Room temperature control apparatus having feedforward and feedback control and method
First Claim
1. A controller for controlling the temperature within a room in a building having at least one space adjacent to the room, the building having a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system with a supply duct adapted to supply air to the room and a general exhaust duct adapted to exhaust air from the room, the system having local component for controlling the supply air flow into the room, the room having at least one additional exhaust independent of the HVAC system, said apparatus comprising:
- a feedforward means for generating a feedforward control signal based on a desired temperature and flow set points in the supply duct, the flow into and out of the room, the flow set point in the general exhaust duct, and based on identifying characteristics of the component and calculated system variables;
a feedback means for generating a feedback control signal based on measured system variables; and
means for combining the feedforward control signal and the feedback control signal to achieve control of the local component.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A controller for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning distribution systems, which includes feedforward and feedback control strategies. The controller has a feedforward control strategy that generates a control signal based on control set points and identified characteristics of the system, and which adaptively adjusts such set points based on changes that are measured with respect to the identified characteristics. The controller is particularly adapted for controlling the temperature during a heating or cooling operation in a controlled space.
63 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A controller for controlling the temperature within a room in a building having at least one space adjacent to the room, the building having a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system with a supply duct adapted to supply air to the room and a general exhaust duct adapted to exhaust air from the room, the system having local component for controlling the supply air flow into the room, the room having at least one additional exhaust independent of the HVAC system, said apparatus comprising:
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a feedforward means for generating a feedforward control signal based on a desired temperature and flow set points in the supply duct, the flow into and out of the room, the flow set point in the general exhaust duct, and based on identifying characteristics of the component and calculated system variables; a feedback means for generating a feedback control signal based on measured system variables; and means for combining the feedforward control signal and the feedback control signal to achieve control of the local component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A controller for controlling a component of a building heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) fluid distribution system that affects at least one of the temperature and pressure of the air in a particular room, the room having an air supply duct and at least one general air exhaust duct, the controller being adapted to control the air temperature at a predetermined value and to control the air flow into and out of the room to maintain a predetermined differential pressure relative to an adjacent space in the building, the controller comprising:
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an identification means for periodically producing identified characteristics of the component to be controlled; a feedforward means, coupled to the identification means, for generating a feedforward control signal based on control set points and the identified characteristics of the component, said control set points being determined to be those which maintain the heat energy entering the room substantially equal to the heat energy being exhausted from the room and the mass of the air entering the room substantially equal to the mass of the air being exhausted from the room; a feedback means for generating a feedback control signal based on measured system variables; and means for combining the feedforward control signal and the feedback control signal to achieve control of the local component. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of determining the flow rate of water through a coil located in a supply air duct to a room of a building, the room also having an exhaust duct, and means for measuring the temperature of the air in the supply duct and in the exhaust duct, and means for measuring the temperature of the coil outlet water temperature, comprising the steps of:
- measuring the temperature of the water (Tf,o) at the outlet of the coil;
measuring the temperature of the air (Ta,i) in the supply air duct; measuring the temperature of the air (Ta,o) in the exhaust air duct; and
,calculating the water flow rate (ν
f) utilizing the equation;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">ν
.sub.f =k ν
.sub.s (T.sub.a,o -T.sub.a,i)/(T.sub.f,i -T.sub.f,o)where k is a constant and a ratio of the products of the mass-capacitance of air and water.
- measuring the temperature of the water (Tf,o) at the outlet of the coil;
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23. A method of determining the value of a control signal in a controller for controlling the outlet air temperature from an air supply duct to a room, the air supply duct being part of an HVAC system of a building, the air duct having a heating coil adapted to heat the air moving through the duct and a flow valve for controlling the flow of hot water through the heating coil, the controller being of the type which has an identification means for periodically producing identified characteristics of the heating coil and valve and means for measuring the temperature of the air at the outlet of the duct, means for measuring the air flow rate through the duct and means for measuring the water pressure across the valve and in the system in which the valve is connected, the control signal being based on control set points and the identified characteristics of the heating coil and valve, said method comprising:
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activating said identification means to determine the effectiveness of the coil in transferring heat to the air flowing through the duct; utilizing said coil characteristic to yield a desired water flow rate through the heating coil for a given measured duct outlet air temperature and air flow rate; measuring the pressure drop across the valve to the overall pressure drop in the system when the valve is fully open and determining the ratio of the former to the latter to derive the authority value for the valve; generating said control signal as a function of the water flow rate and the valve authority. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A method of determining the thermal load of a room in a building having a heating, ventilating and air conditioning system, the room having a supply air duct for supplying air to the room and at least one exhaust duct for exhausting air from the room, the amount of air being supplied to the room being approximately equal to the amount of air being exhausted from the room so that the air pressure in the room remains relatively constant, comprising
determining the room temperature using a temperature sensor; -
determining the supply flow rate at a predetermined time step t-1; determining the room exhaust flow rate at a successive time step t; determining the infiltration air flow rate; and solving the equation
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">q.sub.load|ss =ν
.sub.e,(t-1) ρ
c.sub.p T.sub.(t-1) -ν
.sub.s,(t-1) ρ
c.sub.p T.sub.s -ν
.sub.ad|sp ρ
c.sub.p T.sub.adwhere
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">ν
.sub.e =ν
.sub.s,(t-1) +ν
.sub.ad|spand ν
ad|sp is the infiltration flow rate set point, and is determined by the equation;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">ν
.sub.ad|sp =K.sub.l (Δ
P.sub.|sp).sup.nwhere
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Δ
p.sub.|sp =P.sub.ref|sp -P|sp. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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Specification