Control and fault detection of kitchen exhaust and makeup air systems

Abstract

A system and method of measuring, monitoring and adjusting fan controls in make up air units and restaurant kitchen hood appliances to provide a balanced air environment in an energy efficient manner including by monitoring the presence of exhaust gasses, flow rates of exhaust and makeup air along with pressure and temperature of the various spaces in a space such as a restaurant space including a kitchen.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for balancing exhaust venting and makeup air in a space comprising:
 a plurality of sensors in communication with a system computer having software executing thereon;   a first one of the plurality of sensors is an exhaust detector configured to measure presence of exhaust from cooking;   a second one of the plurality of sensors is a pressure sensor configured to measure air pressure in the space;   said computer is in communication with an exhaust system which includes a variable speed fan whose speed is configured to be controlled by the computer.   a third one of the plurality of sensors is an exhaust flow sensor configured to provide a measurement indicative of a rate at which the exhaust is expelled by the exhaust system.   said computer in communication with a makeup air system which is configured to deliver air to the space and said computer further configured to provide control instructions to the makeup air system to vary a rate with which makeup air is provided to the space and to vary a temperature of the makeup air;   said software receiving data from each of the first, second and third ones of the plurality of sensors and based on said data said software determining a speed for the variable speed fan of the exhaust system and the rate which the makeup air is provided to the space, wherein said software varies the speed for the variable fan and the rate in order to maintain pressure readings from the second one of the plurality of sensors within a range and wherein the speed of the of the variable speed fan is varied based on the first and third ones of the plurality of sensors in order to control temperature within a temperature range and to control the exhaust within an exhaust range.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the software is configured to receive data from a fourth sensor, the data from the fourth sensor is data indicative of temperature associated with the space and based on the data from the fourth sensor, the software generates control instructions for the group consisting of: the variable speed fan, the makeup air system and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a fifth sensor which is configured to provide the software with data indicative of a state of one or more cooking appliances associated with the exhaust system and the software configured to activate the variable speed fan based on the data indicative of the state of one or more cooking appliances. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein based on a comparison of information indicative of a speed of the variable speed fan to the rate at which exhaust is expelled by the exhaust system, the software determines if a fault has occurred with the exhaust system. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the software is further in communication with and a room conditioning unit configured to deliver conditioned air to the space and the software is further configured to control:
 a rate and/or temperature of conditioned air delivered to the space by the room conditioning unit and the makeup air unit along with the speed of the variable speed fan based on the measured air pressure. 
 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the space includes a kitchen area and a second area and the makeup air system is located in the kitchen area. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the system further comprises a central computer with software executing thereon and the space comprises a plurality of spaces located geographically apart from each other in different buildings, said central computer in communication with the computer of each of the plurality of spaces via a network and the software of the central computer is configured to receive data from the plurality of sensors and is further configured to transmit control instructions to one or more of the computers to control the exhaust system and the makeup air system. 
     
     
         8 . A system for balancing exhaust and makeup air in a restaurant space which includes a kitchen space comprising:
 software executing on a computer, said software in communication with a plurality of sensors, an exhaust vent, a makeup air system and a room conditioning unit, wherein the makeup air system is located in the kitchen space and the room conditioning unit is configured to deliver conditioned air to the restaurant space;   said software configured to receive data from said plurality of sensors wherein said data includes:   data indicative of exhaust amount or presence from an exhaust detector;   data indicative of a pressure in the restaurant space from a pressure sensor;   data indicative of exhaust flow rate from an exhaust flow sensor associated with an exhaust system;   data indicative of a state of a cooking appliance associated with the exhaust system from a state sensor;   data indicative of a temperature associated with the restaurant space from a temperature sensor;   said software analyzing the received data and transmitting control instructions to control:   a speed of a variable fan associated with the exhaust system based on data from two or more of the exhaust detector, exhaust flow sensor, temperature sensor and state sensor;   a first rate and first temperature of air delivered to the kitchen space via the makeup air system based on data from at least one of the temperature sensor, exhaust flow sensor and the exhaust detector; and   a second rate and second temperature associated with the room conditioning unit for conditioning the restaurant space while maintaining pressure in the restaurant space within a range based on the data from the pressure sensor.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the makeup air system is located adjacent to the exhaust system. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 6  wherein said software is further configured to control a rate and/or temperature of conditioned air delivered to the space by the room conditioning unit and the makeup air unit along with the speed of the variable speed fan based on the measured air pressure. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 6  wherein based on a comparison of information indicative of a speed of the variable speed fan to the rate at which exhaust is expelled by the exhaust system, the software determines if a fault has occurred with the exhaust system. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein said software generates an alert when a fault has occurred with the exhaust system. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the software is configured to activate the variable speed fan based on the data indicative of the state of one or more cooking appliances. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the exhaust detector is located in or adjacent to a vent hood and the pressure sensor includes a plurality of pressure sensors positioned spaced from each other within the restaurant space, at least one of the pressure sensors is located in the kitchen space. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the makeup unit comprises makeup air sensors including a temperature sensor and a flow rate sensor and the software is configured to receive temperature and flow rate data from the makeup air sensors and the software further configured to control a variable speed fan and a heating and/or cooling unit of the makeup air system based on the temperature and flow rate data from the makeup air sensors. 
     
     
         16 . A method of balancing exhaust and makeup air in a kitchen space comprising:
 providing software executing on a computer;   receiving at said software data from a plurality of sensors;   receiving data at the software from a first one of the plurality of sensors is an exhaust detector which is configured to provide data to the software indicative of presence of exhaust from cooking in the kitchen space;   receiving data at the software from a second one of the plurality of sensors which is a pressure sensor configured to provide data to the software indicative of an air pressure in the space;   receiving data at the software from a third one of the plurality of sensors which is an exhaust flow sensor configured to provide a measurement indicative of a rate at which the exhaust is expelled by an exhaust system;   receiving data at the software from at least a fourth one of the plurality of sensors which includes one or more temperature sensors associated with the space;   controlling via aid software, the exhaust system and a makeup air system, said software generating control instructions to control a speed of a variable fan associated with the exhaust system based on the data from the first one of the plurality of sensors and said software generating instructions to control a rate at which makeup air is delivered to the space based on the data from the second and third ones of the plurality of sensors such that pressure of the space remains within a predetermined range, and that the software controls exhaust in the space to remain within below a predetermined amount while the rate at which makeup air is delivered to the space is controlled based on readings from the third one of the plurality of sensors and said software further configured to control a temperature of air delivered by the makeup air unit to the space based on readings from the at least a fourth of the plurality of sensors.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the makeup air system is located adjacent to the exhaust system. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  wherein based on a comparison of information indicative of a speed of the variable speed fan to the rate at which exhaust is expelled by the exhaust system, the software determines if a fault has occurred with the exhaust system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the software activates the variable speed fan based on the data indicative of the state of one or more cooking appliances. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the exhaust detector is located in or adjacent to a vent hood and the pressure sensor includes a plurality of pressure sensors positioned spaced from each other within the restaurant space, at least one of the pressure sensors is located in the kitchen space.