METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A FRESH AIR INTAKE OF AN AIR HANDLING UNIT OF AN HVAC SYSTEM

Abstract

Controlling a fresh air intake includes determining a fresh air intake damper position based on the supply air flowrate, a measure of energy delivered to the supply air flow, or a measure of humidity of the supply air flow. Determining the fresh air intake damper position is subject to a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of a constraint regarding maintaining one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds, minimizing energy consumption of the AHU, and maximizing the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space. Various parameters used to determine the fresh air intake damper position may be derived from available sensed conditions so as to reduce the number of physical sensors that are required.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for operating a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system.

BACKGROUND

HVAC systems provide conditioned air for heating and cooling the interior of a building. Some HVAC systems also can provide fresh air ventilation into the building while exhausting an equivalent amount of inside air. Such fresh air ventilation is useful in reducing contaminates produced in the building. However, there are often costs involved in conditioning the fresh air before it can be deployed in the building. For example, in the winter, the cold fresh air must typically be heated by the HVAC system, and in some cases, humidity must be added. Likewise, in the summer, the warm fresh air must typically be cooled by the HVAC system, and in some cases, humidity must be removed. Thus, to reduce operating costs, it is often desirable to minimize the ventilation rate while still adequately ventilating the building given the current contaminates or expected contaminates in the building.

Under some conditions, such as during a pandemic, it may be desirable to prioritize an increased ventilation rate over energy costs to help reduce the spread of pathogens within the building. Under these conditions, if the ventilation rate is set too high, given the current indoor and outdoor conditions, the HVAC system may lack the heating and/or cooling capacity to adequately condition the incoming fresh air while still maintaining occupant comfort in the building. What would be desirable are methods and systems for operating an HVAC system to provide adequate ventilation while minimizing energy usage and maintaining comfort.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for operating a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. An example may be found in a method for controlling a fresh air intake of an Air Handling Unit (AHU) of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system servicing a building space. In this example, the AHU includes a fresh air intake damper for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow, a return air duct for receiving return air from the building space, a mixed air duct for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow to a heating and/or cooling unit of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space. The AHU further includes a fan for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU. The illustrative method includes determining a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow. Determining the fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds, a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU, and a constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space.

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position includes one or more of determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU and a predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds; determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve, a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit, a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve and a predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve; and determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow, a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow, a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air, and a signal representing a flow rate of the return air. The method includes setting the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position during a subsequent operation of the AHU.

Another example may be found in an Air Handling Unit (AHU) of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system for servicing a building space. In this example, the AHU includes a fresh air intake damper for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow, a return air duct for receiving return air from the building space, a heating and/or cooling unit, a mixed air duct for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow to the heating and/or cooling unit of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space, a fan for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU, and a controller operatively coupled to the fresh air intake damper, the heating and/or cooling unit and the fan. The controller is configured to determine a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow. The fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds, a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU, and a constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space. The controller when determining the fresh air intake damper position is configured to include one or more of determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU and a predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds; determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve, a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit, a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve and a predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve; and determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow, a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow, a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air, and a signal representing a flow rate of the return air. The controller is configured to set the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position.

Another example may be found in a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions thereon that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to control a fresh air intake damper of an Air Handling Unit (AHU) of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system servicing a building space. In this example, the AHU includes a fresh air intake damper for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow, a return air duct for receiving return air from the building space, a heating and/or cooling unit, a mixed air duct for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow to the heating and/or cooling unit of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space and a fan for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU. The instructions cause the one or more processors to determine a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow. The fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds, a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU, and a constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space. When determining the fresh air intake damper position, the instructions cause the one or more processor to perform one or more of determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU and a predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds; determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve, a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit, a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve, and a predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve; determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow, a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow, a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air, and a signal representing a flow rate of the return air. The one or more processors are caused to set the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position.

