Methods and systems for managing air quality and energy use in air-conditioning systems

• US 9,328,936 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Enverid Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Enverid Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Meirav, Udi, Biran, Israel, Meruham, Asael
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lindsay, Bernard G
• Application Number:
  US13/738,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20130178987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,209 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/0001 for ventilation F24F11/30 takes precedence
• 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 11/38 Failure diagnosis
• 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 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/72 for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/81 by controlling the air supply to heat-exchangers or bypass channels
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/871 by controlling outdoor fans
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2011/0002 for admittance of outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/12 of the outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/22 of the outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/50 Air quality properties
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/66 Volatile organic compounds [VOC]
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/70 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/10 Occupancy
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/003 : in combination with air cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/10 : by separation, e.g. by filtering
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/108 : using dry filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/117 : using wet filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 : electric
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/20 : Air quality improvement or preservation, e.g. vehicle emission control or emission reduction by using catalytic converters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 : Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

Methods and systems for a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for an enclosed environment may be configured to at least one of heat and cool air and include an air circulation system configured to circulate air at least within the enclosed environment. The air within the enclosed environment may comprise at least the indoor air. The system may further include an outdoor air inlet for introducing at least a portion of outdoor air into the enclosed environment, where the outdoor air comprises air from outside the enclosed environment. The system may further include a scrubbing system having an adsorbent material to reduce presence of at least one gas contaminant in the indoor air. A controller system may be included for controlling the operation of at least one of the circulation system and the scrubbing system.

Claims

1. A method of operating a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for an enclosed environment, the HVAC system configured to at least one of heat and cool air and comprising:

an air circulation system configured to circulate air at least within the enclosed environment, the air within the enclosed environment comprising indoor air;

an outdoor air inlet for introducing at least a portion of outdoor air into the enclosed environment, the outdoor air being from outside the enclosed environment;

a scrubbing system including an adsorbent material to reduce presence of at least one gas contaminant in the indoor air; and

a controller system for controlling at least the operation of the outdoor air inlet and the scrubbing system, the controller system configured to include;

a scrubbing bypass mode wherein either circulated air bypasses the scrubbing system or the scrubbing system is turned off or both, the scrubbing bypass mode configured to be activated when a level of at least one gas contaminant of air exiting the scrubbing system exceeds a level of at least one gas contaminant of air entering the scrubbing system; and

one or more of at least the following operative modes;

a scrubbing mode to scrub the at least one gas contaminant from the indoor air;

a scrubber regeneration mode to regenerate the adsorbent material;

an economizer mode comprising introducing at least a portion of outdoor air into the enclosed environment via the outdoor inlet;

a standby mode, wherein neither indoor air nor outdoor air is circulated;

the method comprising;

determination of at least one of the following parameters;

an occupancy level of the enclosed environment;

a level of the at least one contaminant in the indoor air;

a level of the at least one contaminant in the adsorbent material;

a level of the at least one contaminant in air exiting the adsorbent material;

at least one of an indoor air temperature and an indoor air humidity level;

at least one of an outdoor air temperature and an outdoor air humidity level; and

at least one of a time and a date the HVAC system is operating;

and

controlling activation of the air circulation system and the scrubbing system according to the operative modes based upon the at least one parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operative mode is operated by controlling at least one of the following components of the air circulation system:

fans, dampers, shutters, valves and heaters, configured to affect flow of air or other fluids in the HVAC system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the occupancy level being at or below a predetermined number of people, or the time and date being outside of normal operating hours, the HVAC system is operated according to the standby mode or according to the scrubbing bypass mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrubber regeneration mode is activated upon the occurrence of at least one of the following:

a predetermined time of day;

following a predetermined duration of the scrubbing system operation in the scrubbing mode;

the level of the at least one gas contaminant in the adsorbent material being at or above a predetermined threshold; and

the level of the at least one contaminant in air exiting the adsorbent material being at or above a predetermined threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrubber regeneration mode is operated for a period of time according to at least one of the following:

a predetermined period of time from the start of activation of the regeneration operative mode;

the level of the at least one gas contaminant in the adsorbent material;

the level of the at least one contaminant in air exiting the adsorbent material;

the level of the at least one contaminant in the indoor air;

