Controlling the setback and setback recovery of a power-consuming device

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for controlling a setback mode of a power-consuming device, and for controlling setback recovery of power-consuming devices, in order to make setback and setback recovery more dynamic based on current environmental parameters and previous observed operating parameters, in order to enable more efficient operation of power-consuming devices resulting in reduced energy costs and increased power efficiency.

1 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon for causing a computer to perform a method of controlling a setback mode of a power-consuming device, the method comprising:
 determining a previous drift value,   wherein the previous drift value is a rate of change of at least one previous environmental parameter observed while the power-consuming device was in a previous setback mode;   receiving, at a processor component, at least one setback setting input,
 wherein the setback setting input corresponds to at least one of a setback entry time, a setback environmental parameter, a setback parameter differential, and combinations thereof, 
 wherein the setback entry time is a programmed time at which the power-consuming device will enter the setback mode,
 wherein the setback environmental parameter is a threshold value for an environmental parameter of the power-consuming device at which the power-consuming device will enter the setback mode, 
 wherein the setback parameter differential is a target change in an environmental parameter of the power-consuming device when the power-consuming device enters the setback mode; 
 
   receiving data indicative of a current environmental parameter;   calculating a replacement setback setting based at least on the previous drift value, the setback setting input, and the data indicative of the current environmental parameter.   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising sending instructions to the power-consuming device to enter the setback mode based at least on the replacement setback setting. 
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein calculating the replacement setback setting comprises:
 determining a modification value based at least on the previous drift value;   adjusting the setback entry time by the modification value.   
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 monitoring the current environmental parameter;   comparing the current environmental parameter to a predetermined operating environmental parameter;   entering a shut-off mode when the current environmental parameter is within a predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter;   exiting the shut-off mode when the current environmental parameter is not within the predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter;   determining a current drift value based at least on the predetermined operating environmental parameter and the current environmental parameter when the current environmental parameter is not within the predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter;   replacing the previous drift value with the current drift value.   
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 4 , wherein determining the current drift value comprises:
 monitoring a shut-off time corresponding to the power-consuming device entering the shut-off mode;   monitoring a turn-on time corresponding to the power-consuming device exiting the shut-off mode;   computing the current drift value based at least on the predetermined operating environmental parameter and the current environmental parameter when the current environmental parameter is not within the predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter, and a difference between the shut-off time and the turn-on time.   
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 5 , wherein the current drift value is a ratio of a difference between the predetermined operating environmental parameter and the current environmental parameter, when the current environmental parameter is not within the predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter, to the difference between the shut-off time and the turn-on time. 
     
     
         7 . A system for controlling a setback mode of a power-consuming device, the system comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 determine a previous drift value, wherein the previous drift value is a rate of change of at least one previous environmental parameter observed while the power-consuming device was in a previous setback mode; 
 receive at least one setback setting input, the setback setting input corresponding to at least one of a setback entry time, a setback environmental parameter, and a setback parameter differential,
 wherein the setback entry time is a programmed time at which the power-consuming device will enter the setback mode, 
 wherein the setback environmental parameter is a threshold value for an environmental parameter of the power-consuming device at which the power-consuming device will enter the setback mode, 
 wherein the setback parameter differential is a target change in an environmental parameter of the power-consuming device when the power-consuming device enters the setback mode; 
 
 receive data indicative of a current environmental parameter; 
 calculate a replacement setback setting based at least on the previous drift value, the setback setting input, and the data indicative of the current environmental parameter; and 
   a controller configured to:
 instruct the power-consuming device to enter the setback mode based at least on the replacement setback setting. 
   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein modifying the setback setting input comprises: determining a modification value based at least on the previous drift value; adjusting the setback entry time by the modification value. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , the processor being further configured to:
 compare the current environmental parameter to a predetermined operating environmental parameter;   determine a current drift value based at least on the predetermined operating environmental parameter and the current environmental parameter when the current environmental parameter is not within the predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter; and   replace the previous drift value with the current drift value.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , the controller being further configured to:
 instruct the power-consuming device to enter a shut-off mode when the current environmental parameter is within a predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter;   instruct the power-consuming device to exit the shut-off mode when the current environmental parameter is not within the predefined threshold of the predetermined operating environmental parameter.   
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon for causing a computer to perform a method of controlling setback recovery of power-consuming devices, the method comprising:
 receiving data indicative of a current environmental parameter of each of a plurality of power-consuming devices being in a setback mode;   comparing each current environmental parameter to a predefined environmental parameter of each power-consuming device and a stored recovery performance data of each power-consuming device,
 wherein the predefined environmental parameter comprises a target value for an environmental parameter of the power-consuming device after the power-consuming device exits the setback mode, 
 wherein the stored recovery performance data comprises a rate of change of at least one previous environmental parameter observed while the power-consuming device was recovering from a previous setback mode; 
   determining a modification value for each power-consuming device based at least on the corresponding comparison of the comparing step;   adjusting a setback recovery setting of each power-consuming device by the corresponding modification value, the setback recovery setting comprising a time at which the power-consuming device will exit the setback mode.   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 11 , further comprising sending instructions to each power-consuming device to exit the setback mode based at least on the corresponding adjusted setback recovery setting. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 monitoring each current environmental parameter until the corresponding power-consuming device enters the setback mode;   calculating a recovery performance data for each power-consuming device based at least on the corresponding monitored current environmental parameter,
 wherein the recovery performance data comprises a rate of change of the current environmental parameter while the current environmental parameter is being monitored; and 
   replacing the stored recovery performance data for each power-consuming device with the corresponding calculated recovery performance data.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein each power-consuming device is instructed to exit the setback mode at the same time. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein the power-consuming devices are instructed to exit the setback mode at various times. 
     
     
         16 - 20 . (canceled)