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Distributed HVAC system cost optimization

  • US 9,741,082 B2
  • Filed: 03/10/2014
  • Issued: 08/22/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:

  • storing, in a memory device of a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) plant controller designated as a master controller of an HVAC system including at least one other HVAC unit having a controller designated as a slave controller, variables of the HVAC plant that can be manipulated and within what limits and a model of costs and behavior of the HVAC plant with regard to the HVAC plant variables that can be manipulated;

    identifying, through execution of instructions on at least one processor of the HVAC plant controller based on the HVAC plant model of costs and behavior stored in the memory device, a set of at least one variable movement and a cost benefit to the HVAC plant associated with the set;

    transmitting, via a network interface device of the HVAC plant controller, data representative of the identified set to each slave controller;

    receiving, from each of the slave controllers via the network interface device, at least data representative of a marginal cost difference associated with the identified set;

    based on the identified cost benefit to the HVAC plant and the data received from each slave controller representative of the marginal cost difference associated with the identified set, determining whether the set would provide a cost benefit that at least meets a threshold parameter arid;

    when the set provides a cost benefit that at least meets the threshold parameter, implementing the set on the HVAC plant; and

    when the set does not provide a cost benefit that at least meets the threshold parameter, restarting the method taking into account the set and other sets that do not provide a cost benefit that at least meet the threshold parameter; and

    wherein;

    identifying the set and the cost benefit to the HVAC plant associated with the set includes identifying a plurality of sets of at least one variable movement and a respective cost benefit to the HVAC plant associated with the respective sets;

    transmitting data representative of the identified set of at least one variable movement to each slave controller includes transmitting each of the plurality of sets;

    receiving at least data representative of the marginal cost difference associated with the identified set includes receiving data representative of the marginal cost difference with regard to each of the sets; and

    determining whether the set would provide a cost benefit that at least meets a threshold parameter includes;

    selecting a set from the plurality of sets of that provides a greatest cost benefit; and

    for the selected set that provides the greatest cost benefit, determining whether the selected set would provide a cost benefit that at least meets the threshold parameter.

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