a predetermined period of time after the level of the at least one gas contaminate contaminant in the adsorbent material being at or below a predetermined threshold;

a predetermined period of time after the level of the at least one contaminant in air exiting the adsorbent material being at or below a predetermined threshold; and

a predetermined period of time after the level of the at least one contaminant in the indoor air being above a predetermined threshold.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the predetermined period of time is determined according to any one of:

at least one of the time and the date the HVAC system is operating; and

at least one of the outdoor air temperature and the outdoor air humidity level.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrubber regeneration mode comprises flowing a purging airflow over the adsorbent material so as to eliminate at least a portion of the at least one gas contaminant held by the adsorbent material.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the purging airflow comprises outdoor air having at least one of a temperature and a flow rate equal to or greater than a corresponding threshold value.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the scrubber regeneration mode comprises operation at a plurality of different phases, wherein a single phase is selected to operate at any one of:

a temperature of the purge air;

a duration of the purging airflow over the adsorbent material; and

flow rate of the purging airflow over the adsorbent material.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the economizer mode comprises introducing into the enclosed environment at least a portion of outdoor air to reduce the amount of recirculated indoor air required to be conditioned or treated.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the economizer mode is selected based upon a comparison between one or more of the outdoor air temperature and the humidity level relative to the corresponding one or more of temperature and humidity level of indoor air or relative to the corresponding one or more of temperature and humidity level of return air, wherein the return air is the indoor air exiting the enclosed environment.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrubbing bypass mode is activated upon the level of the at least one gas contaminant present in the indoor air being at or below a predetermined level.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the scrubbing mode is activated upon the level of the at least one gas contaminant present in the indoor air is at or greater than a predetermined level.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters further include at least one of the following:

a HVAC operation schedule, temperature, humidity, pressure, flow rate, and energy expenditure of a HVAC refrigerant, chiller, compressor and heat pump.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the level of the at least one gas contaminant in the adsorbent material is determined based on the level of the at least one gas contaminant in air exiting the scrubbing system to the level of the at least one gas contaminant in air entering the scrubbing system.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the regeneration mode is operative to eliminate at least about 35% of the at least one gas contaminant that has been adsorbed in the adsorbent material.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the scrubbing system malfunctioning, a predetermined amount of outdoor air is introduced into the enclosed environment.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the scrubbing system malfunctioning, the system provides an alert.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one gas contaminant is selected from the group consisting of:

carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxides, radon, nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the outdoor air is introduced into the enclosed environment via an inlet, said inlet being a pre-existing inlet in the enclosed environment or said inlet being installed within the HVAC system for introducing the outdoor air.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensors for receiving data from the HVAC system, the enclosed environment or the outdoor environment;

actuators or switches for controlling the scrubbing system, air circulation system or other components of the HVAC system; and

an electronic data communications system that transmits data pertaining to the sensor readings or actuators to a data storage system.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the data is at least partially delivered or stored at a remote location via a data network.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the data is at least partially transmitted over a wireless data network.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein stored data is accessed, retrieved or analyzed at different locations via the internet.

25. A system for operating a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for an enclosed environment, the HVAC system configured to at least one of heat and cool air, the system comprising:

an air circulation system configured to circulate air at least within the enclosed environment, the air within the enclosed environment comprising indoor air;

an outdoor air inlet for introducing at least a portion of outdoor air into the enclosed environment, the outdoor air being from outside the enclosed environment;

a scrubbing system including an adsorbent material to reduce presence of at least one gas contaminant in the indoor air; and

a controller system for controlling at least the operation of the outdoor air inlet and the scrubbing system, the controller system configured to include;

a scrubbing bypass mode wherein either circulated air bypasses the scrubbing system or the scrubbing system is turned off or both, the scrubbing bypass mode configured to be activated when a level of at least one gas contaminant of air exiting the scrubbing system exceeds a level of at least one gas contaminant of air entering the scrubbing system; and

one or more of at least the following operative modes;

a scrubbing mode to scrub the at least one gas contaminant from the indoor air;

a scrubber regeneration mode to regenerate the adsorbent material;

an economizer mode comprising introducing at least a portion of outdoor air into the enclosed environment via the outdoor inlet; and

a standby mode, wherein neither indoor air nor outdoor air is circulated; and

one or more of at least one sensor and at least one input for receiving information for determining at least one of the following parameters;

an occupancy level of the enclosed environment;

a level of the at least one contaminant in the indoor air;

a level of the at least one contaminant in the adsorbent material;

a level of the at least one contaminant in air exiting the adsorbent material;

at least one of an indoor air temperature and an indoor air humidity level;

at least one of an outdoor air temperature and an outdoor air humidity level; and

at least one of a time and a date the HVAC system is operating; and

wherein the controller system controls activation of the air circulation system and the scrubbing system according the operative modes based upon the at least one parameter determined by the one or more of at least one sensor and at least one input.