The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, figures, and abstract as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following description of various examples in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an illustrative Air Handling Unit (AHU) that forms part of a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system servicing a building space;

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are flow diagrams that together show an illustrative method for controlling a fresh air intake of an AHU such as the AHU shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow diagrams that together show an illustrative method for controlling a fresh air intake of an AHU such as the AHU shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a graph providing comparisons between estimated and actual flow rates through an AHU such as the AHU of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a graph providing comparisons between estimated and actual supply air humidity.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosure to the particular examples described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

The following description should be read with reference to the drawings, in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in like fashion. The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict examples that are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Although examples are illustrated for the various elements, those skilled in the art will recognize that many of the examples provided have suitable alternatives that may be utilized.

All numbers are herein assumed to be modified by the term “about”, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5).

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include the plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

It is noted that references in the specification to “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “other embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is contemplated that the feature, structure, or characteristic may be applied to other embodiments whether or not explicitly described unless clearly stated to the contrary.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an illustrative Air Handling Unit (AHU) 10 that may form part of a Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system servicing a building space 12. The building space 12 may represent an entire building, for example, or a single floor or zone within a building. The AHU 10 includes a fresh air intake damper 14 for admitting a fresh air ventilation flow from outside of the building. The AHU 10 includes a return air duct 16 for receiving return air from the building space 12. The AHU 10 includes a mixed air duct 18 for mixing a fresh air ventilation air flow 20 from the fresh air intake damper 14 and return air from the return air duct 16 and provides a mixed air flow 22. The mixed air flow 22 flows to a heating and/or cooling unit 24. In some instances, as shown, a fan 26 may be disposed between the mixed air duct 18 and the heating and/or cooling unit 24. In some instances, the heating and/or cooling unit 24 may be disposed between the mixed air duct 18 and the fan 26. In either case, the fan 26 provides a motive force to move the return air within the return air duct 16 and the fresh air ventilation air flow 20. In some instances, the fan 26 also provides a motive force to move the supply air flow 28. The heated or cooled air exiting the heating and/or cooling unit 24 represents a supply air flow 28. In some instances, the AHU 10 may include one fan 26, or may include two or more fans 26. The AHU 10 includes a control valve 30 that is configured to control the flow of a heating or cooling fluid into the heating and/or cooling unit 24, including an inlet flow 30a and an outlet flow 30b.

A controller 32 is operatively coupled to the fresh air intake damper 14, the heating and/or cooling unit 24 and the fan 26. The controller 32 is configured to determine a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper 14 based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow 28, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow 28.

In some instances, the fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU 10 maintains one or more comfort conditions (e.g. temperature) in the building space 12 and one or more of a constraint that the AHU 10 maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants (e.g. CO₂, PM_2.5 and/or TVOC) in the building space 12 below one or more IAQ thresholds, a constraint that the AHU 10 minimizes energy consumption of the AHU 10, and a constraint that the AHU 10 maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow 20 into the building space 12.

In some instances, the controller 32, when determining the fresh air intake damper position, may be configured to determine the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 based on a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan 26 of the AHU 10 and a predetermined flow rate of the fan 26 at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds. The predetermined flow rate of the fan 26 at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds may be taken from a data sheet from the manufacturer of the fan 26, or may be measured during a characterization of the fan 26.

The controller 32 may be configured to determine the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit 24 based on a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit 24 through a control valve, a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit 24, a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve 30, and a predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve 30. In some cases, the heating and/or cooling unit 24 may include temperature sensors that measure the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit 24 through the control valve and the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit 24. The predetermined flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve 30 may be taken from a data sheet from the manufacturer of the AHU 10, or may be measured during a characterization of the AHU 10.

In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to determine the measure of humidity of the supply air flow 28 based on a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20, a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20, a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air flowing through the return air duct 16, and a signal representing a flow rate of the return air flowing through the return air duct 16. The controller is configured to set the fresh air intake damper 14 to the determined fresh air intake damper position during a subsequent operation of the AHU 10.

In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to determine the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 based on the signal representing the current fan speed of the fan 26 of the AHU 10 and the predetermined flow rate of the fan 26 at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds. In some instances, the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 may be determined in accordance with the equation:

$\mathrm{CFM}=\frac{\mathrm{RPM}}{\mathrm{design}\mathrm{RPM}}\times \mathrm{design}\mathrm{CFM},$

• • where:
    • CFM represents the flow rate of the supply air flow 28 in Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM);
    • RPM represents the current fan speed of the fan 26 of the AHU 10 in Revolutions Per Minute (RPM);
    • design RPM represents one of the one or more predetermined fan speeds of the fan 26 (e.g. from a data sheet of the fan 26); and
    • design CFM represents the predetermined flow rate at the one of the one or more predetermined fan speeds of the fan 26 (design RPM) (e.g. from the data sheet of the fan 26).

