Higher staged operation for climate control system based on lower staged thermostat conditioning calls

Abstract

An embodiment of a method of controlling a climate control system includes receiving an analog conditioning call from a thermostat. In addition, the method includes selecting a target discharge temperature for an airflow output by the climate control system to the interior space based on the analog conditioning call received from the thermostat. Further, the method includes adjusting a speed of a compressor of the climate control system among to a plurality of different compressor speeds based on the target discharge temperature.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A climate control system for conditioning an interior space, the climate control system comprising:
 a compressor that is configured to circulate a refrigerant in a fluid circuit, the compressor configured to operate at X different compressor speeds;   a heat exchanger positioned along the fluid circuit;   a blower that is configured to generate an airflow that is to contact the heat exchanger and then flow into the interior space; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the compressor, the controller to:
 receive an analog cooling call from a thermostat positioned in the interior space, the analog conditioning call being one of Y different analog cooling calls of the thermostat, Y being less than X; 
 select a target discharge temperature for the airflow based on the analog cooling call, the target discharge temperature being a target for a discharge temperature of the airflow downstream from the heat exchanger and upstream from the interior space; and 
 adjust a speed of the compressor among the X different compressor speeds based on the target discharge temperature. 
   
     
     
         2 . The climate control system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a speed of the blower based on the speed of the compressor. 
     
     
         3 . The climate control system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 determine that a temperature sensor for detecting the discharge temperature for the airflow has failed; and in response   adjust the speed of the compressor to a preselected compressor speed that corresponds with the analog conditioning call received from the thermostat.   
     
     
         4 . The climate control system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the speed of the compressor by increasing or decreasing the speed of the compressor to reduce an error between the discharge temperature and the target discharge temperature. 
     
     
         5 . The climate control system of  claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to select the speed of the compressor from the X different compressor speeds as a function of the error. 
     
     
         6 . The climate control system of  claim 5 , wherein Y is two so that the thermostat is configured to output a low stage analog cooling call (Y1) and a high stage analog conditioning call (Y2), and wherein the controller is configured to:
 select a first target discharge temperature for the airflow in response to receipt of the low stage analog cooling call (Y1) from the thermostat; and   select a second target discharge temperature for the airflow in response to receipt of the high stage analog cooling call (Y2) from the thermostat, the second target discharge temperature being different from the first target discharge temperature.   
     
     
         7 . The climate control system of  claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to increase the speed of the blower from a first blower speed to a second blower speed based on a determination that the high stage analog cooling call has been received from the thermostat for more than a threshold period of time. 
     
     
         8 . The climate control system of  claim 7 , wherein the second blower speed comprises a maximum speed of the blower. 
     
     
         9 . The climate control system of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to maintain the speed of the blower at the second blower speed for a second threshold period of time after a loss of the high stage analog cooling call from the thermostat. 
     
     
         10 . The climate control system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 receive an analog dehumidification call from the thermostat; and   adjust the speed of the compressor to a maximum speed of the X different compressor speeds based on the analog dehumidification call; and   operate the blower at a minimum blower speed in response to the analog dehumidification call.   
     
     
         11 . A method of controlling a climate control system to condition an interior space, the method comprising:
 (a) receiving an analog conditioning call from a thermostat;   (b) selecting a target discharge temperature for an airflow output by the climate control system to the interior space based on the analog conditioning call received from the thermostat; and   (c) adjusting a speed of a compressor of the climate control system among to a plurality of different compressor speeds based on the target discharge temperature.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the thermostat is configured to output a low stage cooling call and a high stage cooling call,   wherein (a) comprises receiving the low stage cooling call from the thermostat;   wherein (b) comprises selecting a first target discharge temperature for the airflow based on the received low stage cooling call; and   wherein (c) comprises adjusting the speed of the compressor among the plurality of different compressor speeds to reduce an error between the target discharge temperature and a current discharge temperature for the airflow.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 (d) receiving the high stage cooling call from the thermostat;   (e) selecting a second target discharge temperature for the airflow based on the high stage conditioning call, the second target discharge temperature being different form the first target discharge temperature; and   (f) adjusting the speed of the compressor among the plurality of different compressor speeds based on the second target discharge temperature.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises:
 (g) determining that the high stage cooling call has been received from the thermostat for more than a first threshold period of time; and   (h) increasing the speed of the airflow from a first airflow speed to a second airflow speed in response to the determination in (g).   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 (i) maintaining the speed of the airflow at the second airflow speed for a second threshold period of time after loss of the high stage cooling call from the thermostat.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 (j) receiving an analog dehumidification call from the thermostat;   (k) adjusting the speed of the compressor to a maximum speed of the plurality of different compressor speeds based on the analog dehumidification call; and   (l) operating a blower of the climate control system at a minimum blower speed based on the analog dehumidification call.   
     
     
         17 . An air conditioning system for cooling an interior space, the air conditioning system comprising:
 a thermostat that is configured to output an analog low cooling stage call and an analog high cooling stage call based on a difference between a temperature of the interior space and a set point temperature;   a compressor that is configured to operate at least three different compressor speeds to circulate a refrigerant through a fluid circuit of the air conditioning system;   an evaporator that is positioned along the fluid circuit;   a blower that is configured to generate an airflow that is to contact the evaporator and then flow into the interior space;   a temperature sensor configured to detect a discharge temperature of the airflow downstream of the evaporator and upstream of the interior space;   a controller communicatively coupled to the temperature sensor, the thermostat, and the compressor, the controller configured to:
 adjust a speed of the compressor among the at least three different compressor speeds to reduce an error between the discharge temperature of the airflow detected by the temperature sensor and a first target discharge temperature in response to receipt of the analog low cooling stage call from the thermostat; and 
 adjust the speed of the compressor among the at least three different compressor speeds to reduce an error between the discharge temperature of the airflow detected by the temperature sensor and a second target discharge temperature in response to receipt of the analog high cooling stage call from the thermostat, the second target discharge temperature being less than the first target discharge temperature. 
   
     
     
         18 . The air conditioning system of  claim 17 , wherein the blower is configured to operate at a plurality of different blower speeds, and wherein the controller is further configured to:
 adjust a speed of the blower among the plurality of different blower speeds based on a speed of the compressor.   
     
     
         19 . The air conditioning system of  claim 18 , wherein the controller is configured to increase the speed of the blower to a maximum speed of the plurality of different blower speeds in response to a determination that the analog high cooling stage call has been output from the thermostat for more than a threshold period of time. 
     
     
         20 . The air conditioning system of  claim 19 , wherein the controller is configured to maintain the speed of the blower at the maximum speed for a second threshold period of time following loss of the analog high cooling stage call.