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising:

a return air inlet; and

a set of dampers and fans or blowers that control the amount and ratio of outdoor air, scrubbed air and return air that is recirculated, the return air being the indoor air exiting the enclosed environment.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the controller system controls the dampers, fans or blowers and utilizes sensor readings and other information to manage air circulation and supply.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein the at least one gas contaminant is selected from the group consisting of:

carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxides, radon, nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide.

29. The system of claim 25, further comprising:

actuators or switches for controlling the scrubbing system, air circulation system or other components of the HVAC system; and

an electronic data communications system that transmits data pertaining to the sensor readings or actuators to a data storage system.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the data is at least partially delivered or stored at a remote location via a data network.

31. The system of claim 29 wherein the data is at least partially transmitted over a wireless data network.

32. The system of claim 29 wherein stored data is accessed, retrieved or analyzed at different locations via the internet.

33. A digital controller system for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for an enclosed environment, the HVAC system configured to at least one of heating and cooling of air, the HVAC system comprising:

an air circulation system configured to circulate air at least within the enclosed environment, the air within the enclosed environment comprising indoor air; and

a scrubbing system including an adsorbent material to reduce presence of at least one gas contaminant in the indoor air;

the digital controller system being configured to include;

a scrubbing bypass mode wherein either circulated air bypasses the scrubbing system or the scrubbing system is turned off or both, the scrubbing bypass mode configured to be activated when a level of at least one gas contaminant of air exiting the scrubbing system exceeds a level of at least one gas contaminant of air entering the scrubbing system; and

one or more of at least the following operative modes;

a scrubbing mode to scrub the at least one gas contaminant from the indoor air;

a scrubber regeneration mode to regenerate the adsorbent material;

an economizer mode comprising introducing at least a portion of outdoor air into the enclosed environment, the outdoor air being from outside the enclosed environment; and

a standby mode, wherein neither indoor air nor outdoor air is circulated.

34. The digital controller system of claim 33 wherein the digital controller system is configured to receive information for at least one of the following parameters:

an occupancy level of the enclosed environment;

a level of the at least one contaminant in the indoor air;

a level of the at least one contaminant in the adsorbent material;

a level of the at least one contaminant in air exiting the adsorbent material;

at least one of an indoor air temperature and an indoor air humidity level;

at least one of an outdoor air temperature and an outdoor air humidity level; and

at least one of a time and a date the HVAC system is operating.

35. The controller system of claim 33 wherein the controller system controls activation of the air circulation system and the scrubbing system according to at least the operative modes based upon one or more of the parameters.

36. A system for recording and transmitting data on the operation of a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system for an enclosed environment, the HVAC system configured to at least one of heating and cooling of air, the HVAC system comprising:

an air circulation system configured to circulate air at least within the enclosed environment, the air within the enclosed environment comprising indoor air; and

a scrubbing system including an adsorbent material to reduce presence of at least one gas contaminant in the indoor air, the scrubbing system configured to operate in a scrubbing bypass mode that is activated when a level of at least one gas contaminant of air exiting the scrubbing system exceeds a level of at least one gas contaminant of air entering the scrubbing system;

sensors for receiving data from the HVAC system, the enclosed environment or the outdoor environment;

actuators or switches for controlling the scrubbing system or the air circulation system; and

an electronic data communications system that transmits data pertaining to the sensor readings or actuators to a data storage system.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the data is at least partially delivered or stored at a remote location via a data network.

38. The system of claim 36 wherein the data is at least partially transmitted over a wireless data network.

39. The system of claim 36 wherein the stored data is accessed, retrieved or analyzed at different locations via the internet.