In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to determine the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit 24 based on the signal representing the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit 24, the signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit 24, the signal representing the current valve position of the control valve 30 and the predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve 30. In some instances, the measure of energy is determined in accordance with the equation:

Q=mcΔT

• • where:
    • Q represents the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit 24;
    • m represents the mass flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit 24;
    • c represents the specific heat capacity of the heating and/or cooling fluid; and
    • ΔT represents a temperature difference between the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid.

In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to determine the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on the signal representing the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20, the signal representing the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20, the signal representing the relative humidity of the return air 16, and the signal representing the flow rate of the return air. In some instances, the measure of humidity may be determined in accordance with the equation:

$\mathrm{Mixed}\mathrm{air}\mathrm{rH}:\left(\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{rH}*\frac{\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}{\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}+\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}\right)+\left(\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{rH}*\frac{\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}{\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}+\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}\right),$

• • where:
    • Mixed air rH represents a measure of relative humidity of the mixed air flow 22;
    • OA rH represents the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20, sometimes measured by a fresh air or outside air humidity sensor;
    • OA flow rate represents the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20;
    • RA rH represents the relative humidity of the return air 16 flowing within the return air duct 16, sometimes measured by a return air humidity sensor or a humidity sensor in the building space 12; and
    • RA flow rate represents the flow rate of the return air flowing within the return air duct 16.The flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow 20 may be determined by, for example, directly measuring the fresh air ventilation air flow 20 using a flow rate sensor, deriving the fresh air ventilation air flow 20 from a relationship between the supply air flow 28 and the current position of the fresh air intake damper 14, deriving the fresh air ventilation air flow 20 by subtracting the return air flow 16 from the supply air flow 28, or in any other suitable way. The controller 32 may be configured to set the measure of humidity of the supply air flow 28 equal to the measure of relative humidity of the mixed air flow (Mixed air rH) 22.

In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to monitor the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 for possible drift over time by performing one or more of comparing a current measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 with an average of two or more previous measures of flow rate of the supply air flow 28, comparing a current measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 with a predetermined flow rate threshold, and comparing one or more changes in the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28 with one or more changes in a pressure in the supply air flow 28. In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to monitor the measure of humidity of the supply air flow 28 for possible drift over time by, for example, comparing the measure of humidity of the supply air flow 28 with a measure of humidity of the mixed air flow 22.

In some instances, the controller 32 may be configured to monitor the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit 24 to the supply air flow 28 for possible drift over time by performing one or more of comparing a current measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit 24 to the supply air flow 28 with a predetermined energy delivery baseline, comparing a performance of the heating and/or cooling unit 24 over time to detect a change in performance of the heating and/or cooling unit 24 over time, and comparing a temperature difference between an inlet temperature (of the inlet flow 30a) and an outlet temperature (of the outlet flow 30b) of the heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit 24 with a predetermined expected temperature difference. When a drift is detected in any of the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow 28, the measure of humidity of the supply air flow 28, or the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit 24, an alarm is issued indicating that the AHU should be re-calibrated and/or serviced.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are flow diagrams that together show an illustrative method 34 for controlling a fresh air intake of an AHU (such as the AHU 10) of an HVAC system servicing a building space (such as the building space 12). The AHU includes a fresh air intake damper (such as the fresh air intake damper 14) for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow, a return air duct (such as the return air duct 16) for receiving return air from the building space, a mixed air duct (such as the mixed air duct 18) for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow (such as the mixed air flow 22) to a heating and/or cooling unit (such as the heating and/or cooling unit 24) of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space. The AHU further includes a fan (such as the fan 26) for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU.

The illustrative method 34 includes determining a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow, as indicated at block 36.

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space, as indicated at block 38. The two or more constraints may further include one or more of a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds, as indicted at block 38a, a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU, as indicated at block 38b, and a constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space, as indicated at block 38c.

