USER CONTROL DEVICE AND MULTI-FUNCTION HOME CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 20170234562A1
• Filed: 05/03/2017
• Published: 08/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Ribbich, Joseph R., Ajax, Michael J., Holland, Scott T., Park, Youngchoon, Kornacki, Michael F., Mejia, Maria L.
• Granted Patent: US 10,677,484 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 11/47 Responding to energy costs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/523 for displaying temperature data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/526 giving audible indications
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/61 using timers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/86 by controlling compressors within refrigeration or heat pump circuits
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/12 of the outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2120/00 Control inputs relating to users or occupants
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2130/00 Control inputs relating to environmental factors not covered by group F24F2110/00
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2130/10 Weather information or forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/048 Monitoring; Safety
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1923 using thermal energy, the cost of which varies in function of time
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1934 : each space being provided with one sensor acting on one or more control means
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 : Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 : via wireless transmission

Abstract

A system for a plurality of thermostats each located in a different building in a neighborhood. Each thermostat includes a processing circuit configured to receive one or more assigned operating time slots from an analytics service and operate building equipment associated with the thermostat based on the one or more assigned operating time slots. The system further includes the analytics service. The analytics service includes a processing circuit configured to receive weather forecast data from a weather service and predict a period of time during which an energy usage peak will occur for the plurality of buildings based on the weather forecast data, determine the one or more operating time slots based on the period of time, assign the one or more operating time slots to each of the plurality of thermostats, and send the one or more assigned operating time slots to the plurality of thermostats.

Claims

1. A system for a plurality of thermostats each located in a different building in a neighborhood, the system comprising:

a plurality of thermostats, wherein each thermostat comprises a processing circuit configured to;

receive one or more assigned operating time slots from an analytics service; and

operate building equipment associated with the thermostat based on the one or more assigned operating time slots;

the analytics service, wherein the analytics service comprises a processing circuit configured to;

receive weather forecast data from a weather service and predict a period of time during which an energy usage peak will occur for the plurality of buildings based on the weather forecast data;

determine the one or more operating time slots based on the period of time;

assign the one or more operating time slots to each of the plurality of thermostats; and

send the one or more assigned operating time slots to the plurality of thermostats.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit of each thermostats is configured to:

receive a temperature setpoint from the analytics service; and

control the building equipment associated with the thermostat to cause a building that the thermostats is located in to reach the temperature setpoint; and

wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to;

determine the temperature setpoint based on the weather forecast data and utility pricing data; and

send the temperature setpoint to the plurality of thermostats.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the processing circuit of each of the thermostats is configured to:

control the building equipment associated with the thermostat to cause the building that the thermostat is located in to reach the temperature setpoint only during the assigned one or more operating slots during the time period.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to:

divide the period of time into the one or more operating time slots based on the number of the plurality of thermostats; and

pseudo-randomly assign each of the plurality of thermostats to one or more of the one or more time slots.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to determine the period of time that an energy usage peak may occur based on the weather forecast data indicating ambient outdoor temperatures being above a predefined amount or below a predefined amount in a geographic area that the plurality of thermostats are located.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit of each thermostat is configured to:

send energy usage data to the analytics service; and

receive energy metrics from the analytics service and cause a user interface to display the energy usage metrics, wherein the energy usage metrics comprise an average energy usage metric, a maximum energy user associated with one of the thermostats, and a minimum energy user associated with one of the plurality of thermostats; and

wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to;

determine, based on the energy usage data received from the plurality of thermostats, the energy metrics; and

send the energy metrics to each of the plurality of thermostats.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to:

determine, based on the energy usage data, the average energy usage metric by performing an average with the energy usage data;

determine, based on the energy usage data, a maximum energy user by determining a user associated with one of the plurality of thermostats that is associated with energy usage data that indicates a highest energy usage as compared to the plurality of thermostats; and

determine, based on the energy usage data, a minimum energy user by determining a user associated with one of the plurality of thermostats that is associated with energy usage data that indicates a lowest energy usage as compared to the plurality of thermostats.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of thermostats are configured to communicate directly to a cellular tower via a communications interface to access the Internet, wherein the processing circuit of each of the thermostats is configured to:

communicate to the analytics service via the Internet; and

act as a router for the building that each of the thermostats are located based on the connection to the Internet via the cellular tower.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein the processing circuit of the first thermostat is configured to:

determine, based on the energy usage data, the average energy usage metric by performing an average with the energy usage data;

determine, based on the energy usage data, a maximum energy user by determining a user associated with one of the plurality of thermostats that is associated with energy usage data that indicates a highest energy usage as compared to the plurality of thermostats; and

determine, based on the energy usage data, a minimum energy user by determining a user associated with one of the plurality of thermostats that is associated with energy usage data that indicates a lowest energy usage as compared to the plurality of thermostats.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of thermostats are configured to communicate directly to a cellular tower via a communications interface to access the Internet, wherein the processing circuit of each of the thermostats is configured to:

communicate to the first thermostat via the Internet; and

act as a router for the building that each of the thermostats are located based on the connection to the Internet via the cellular tower.

