Method and System to Control Thermostat Using Biofeedback

• US 20140207292A1
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Published: 07/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Opower, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Opower, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Ramagem, Daniel Bloomfield, Yeshua, Oren Benjamin, Hsiung, Crystal, Spradlin, Justin, Lin, Wayne
• Granted Patent: US 10,067,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/278
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1902 characterised by the use of a variable reference value

Abstract

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods and systems for receiving physiological data of occupants of a building and using the information to control or regulate a controllable setpoint of a climate-control system for the building. The system may operatively interface with biofeedback sensors including wearable sensors and mountable sensors placed within a controlled space within the building. The system may adjust the controllable setpoint of the climate-control system based on a comfort metric associated with at least one of the occupant of the building, the comfort metric derived from the biofeedback data.

Claims

1. A thermostat comprising:

a communication port configured to interface with a climate-control system of a building; and

a controller configured to establish, via the communication port, at least one control setpoint of the climate-control system, the control setpoint associated with at least one of temperature, humidity, and ventilation of a controlled space in the building,

the controller establishing the control setpoint for an activity state of at least one occupant in the building, the control setpoint determined from biofeedback data associated with the occupant.

2. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint is established at a lower energy usage state for the climate-control system in a manner that does not affect the activity state of the occupant.

3. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint is established at a higher energy usage state for the climate-control system in a manner to improve an activity state of the occupant.

4. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint is established at a lower energy usage state for the climate-control system by i) determining at least one of a comfort threshold and a discomfort threshold from the biofeedback data, and ii) establishing the control setpoint as a pre-determined offset from the at least one of the comfort threshold and the discomfort threshold.

5. The thermostat according to claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to operate an experiment routine, the experiment routine being configured to stimulate varying-biofeedback responses of the at least one occupant, and

the experiment routine includes the controller varying the control setpoint according to a set of pre-determined routine.

6. The thermostat according to claim 5, wherein the thermostat further comprises:

a memory to store a set of pre-determined routines.

7. The thermostat according to claim 5, wherein the experiment routine operates during a sleeping period of the at least one occupant.

8. The thermostat according to claim 5, wherein the experiment routine is initiated by at least one of:

(i) the thermostat receiving a manual input from an occupant indicating an on-set of the sleeping period, and

(ii) the controller determining the at least one occupant being in a sleep state based on physiological state of the at least one occupant derived from the biofeedback data.

9. The thermostat according to claim 5, wherein

the communication port is further configured to interface with an external database, and

the controller is configured to receive, from the external database, biofeedback data of a plurality of biofeedback sensors, including at least one of a wearable biofeedback sensor wore by an occupant of the building and a mountable biofeedback sensor mounted within the controlled space.

10. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein

the communication port is further configured to interface with an external database, and

the controller is configured to receive, from the external database, the control setpoint determined from the biofeedback data.

11. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the controller, via the communication port, communicates to a processing unit interfaces across a network,

the controller receiving the control setpoint from the processing unit.

12. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the controlled space includes at least one of a room associated with sleeping and a room associated exercising.

13. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint determined from the biofeedback data is acquired from a wearable biofeedback sensor including at least one of an accelerometer, a pedometer, an electromyograph, an electrodermograph, an electroencephalograph, a photoplethysmograph, an electrocardiograph, a pneumograph, a capnometer, a pheoencephalograph, and a hemoencephalograph.

14. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint determined from the biofeedback data is acquired from a mountable biofeedback sensor including at least one of a motion sensor, a proximity sensor, and a microphone.

15. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the biofeedback data includes information associated with movements of the occupant.

16. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the biofeedback data includes information associated with quality of sleep of the occupant.

17. The thermostat according to claim 16, wherein the controller adjusts the control setpoint based upon a determined stage of sleep derived from the biofeedback data.

18. The thermostat according to claim 16, wherein the controller establishes the control setpoint in a manner that quality of sleep of the occupant remains unchanged.

19. The thermostat according to claim 16, wherein the biofeedback data includes datasets from a plurality of nights.

20. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the controller adjusts the control setpoint by lowering temperature setpoint associated with the controlled space when the occupant therein is exercising, the control setpoint being lowered in a manner that the body temperature of the at least one occupant remains generally constant.

21. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint is determined using information of the occupant associated with body-mass-index, weight, and percent body fat.

22. The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the control setpoint is determined from the biofeedback data by balancing the energy usage of the climate-control system and a comfort metric derived from the biofeedback data.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein establishing the control setpoint includes lowering a temperature setpoint associated with the controlled space when the occupant of the controlled space is asleep in a manner that physiological responses of the occupant remain unchanged, the physiological responses being associated with the quality of sleep of the occupant derived from the biofeedback data.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the control setpoint are determined by correlating the biofeedback data to at least one of the control setpoint and climate information at respective time intervals, the correlation including using at least one of linear regression, logistic regression, dynamic programming, Hidden Markov Models, Monte Carlo Methods, and Expectation/Maximization optimization techniques.

23. A method of controlling a climate-control system in a building, the climate-control system having a control setpoint associated with at least one of temperature, humidity, and ventilation of a controlled space in the building, the method comprising:

receiving biofeedback data from a plurality of biofeedback sensors to monitor the least one occupant, at least one of the plurality of biofeedback sensors including at least one of a wearable biofeedback sensor wore by at least one occupant of the building and a mountable biofeedback sensor mounted within the controlled space;

determining, via a processor, a control setpoint for an activity state of the at least one occupant, the control setpoint determined from the biofeedback data; and

causing the establishing of the control setpoint for the climate-control system for a portion of the controlled space using the determined control setpoint.

26. A computer program product, which is stored on a machine-readable medium, or computer data signal, embodied by an electromagnetic wave, comprising program code for carrying out a method of controlling a climate-control system of a residential building, the climate-control system having a control setpoint associated with at least one of temperature, humidity, and ventilation of a controlled space in the residential building, the computer program product comprising:

computer code to receive, via a communication port, biofeedback data from a plurality of biofeedback sensors, at least one of the plurality of biofeedback sensor including a wearable biofeedback sensor wore by an occupant of the residential building and a mountable biofeedback sensor mounted within the controlled space;

computer code to determine, via a processor, a control setpoint for an activity state of the at least one occupant, the control setpoint determined from the biofeedback data; and

computer code to cause the establishing of the control setpoint for a portion of the controlled space using the determined control setpoint.

27. A method of controlling a climate-control system in a building, the climate-control system having a control setpoint associated with at least one of temperature, humidity, and ventilation of a controlled space in the building, the method comprising:

receiving calculated control setpoint for the climate-control system via a communication port; and

establishing a control setpoint of the climate-control system using the received calculated control setpoint,

wherein the calculated control setpoint is determined from biofeedback data associated with an occupant in the controlled space.