REMOTELY TESTING WHETHER A CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM CONTROLLER IS CORRECTLY INSTALLED

Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of apparatus and methods for remote testing of controllers such as thermostats, to detect incorrect climate control system configuration parameters . In an exemplary embodiment, a computer wirelessly connects with a remote thermostat and sends signal (s) to the thermostat instructing the thermostat to perform climate control function (s) in predefined sequence (s). The computer receives signal (s) from the thermostat indicating whether the thermostat is performing the climate control function (s) in accordance with the sent signal (s). Based on the signal (s) received from the thermostat, the computer determines whether the thermostat is configured with accurate climate control system configuration parameters

HVAC SYSTEM REMOTE MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF REFRIGERANT LINE OBSTRUCTION

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building includes a refrigerant loop. A monitoring system for the HVAC system includes a monitoring device installed at the building. The monitoring device is configured to measure a first temperature of refrigerant in a refrigerant line located between a filter - drier of the refrigerant loop and an expansion valve of the refrigerant loop. The monitoring system includes a monitoring server, located remotely from the building. The monitoring server is con figured to receive the first temperature and, in response to the first temperature being less than a threshold, generate a refrigerant line restriction advisory. The monitoring server is configured to, in response to the refrigerant line restriction advisory, selectively generate an alert for transmission to at least one of a customer and an HVAC contractor

HVAC SYSTEM AIR FILTER DIAGNOSTICS AND MONITORING

A system and method for monitoring a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building is provided. A monitoring server, located remotely from the building, receives operating parameter data from a monitoring device at the building that measures an operating parameter of the HVAC system. The monitoring server generates a plurality of data clusters from the operating parameter data, each data cluster corresponding to operating parameter data generated during steady-state operation of the HVAC system. The monitoring server calculates an average operating parameter value for each data cluster. The monitoring server calculates normalized operating parameter values based on normalizing the average operating parameter values for the data clusters over a predetermined normalization time period. The monitoring server compares the normalized operating parameter values with a threshold. The monitoring server determine whether an air filter of the HVAC system needs to be replaced based on the comparison and generates a notification based on the determination indicating that the air filter needs to be replaced

METHOD OF MONITORING CHARGE CONDITION OF HEAT PUMP SYSTEM

A heat-pump circuit may include an indoor heat exchanger, an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor adapted to circulate a working fluid between the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers, and an expansion device disposed between the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers. A monitor for the heat-pump system may include a return-air temperature sensor, a supply-air temperature sensor, and a processor. The return-air temperature sensor may be adapted to measure a first air temperature of air upstream of the indoor heat exchanger. The supply-air temperature sensor may be adapted to measure a second air temperature of air down stream of the indoor heat exchanger. The processor may be in communication with the return-air temperature sensor and the supply-air temperature sensor. The processor may be programmed to determine a working-fluid-charge condition of the heat-pump system based on the first and second air temperatures

REMOTELY TESTING WHETHER A CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM CONTROLLER IS CORRECTLY INSTALLED

Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of apparatus and methods for remote testing of controllers such as thermostats, to detect incorrect climate control system configuration parameters . In an exemplary embodiment, a computer wirelessly connects with a remote thermostat and sends signal (s) to the thermostat instructing the thermostat to perform climate control function (s) in predefined sequence (s). The computer receives signal (s) from the thermostat indicating whether the thermostat is performing the climate control function (s) in accordance with the sent signal (s). Based on the signal (s) received from the thermostat, the computer determines whether the thermostat is configured with accurate climate control system configuration parameters

Low Refrigerant Algorithm Detection for Cooling Systems Relying on Trending and Data Analysis

A hybrid algorithm of an enhanced version of Mann-Kendall trending and data analysis is proposed to solve the limitations of current technology in detecting and diagnosing cooling system refrigerant faults in general and refrigerant leakage specifically. A data abstraction mechanism is applied over feed of temperatures and power measurement to calculate and store only the significant information for further analysis. Next, an enhanced version of Mann-Kendall trending is applied periodically over the stored data to calculate the trend strength (upward or downward) for each measurement. Finally, a harmonic mean is utilized to balance the trends contribution and evaluate the result against a threshold value for potential faults.  Such an algorithm is expected to have an important positive impact, because it is designed to accurately detect low refrigerant at an early stage. This should help in the following ways: (a) to reduce the impact of refrigerant emissions on climate, and (b) to potentially reduce the U.S. energy use by more than 0.1–.02 quad per year. This algorithm is a robust first step towards leveraging the latest technology advancements, especially in computer science and mathematics, in order to vertically advance the field of cooling systems.

COMPRESSOR HAVING A CONTROL AND DAGNOSTIC MODULE

An apparatus includes a Voltage sensor, a current sensor, and a controller. The Voltage sensor measures Voltage values of alternating current power Supplied to a capacitor. The capaci tor is electrically coupled to a compressor. The current sensor measures current values of the alternating current power. The controller is configured to receive the Voltage values and the current values. The controller is configured to determine a first power factor value based on at least one of the voltage values and at least one of the current values. The controller is configured to selectively detect a first capacitor fault in response to concurrent determination that (i) the first power factor value is less than a first power factor threshold and (ii) a first current value of the current values is greater than a first current threshold. The first capacitor fault indicates that a capacitance of the capacitor has degraded

METHOD OF MONITORING CHARGE CONDITION OF HEAT PUMP SYSTEM

A heat-pump circuit may include an indoor heat exchanger, an outdoor heat exchanger, a compressor adapted to circulate a working fluid between the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers, and an expansion device disposed between the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers. A monitor for the heat-pump system may include a return-air temperature sensor, a supply-air temperature sensor, and a processor. The return-air temperature sensor may be adapted to measure a first air temperature of air upstream of the indoor heat exchanger. The supply-air temperature sensor may be adapted to measure a second air temperature of air down stream of the indoor heat exchanger. The processor may be in communication with the return-air temperature sensor and the supply-air temperature sensor. The processor may be programmed to determine a working-fluid-charge condition of the heat-pump system based on the first and second air temperatures

COMPRESSOR HAVING A CONTROL AND DAGNOSTIC MODULE

An apparatus includes a Voltage sensor, a current sensor, and a controller. The Voltage sensor measures Voltage values of alternating current power Supplied to a capacitor. The capaci tor is electrically coupled to a compressor. The current sensor measures current values of the alternating current power. The controller is configured to receive the Voltage values and the current values. The controller is configured to determine a first power factor value based on at least one of the voltage values and at least one of the current values. The controller is configured to selectively detect a first capacitor fault in response to concurrent determination that (i) the first power factor value is less than a first power factor threshold and (ii) a first current value of the current values is greater than a first current threshold. The first capacitor fault indicates that a capacitance of the capacitor has degraded

HVAC SYSTEM REMOTE MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS

A monitoring system for an HVAC system of a building includes a monitoring server located remotely from the building. The monitoring server receives, from a device installed at the building, (i) time-domain current data based on a measured aggregate current supplied to a plurality of components of the HVAC system, and (ii) data based on frequency-domain current data of the measured aggregate current. Based on the received data, the monitoring server accesses (i) whether a failure has occurred in a first com ponent of the plurality of components and (ii) generates a preliminary advisory in response to determining that the failure has occurred. The monitoring server compares the preliminary advisory to a threshold value based on data stored from prior advisories. If the preliminary advisory is on a first side of the threshold value, the monitoring server provides the preliminary advisory as a first advisory to a technician for review