System and controller for adjusting an amount of exterior air supplied to a premise

Abstract

A system includes a controller, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, first and second dampers, and first and second pressure sensors. The first damper is positioned at a first air duct that supplies air from an exterior of a premises. The second damper is positioned at a second air duct that supplies air from an interior of the premises. The first pressure sensor is configured to detect an air pressure exterior to the premises. The second pressure sensor is configured to detect an air pressure within the premises. The controller is configured to receive the detected exterior air pressure and the detected interior air pressure, and the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected exterior and interior air pressures.

1 . A system comprising:
 a controller;   a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit in communication with the controller;   a first damper positioned at a first air duct, the first air duct supplying air from an exterior of a premises to the HVAC unit, the first damper in communication with the controller;   a second damper positioned at a second air duct, the second air duct supplying air from an interior of the premises to the HVAC unit, the second damper in communication with the controller;   a first pressure sensor configured to detect an air pressure exterior to the premises, the first pressure sensor in communication with the controller; and   a second pressure sensor configured to detect an air pressure within the premises, the second pressure sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air pressure exterior to the premises from the first pressure sensor and the detected air pressure within the premises from the second pressure sensor, and   wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises to be greater than the air pressure exterior to the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper when the detected air pressure within the premises is less than the detected air pressure exterior to the premises. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises to be greater than the air pressure exterior to the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper such that the first air duct supplies more air from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the second air duct supplies from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the second damper from a second damper first position to a second damper second position, wherein the second damper second position restricts more air from passing from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the second damper first position. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein each of the second damper first position and the second damper second position allow air to pass from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the first damper from a first damper first position to a first damper second position, wherein the first damper first position restricts more air from passing from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the first damper second position. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a first air filter positioned at the first air duct such that air passing from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit passes through the first air filter before reaching the HVAC unit. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an air quality sensor positioned to detect an air quality metric of the air supplied from the exterior of the premises, the air quality sensor in communication with the controller, and wherein the controller is configured to adjust the first damper based at least in part on the detected air quality metric. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second pressure sensor is positioned to detect air pressure at or adjacent the second air duct, wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air pressure from the second pressure sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to use the detected air pressure from the second pressure sensor to determine a presence of an air blockage condition at the second air duct. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a third damper positioned at a third air duct, the third air duct supplying air from the HVAC unit to a first zone of the premises, the third damper in communication with the controller;   a first temperature sensor positioned to detect an air temperature of the air supplied from the HVAC unit to the first zone, the first temperature sensor in communication with the controller;   a fourth damper positioned at a fourth air duct, the fourth air duct supplying air from the HVAC unit to a second zone of the premises, the fourth damper in communication with the controller; and   a second temperature sensor positioned to detect an air temperature of the air supplied from the HVAC unit to the second zone, the second temperature sensor in communication with the controller,   wherein the second damper is positioned at the second air duct, and the second air duct supplies air from the first zone of the premises to the HVAC unit, and   wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air temperature from the first temperature sensor and the detected air temperature from the second temperature sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to change the temperature of the second zone by adjusting at least one of the third damper and the fourth damper based on the detected air temperature from the first temperature sensor and the detected air temperature from the second temperature sensor.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to change the temperature of the second zone by adjusting at least two of the second damper, the third damper, and the fourth damper based on the detected air temperature from the first temperature sensor and the detected air temperature from the second temperature sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a third temperature sensor positioned to detect an air temperature of the air supplied from the exterior of the premises, the third temperature sensor in communication with the controller,   wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air temperature from the third temperature sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises, the detected air pressure within the premises, and the detected air temperature from the third temperature sensor.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a first humidity sensor positioned to detect an air humidity level of the air supplied from the exterior of the premises, the first humidity sensor in communication with the controller,   wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air humidity level from the first humidity sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to change the air pressure within the premises by adjusting at least one of the first damper and the second damper based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises, the detected air pressure within the premises, the detected air temperature from the third temperature sensor, and the detected air humidity level from the first humidity sensor.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to receive the detected air pressure within the premises from the second pressure sensor, wherein the controller is configured to use the detected air pressure from the second pressure sensor to determine an activity category for a first zone of the premises, and wherein the controller is configured to cause a set point temperature for the first zone to be adjusted based on the determined activity category for the first zone. 
     
     
         15 . A controller comprising:
 a non-transitory computer-readable storage article including computer-executable instructions; and   programmable processing circuitry configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to:
 receive a detected air pressure exterior to a premise from a first pressure sensor, 
 receive a detected air pressure within the premise from a second pressure sensor, and 
 adjust an amount of air suppled from an exterior of a premise to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises. 
   
     
     
         16 . The controller of  claim 15 , wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust the amount of air suppled from an exterior of a premise to the HVAC unit by adjusting a first damper positioned at a first air duct that supplies air from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit. 
     
     
         17 . The controller of  claim 16 , wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust an amount of air supplied from an interior of the premises to the HVAC unit based on the detected air pressure exterior to the premises and the detected air pressure within the premises. 
     
     
         18 . The controller of  claim 17 , wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust the amount of air supplied from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit by adjusting a second damper positioned at a second air duct that supplies air from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit. 
     
     
         19 . The controller of  claim 18 , wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust the amount of air supplied from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit to cause the detected air pressure within the premises to be greater than the detected air pressure exterior to the premises. 
     
     
         20 . The controller of  claim 19 , wherein the programmable processing circuitry is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the programmable processing circuitry to adjust at least one of the first damper and the second damper such that the first air duct supplies more air from the exterior of the premises to the HVAC unit than the second air duct supplies from the interior of the premises to the HVAC unit. 
     
     
         21 - 22 . (canceled)