Load control system having an energy savings mode

• US 8,666,555 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2010
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Lutron Electronics Company Incorporated (Lutron Electronics)
• Inventors: Altonen, Gregory, Fricke, William Bryce, Jacoby, Elliot G., Pessina, Michael W., Zaharchuk, Walter S., Spira, Joel S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US12/845,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20110029136A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 700/275, 700/302, 362/276, 362/277, 160/5, 160/7, 256/203.4
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/68 Operating devices or mechanisms, e.g. with electric drive
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/192 using a modification of the thermal impedance between a source and the load
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A load control system for a building having a heating and cooling system and a window located in a space of the building uses a daylighting procedure to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load in response to the amount of daylight entering the window, and controls amount of daylight entering the window in order to attempt to reduce the power consumption of the heating and cooling system if the daylighting procedure is not causing the heating and cooling system to save energy. If the lighting load is consuming more energy when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at a position above the fully-closed position than the lighting load would consume if the fabric was at the fully-closed position, the motorized window treatment moves the fabric to the fully-closed position.

Claims

1. A load control system for a building having a lighting load and a window located in a space of the building, the load control system comprising:

a lighting control device for controlling a present intensity of the lighting load, the present intensity representative of the amount of power delivered to the lighting load;

a motorized window treatment comprising a window treatment fabric for covering the window, the motorized window treatment operable to move the fabric between a fully-open position in which the window is not covered and a fully-closed position in which the window is covered;

a daylight sensor for measuring an ambient light intensity in the space; and

a controller operable to control the motorized window treatment to move the fabric to a position above the fully-closed position, the controller operable to control the lighting control device so as to adjust the present intensity of the lighting load in response to the ambient light intensity in the space as determined by the daylight sensor;

wherein the controller is operable to determine the amount of power consumed by the lighting load based on the present intensity of the lighting load when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the position above the fully-closed position, and to determine if the lighting load is consuming less energy at the present intensity than the lighting load would consume if the fabric was at the fully-closed position, the motorized window treatment operable to move the fabric to the fully-closed position if the lighting load is not consuming less energy when the fabric is at the position above the fully-closed position.

2. The load control system of claim 1, wherein the load control system is responsive to a demand response command, the controller operable to control the motorized window treatment to move the fabric to the position above the fully-closed position in response to the demand response command.

3. The load control system of claim 2, further comprising:

an occupancy sensor for detecting whether the space is occupied or unoccupied;

wherein the controller is operable to control the motorized window treatment to move the fabric to the position above the fully-closed position in response to the demand response command when the space is occupied.

4. The load control system of claim 3, wherein the motorized window treatment is operable to move the fabric to the position above the fully-closed position in response to the demand response command when the room is occupied, the heating and cooling system is cooling the building, and when a calculated position of the sun indicates that the window is receiving direct sunlight.

5. The load control system of claim 4, wherein the controller operable to determine whether the window is receiving direct sunlight in response to the present time of the day.

6. The load control system of claim 5, wherein the controller is operable to determine whether the window is receiving direct sunlight using the longitude and latitude of the location of the building and an angle of a faç

ade in which the window is located with respect to true north.

7. The load control system of claim 3, wherein the motorized window treatment is operable to move the fabric according to a predetermined timeclock schedule to move the fabric to the position above the fully-closed position.

8. The load control system of claim 7, wherein the motorized window treatment is operable to move the fabric according to the predetermined timeclock schedule in order to limit a sunlight penetration depth in the space to a maximum penetration depth.

9. The load control system of claim 2, wherein the controller is operable to receive the demand response command and to transmit digital messages to the lighting control device and the motorized window treatment in response to receiving the demand response command.

10. The load control system of claim 2, further comprising:

a temperature control device for controlling a setpoint temperature of a heating and cooling system of the building to thus control a present temperature in the building;

wherein, when the heating and cooling system is heating the building, the motorized window treatment is operable to move the fabric to the fully-closed position if the lighting load is consuming more energy when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the position above the fully-closed position.

11. The load control system of claim 2, wherein, when a calculated position of the sun indicates that there is not direct sunlight on the window, the motorized window treatment is operable to move the fabric to the fully-closed position if the lighting load is not consuming less energy when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the position above the fully-closed position.

12. The load control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is operable to increase the present intensity of the lighting load if the ambient light intensity in the space is less than a setpoint intensity, and to decrease the present intensity of the lighting load if the ambient light intensity in the space is greater than the setpoint intensity.

13. A method of controlling a total light level in a space of a building, the building having a lighting load and a window located in the space, the method comprising:

controlling a motorized window treatment having a window treatment fabric for covering the window to move the fabric between a fully-open position in which the window is not covered and a fully-closed position in which the window is covered;

moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment to a position above the fully-closed position;

measuring an ambient light intensity in the space;

adjusting a present intensity of the lighting load in response to the ambient light intensity in the space, the present intensity representative of the amount of power delivered to the lighting load;

determining the amount of power delivered to the light load based on the present intensity of the lighting load when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the postion above the fully-closed position;

determining if the lighting load is consuming less energy when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the position above the fully-closed position than the lighting load would consume if the fabric was at the fully-closed position; and

moving the fabric to the fully-closed position if the lighting load is not consuming less energy when the fabric is at the position above the fully-closed position.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a demand response command;

wherein moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment to a position above the fully-closed position further comprises moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment to a position above the fully-closed position in response to receiving the demand response command.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment to a position above the fully-closed position further comprises moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment according to a predetermined timeclock schedule in response to receiving the demand response command when the space is occupied and a calculated position of the sun indicates that the window is not receiving direct sunlight.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment according to a predetermined timeclock schedule further comprises moving the fabric in order to limit a sunlight penetration depth in the space to a maximum penetration depth.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

detecting whether the space is occupied or unoccupied; and

determining if a calculated position of the sun indicates that the window is receiving direct sunlight;

wherein moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment to a position above the fully-closed position further comprises moving the fabric of the motorized window treatment to a position above the fully-closed position in response to receiving the demand response command when the space is occupied and the window is not receiving direct sunlight.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the amount of power delivered to the lighting load in response to the ambient light intensity in the space further comprises:

increasing the present intensity of the lighting load if the ambient light intensity in the space is less than a setpoint intensity; and

decreasing the present intensity of the lighting load if the ambient light intensity in the space is greater than the setpoint intensity.

19. A load control system for a building having a lighting load and a window located in a space of the building, the load control system comprising:

a lighting control device for controlling a present intensity of the lighting load, the present intensity representative of the amount of power delivered to the lighting load;

a motorized window treatment comprising a window treatment fabric for covering the window, the motorized window treatment operable to move the fabric between a fully-open position in which the window is not covered and a fully-closed position in which the window is covered;

a daylight sensor for measuring an ambient light intensity in the space; and

a controller operable to control the motorized window treatment to move the fabric to a position above the fully-closed position, the controller operable to use a daylighting procedure to adjust the present intensity of the lighting load in response to the ambient light intensity in the space as determined by the daylight sensor;

wherein the controller is operable to determine the amount of power consumed by the lighting load based on the present intensity when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the position above the fully-closed position and to cause the motorized window treatment to move the fabric to the fully-closed position if the daylighting procedure is not causing the lighting control device to save energy.

20. The load control system of claim 19, wherein the controller is operable to determine if the lighting load is consuming less energy when the fabric of the motorized window treatment is at the position above the fully-closed position than the lighting load would consume if the fabric was at the fully-closed position, the motorized window treatment operable to move the fabric to the fully-closed position if the lighting load is consuming more energy when the fabric is at the position above the fully-closed position.