temperature.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein adjusting the set point temperature comprises offsetting the set point value based on the meteorological forecast data.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising also obtaining current remote zone temperatures from a plurality of remote zones, and also adjusting the set point temperature of the hydronic boiler based on said current remote zone temperatures.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein adjusting the set point temperature based on the current remote zone temperatures comprises determining whether a quantity of remote zones exceeding a zone quantity threshold have respective current remote zone temperatures that vary from a normal zone temperature value by more than a temperature variation threshold, and in response to determination that the zone quantity threshold and temperature variation threshold are both exceeded, adjusting the set-point temperature of the boiler.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein adjusting the set point temperature comprises determining that the zone quantity threshold is exceeded by a group of zones having zone temperatures that exceed the normal zone temperature value by more than the temperature variation threshold, and based thereon, reducing the set-point temperature of the boiler and operating the boiler according to said reduced set point temperature.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein adjusting the set point temperature comprises determining that the zone quantity threshold is exceeded by a group of zones having zone temperatures that are lesser than the normal zone temperature value by more than the air temperature variation threshold, and based thereon, increasing the set-point temperature of the boiler and operating the boiler according to said increased set point temperature.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the remote zone temperature is a remote zone air temperature.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein the remote zone temperature is a remote zone heater temperature.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically assigning the set point temperature of the hydronic boiler comprises selecting between assignment of either a default set point temperature if an anticipated outdoor air temperature from the meteorological forecast data is equal to or less than the current outdoor air temperature, or an offset set point temperature of lesser value than the default set point temperature if the anticipated outdoor air temperature is warmer than the current outdoor air temperature.

10. A hydronic heating system comprising:

a hydronic boiler used to heat a building,

a microcomputer-based controller coupled to said hydronic boiler,

an internet connection coupled to said microcomputer-based controller,

one or more meteorological internet based HTTP web servers that that provides weather forecast information,

a hydronic boiler temperature transducer connected to said microcomputer-based controller, and

an outside temperature transducer connected to said microcomputer-based controller,

wherein said microcomputer-based controller is configured to assign a set-point temperature for the boiler based on both a current outside temperature and the weather forecast information, and to operate the boiler according to said assigned set point temperature.

11. The hydronic heating system of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of zone temperature sensors that communicate with said microcomputer-based controller.

12. The hydronic heating system of claim 11, wherein said zone temperature sensors define nodes of a mesh network by which said zone temperature sensors communicate with said microcomputer-based controller.

13. The hydronic heating system of claim 11, wherein said zone temperature sensors are configured to measure respective zone temperatures and provide said measured zone temperatures to said microcomputer-based controller, which is configured to adjust the set point temperature of the hydronic boiler based on said current remote zone temperatures.

14. The hydronic heating system of claim 13, wherein the microcomputer-based controller is configured to adjust the set point temperature of the boiler based on the measured remote zone temperatures by determining whether a quantity of remote zone temperature sensors exceeding a zone quantity threshold have respective zone temperatures that vary from a normal zone temperature value by more than a zone temperature variation threshold, and in response to determination that the zone quantity threshold and zone temperature variation threshold are both exceeded, adjust the set-point temperature of the boiler.

15. The hydronic heating system of claim 14 wherein the respective zone temperatures measured by the zone temperature sensors are zone air temperatures.

16. The hydronic heating system of claim 14 wherein the respective zone temperatures measured by the zone temperature sensors are zone heater temperatures.

17. The hydronic heating system of claim 10, further comprising at least one additional hydronic boiler and at least one respective additional microcomputer-based controller respectively connected to said at least one additional boiler.

18. The hydronic heating system of claim 17 wherein the microcomputer-based controller and the at least one additional hydronic boiler are connected through a wireless network.

19. The hydronic heating system of claim 18 wherein the wireless network is a mesh network in which respective nodes are defined the microcomputer-based controller, the at least one additional hydronic boiler, and a plurality of zone temperature sensors that communicate with said microcomputer-based controllers.

20. A hydronic heating control system comprising a microcomputer-based controller having control outputs operably connectable to a hydronic boiler of a building to control operation thereof, a network connection operably connectable to the internet to receive weather forecast information from a meteorological server, wherein said microcomputer-based controller is configured to assign a set-point temperature for the boiler based on both a current outside temperature and the weather forecast information, and operate the boiler according to said assigned set point temperature.