Control unit with automatic setback capability
First Claim
1. A method for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure comprising:
- controlling temperature within the conditioned enclosure according to a setpoint temperature, an initial value of the setpoint temperature being from a preexisting schedule and representing a temperature suitable for when one or more persons are occupying the conditioned enclosure;
periodically determining occupancy based on data received from one or more occupancy sensors adapted to detect occupancy within the conditioned enclosure;
periodically updating the setpoint temperature upon expiration of a predetermined time interval during which no occupancy has been detected, the updated setpoint temperature requiring substantially less energy to maintain than the initial value of the setpoint temperature; and
periodically modifying the predetermined time interval based at least in part on received manual settings that indicate occupancy following the updating the setpoint temperature.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure such as a dwelling are described that include an “auto-away” and/or “auto-arrival” feature for detecting unexpected absences which provide opportunities for significant energy savings through automatic adjustment of the setpoint temperature. According to some preferred embodiments, when no occupancy has been detected for a minimum time interval, an “auto-away” feature triggers a changes of the state of the enclosure, and the actual operating setpoint temperature is changed to a predetermined energy-saving away-state temperature, regardless of the setpoint temperature indicated by the normal thermostat schedule. The purpose of the “auto away” feature is to avoid unnecessary heating or cooling when there are no occupants present to actually experience or enjoy the comfort settings of the schedule, thereby saving energy.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure comprising:
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controlling temperature within the conditioned enclosure according to a setpoint temperature, an initial value of the setpoint temperature being from a preexisting schedule and representing a temperature suitable for when one or more persons are occupying the conditioned enclosure; periodically determining occupancy based on data received from one or more occupancy sensors adapted to detect occupancy within the conditioned enclosure; periodically updating the setpoint temperature upon expiration of a predetermined time interval during which no occupancy has been detected, the updated setpoint temperature requiring substantially less energy to maintain than the initial value of the setpoint temperature; and periodically modifying the predetermined time interval based at least in part on received manual settings that indicate occupancy following the updating the setpoint temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure comprising:
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controlling temperature within the conditioned enclosure according to a setpoint temperature, an initial value of the setpoint temperature being from a preexisting schedule and representing a temperature suitable for when one or more persons are occupying the conditioned enclosure; periodically determining occupancy based on data received from one or more occupancy sensors adapted to detect occupancy within the conditioned enclosure; periodically updating the setpoint temperature upon expiration of a predetermined time interval during which no occupancy has been detected, the updated setpoint temperature requiring substantially less energy to maintain than the initial value of the setpoint temperature; and periodically modifying the predetermined time interval based at least in part on prior received data and prior automatic changes of the setpoint temperature in the conditioned enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. A system for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure comprising:
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a thermostat that controls a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the conditioned enclosure and that classifies the conditioned enclosure at least as being in an occupied state or an unoccupied state, the thermostat comprising; an occupancy sensor for detecting occupancy within the conditioned enclosure, and a memory that stores; occupancy history information from the occupancy sensor; a local flag having a value based on the occupancy history information being consistent with the conditioned enclosure being unoccupied; and one or more peer flags having values that correspond to local flags stored by one or more peer thermostats, each of the peer flags being updateable to reflect a value of a local flag of a respective one of the peer thermostats; and wherein the thermostat; updates the local flag at least according to information from the occupancy sensor; receives information of the values of the local flags of the one or more peer thermostats to update the peer flags; classifies the conditioned enclosure in the unoccupied state when the value of the local flag and values of all of the peer flags reflect that the occupancy history information of the thermostat and all of the peer thermostats is consistent with the conditioned enclosure being unoccupied; and controls the temperature in the conditioned enclosure according to a first schedule when the conditioned enclosure is classified in the occupied state, and according to a second schedule when the conditioned enclosure is classified in the unoccupied state. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure comprising:
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controlling a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system for the conditioned enclosure with a thermostat that comprises; an occupancy sensor for detecting occupancy within the conditioned enclosure; a processing system; and memory that stores; occupancy history information from the occupancy sensor; a local flag having a value based on the occupancy history information being consistent with the conditioned enclosure being unoccupied; and one or more peer flags having values that correspond to local flags stored by one or more peer thermostats, each of the peer flags being updateable to reflect a value of a local flag of a respective one of the peer thermostats; updating the local flag at least according to information from the occupancy sensor; updating the peer flags according to received information of the values of the local flags of the one or more peer thermostats; classifying the conditioned enclosure, by the processing system, in the unoccupied state when the value of the local flag and values of all of the peer flags reflect that the occupancy history information of the thermostat and all of the peer thermostats is consistent with the conditioned enclosure being unoccupied; and controlling the temperature in the conditioned enclosure, by the processing system, according to a first schedule when the conditioned enclosure is classified in the occupied state, and according to a second schedule when the conditioned enclosure is classified in the unoccupied state. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification