초록 ▼

An electronically controlled programmable wall thermostat provides better control of comfort temperature and permits improved energy-saving temperature setback at selected intervals of the day or night in multistage heating and cooling systems and is particularly useful in achieving improved energy

An electronically controlled programmable wall thermostat provides better control of comfort temperature and permits improved energy-saving temperature setback at selected intervals of the day or night in multistage heating and cooling systems and is particularly useful in achieving improved energy savings for systems having heat pump means in the main temperature conditioning stage of the system. The thermostat includes clock means, temperature sensing means, means for displaying desired parameters of time and temperature, data entry and storage means for programming the thermostat to maintain desired temperatures during selected time intervals, and a processing means with a memory incorporating a permanently stored program instruction sequence which responds to signals from the temperature sensing means for controlling the heating and cooling systems in accordance with the time-temperature sequence programmed into the thermostat by the user. A novel method of temperature control is described in which the temperature sensing and processing means cooperate in a unique way to regulate operation of the main or heat pump stages of the heating and cooling systems relative to a programmed set temperature and to regulate operation of the auxiliary stages of the systems only with respect to the actual rate of change of temperature being effected by any operation of the system. In that way, the thermostat provides improved control of the comfort temperature under varying weather conditions and in different types of housing conditions and achieves timely and more energy-efficient recovery from setback temperatures at an optimum temperature restoring rate to result in more selective use of the heat pump means in the main stages of the systems.

대표청구항 ▼

Thermostat means for regulating a temperature conditioning system having independently operable main and auxiliary temperature conditioning means comprising means for sensing the temperature in a zone whose temperature is to be conditioned, means for scheduling temperatures to be provided in the zon

Thermostat means for regulating a temperature conditioning system having independently operable main and auxiliary temperature conditioning means comprising means for sensing the temperature in a zone whose temperature is to be conditioned, means for scheduling temperatures to be provided in the zone during respective periods of time in a selected time sequence, and control means responsive both to the temperature sensing and scheduling means for operating the main temperature conditioning means when required in any of said time periods either to maintain a scheduled temperature in a period or to initiate conditioning of the zone temperature to provide the zone temperature scheduled to be provided in a next scheduled time period, said control means being responsive to the temperature sensing and scheduling means for comparing the zone temperature being provided in a time period with a temperature scheduled to be provided in that period, for comparing the zone temperature in any of said time periods with the temperature scheduled to be provided in the zone in the next scheduled time period in said time sequence to determine a time period when any operation of the main temperature conditioning means is required to be initiated for conditioning the zone temperature at a predetermined and desired rate of change of zone temperature to provide said next scheduled zone temperature at the start of said next time period, and to operate the main temperature conditioning means when required to maintain said scheduled zone temperature or at said determined time to initiate conditioning of the zone temperature to provide said next scheduled temperature, said control means being further responsive to the temperature sensing means for determining the actual rate of change of temperature then effected in the zone by the temperature conditioning means of the system during any operating thereof and for operating the auxiliary temperature conditioning means to aid the main temperature conditioning means in conditioning zone temperature only when said actual rate of change of zone temperature is less than said predetermined and desired rate of change of zone temperature.