9. A system for a plurality of thermostats each located in a different building in a neighborhood, the system comprising:

a plurality of thermostats, wherein each thermostat comprises a processing circuit, configured to;

receive one or more assigned operating time slots from a first thermostat; and

operate building equipment associated with the thermostat based on the one or more assigned operating time slots;

the first thermostat of the plurality of thermostats configured to act as an analytics service, wherein the processing circuit of the first thermostat is configured to;

receive weather forecast data from a weather service and predict a period of time during which an energy usage peak will occur for the plurality of buildings based on the weather forecast data;

divide the period of time into the one or more operating time slots based on the number of the plurality of thermostats; and

pseudo-randomly assign each of the plurality of thermostats to one of the one or more time slots; and

send the one or more assigned operating time slots to the plurality of thermostats.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing circuit of each of the plurality of thermostats is configured to:

receive a temperature setpoint from the analytics service; and

control the building equipment associated with the thermostat to cause a building that the thermostat is located in to reach the temperature setpoint; and

wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to;

determine the temperature setpoint based on the weather forecast data and utility pricing data; and

send the temperature setpoint to the plurality of thermostats.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuit of each of the plurality of thermostats is configured to:

control the building equipment associated with the thermostats to cause the building that the thermostat is located in to reach the temperature setpoint only during the assigned one or more operating slots during the period of time.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing circuit of the first thermostat is configured to determine the period of time that an energy usage peak may occur based on the weather forecast data indicating ambient outdoor temperatures being above a predefined amount or below a predefined amount in a geographic area that the plurality of thermostats are located.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing circuit of each thermostat is configured to:

send energy usage data to the first thermostat; and

receive energy metrics from the first thermostat and cause a user interface to display the energy usage metrics, wherein the energy usage metrics comprise an average energy usage metric, a maximum energy user associated with one of the thermostats, and a minimum energy user associated with one of the plurality of thermostats; and

wherein the processing circuit of the analytics service is configured to;

determine, based on the energy usage data received from the plurality of thermostats, the energy metrics; and

send the energy metrics to each of the plurality of thermostats.

16. A energy usage regulation method for a plurality of thermostats each located in a different building in a neighborhood, the method comprising:

receiving, by each of the plurality of thermostats, one or more assigned operating time slots from an analytics service;

operating, by each of the plurality of thermostats, building equipment associated with the thermostat based on the one or more assigned operating time slots;

receiving, by the analytics service, weather forecast data from a weather service and predicting, by the analytics service, a period of time during which an energy usage peak will occur for the plurality of buildings based on the weather forecast data;

determining, by the analytics service, the one or more operating time slots based on the period of time;

assigning, by the analytics service, the one or more operating time slots to each of the plurality of thermostats; and

sending, by the analytics service, the one or more assigned operating time slots to the plurality of thermostats.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprising:

receiving, by each of the plurality of thermostats, a temperature setpoint from the analytics service;

controlling, by each of the plurality of thermostats, the building equipment associated with the thermostat to cause a building that the one of the plurality of thermostats is located in to reach the temperature setpoint;

determining, by the analytics service, the temperature setpoint based on the weather forecast data and utility pricing data; and

sending, by the analytics service, the temperature setpoint to the plurality of thermostats.

18. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising:

controlling, by each of the plurality of thermostats, the building equipment associated with the thermostat to cause the building that the thermostat is located in to reach the temperature setpoint only during the assigned one or more operating slots during the time period.

19. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising:

dividing, by the analytics service, the period of time into the one or more operating time slots based on the number of the plurality of thermostats; and

pseudo-randomly assigning, by the analytics service, each of the plurality of thermostats to one of the one or more time slots.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprising determining, by the analytics service, the period of time that an energy usage peak may occur based on the weather forecast data indicating ambient outdoor temperatures being above a predefined amount or below a predefined amount in a geographic area that the plurality of thermostats are located.