Machine-learning method for conditioning individual or shared areas

Abstract

A method and system for conditioning an interior area is disclosed. A method includes retrieving environmental conditions regarding the interior area, wherein the environmental conditions include temperature, humidity, and air speed; retrieving outdoor environmental conditions; generating a field of environmental conditions at a plurality of points within the interior area; estimating clothing insulation of a user based on the outdoor environmental conditions; calculating a thermal comfort of the user to determine a predicted mean vote; and operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system based on the calculated thermal comfort.

1 . A computer-implemented method for conditioning an interior area comprising:
 retrieving environmental conditions regarding the interior area, wherein the environmental conditions include temperature, humidity, and air speed;   retrieving outdoor environmental conditions;   generating a field of environmental conditions at a plurality of points within the interior area;   calculating a thermal comfort of the user to determine a predicted mean vote; and   operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system based on the calculated thermal comfort.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving usage information regarding the interior area.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , further comprising
 estimating clothing insulation of a user based on the outdoor environmental conditions and the usage information.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving feedback from the user regarding the user's comfort level; and   operating the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system based on the feedback.   
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 storing the feedback in a thermal profile associated with the user.   
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 calculating the thermal comfort of the user comprises using the thermal profile to calculate the thermal comfort.   
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 calculating the thermal comfort of the user comprises using a Fanger equation to calculate the predicted mean vote.   
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein:
 the predicted mean vote is on a continuous scale ranging from −3 to 3, wherein a value of −3 indicates a cold thermal condition and a value of 3 indicates a warm thermal condition.   
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 calculating the thermal comfort for each user of a plurality of users in the interior area; and   calculating an average thermal comfort for the plurality of users; wherein:   operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is based on the average thermal comfort of the plurality of users.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 calculating a predicted percentage of dissatisfied users based on the thermal comfort of each of the plurality of users; wherein:   operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system further comprises ensuring that the predicted percentage of dissatisfied users is below a predetermined threshold.   
     
     
         11 . A computer system for facilitating anonymous and automated communication comprising:
 a processor;   a memory;   computer program instructions configured to cause the processor to perform the following method:   retrieving environmental conditions regarding the interior area, wherein the environmental conditions include temperature, humidity, and air speed;   retrieving outdoor environmental conditions;   generating a field of environmental conditions at a plurality of points within the interior area;   calculating a thermal comfort of the user to determine a predicted mean vote; and   operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system based on the calculated thermal comfort.   
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 retrieving usage information regarding the interior area.   
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein:
 estimating clothing insulation of a user based on the outdoor environmental conditions and the usage information.   
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving feedback from the user regarding the user's comfort level; and   operating the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system based on the feedback.   
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises:
 storing the feedback in a thermal profile associated with the user.   
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 calculating the thermal comfort of the user comprises using the thermal profile to calculate the thermal comfort.   
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein:
 calculating the thermal comfort of the user comprises using a Fanger equation to calculate the predicted mean vote.   
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the predicted mean vote is on a continuous scale ranging from −3 to 3, wherein a value of −3 indicates a cold thermal condition and a value of 3 indicates a warm thermal condition.   
     
     
         19 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises:
 calculating the thermal comfort for each user of a plurality of users in the interior area; and   calculating an average thermal comfort for the plurality of users; wherein:   operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is based on the average thermal comfort of the plurality of users.   
     
     
         20 . The computer system of  claim 19 , wherein the method further comprises:
 calculating a predicted percentage of dissatisfied users based on the thermal comfort of each of the plurality of users; wherein   operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system further comprises ensuring that the predicted percentage of dissatisfied users is below a predetermined threshold.