In some instances, and referring now to FIG. 2B, and as indicated at block 40, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include one or more processes. In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, as indicated at block 42. Determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow may include a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU, as indicated at block 42a. Determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow may include a predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds, as indicated at block 42b. The predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds may be taken from a data sheet from the manufacturer of the fan and/or AHU, or may be measured during a characterization of the fan.

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit, as indicated at block 44. Determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit may be based on a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve, as indicated at block 44a. Determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit may be based on a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit, as indicated at block 44b. In some cases, the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature may be provided by temperature sensors of the heating and/or cooling unit. Determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit may be based on a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve, as indicated at block 44c. Determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit may be based on a predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve, as indicated at block 44d. The predetermined flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve may be taken from a data sheet from the manufacturer of the AHU, or may be measured during a characterization of the AHU.

Continuing on FIG. 2C, determining the fresh air intake damper position may be based on determining the measure of the humidity of the supply air flow, as indicated at block 46. In some instances, determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow may be based on a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow, as indicated at block 46a. In some instances, determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow may be based on a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow, as indicated at block 46b. In some instances, determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow may be based on a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air, as indicated at block 46c. In some instances, determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow may be based on a signal representing a flow rate of the return air, as indicated at block 46d.

The illustrative method 34 includes setting the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position during a subsequent operation of the AHU, as indicated at block 48.

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the fresh air intake damper position based at least in part on two or more of the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit and the measure of humidity of the supply air flow. In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the fresh air intake damper position based at least in part on the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit and the measure of humidity of the supply air flow. These are just examples.

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on the signal representing the current fan speed of the fan of the AHU and the predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds. As an example, the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow may be determined in accordance with the equation:

$\mathrm{CFM}=\frac{\mathrm{RPM}}{\mathrm{design}\mathrm{RPM}}\times \mathrm{design}\mathrm{CFM},$

• • where:
    • CFM represents the flow rate of the supply air flow in Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM);
    • RPM represents the current fan speed of the fan of the AHU in Revolutions Per Minute (RPM);
    • design RPM represents one of the one or more the predetermined fan speeds of the fan (e.g. from a data sheet of the fan); and
    • design CFM represents the predetermined flow rate at the one of the one or more predetermined fan speeds of the fan (design RPM) (e.g. from the data sheet of the fan).In some instances, the flow rate of the supply air flow (CFM) is corrected in accordance with a correction factor given by the equation:

$k=\frac{\mathrm{Estimated}\mathrm{CFM}}{\mathrm{Actual}\mathrm{CFM}},$

• • where, the corrected flow rate of the supply air flow is expressed as the flow rate of the supply air flow divided by the correction factor

$k\mathrm{as}=\frac{\mathrm{CFM}}{k}.$

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on the signal representing the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit, the signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit, the signal representing the current valve position of the control valve, and the predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve. As an example, the measure of energy may be determined in accordance with the equation:

Q=mcΔT

• • where:
    • Q represents the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit;
    • m represents the mass flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit;
    • c represents the specific heat capacity of the heating and/or cooling fluid; and
    • ΔT represents a temperature difference between the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid.

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on the signal representing the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow, the signal representing the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow, the signal representing the relative humidity of the return air, and the signal representing the flow rate of the return air. As an example, the measure of humidity may be determined in accordance with the equation:

$\mathrm{Mixed}\mathrm{air}\mathrm{rH}:\left(\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{rH}*\frac{\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}{\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}+\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}\right)+\left(\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{rH}*\frac{\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}{\mathrm{OA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}+\mathrm{RA}\mathrm{flow}\mathrm{rate}}\right),$

• • where:
    • Mixed air rH represents a measure of relative humidity of the mixed air flow;
    • OA rH represents the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;
    • OA flow rate represents the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;
    • RA rH represents the relative humidity of the return air;
    • RA flow rate represents the flow rate of the return air; and
  • setting the measure of humidity of the supply air flow equal to the measure of relative humidity of the mixed air flow (Mixed air rH).

In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position may include two or more of determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit and determining the measure of humidity of the supply air. In some instances, determining the fresh air intake damper position includes determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on all three of determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit, and determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flow diagrams that together show an illustrative method 50 for controlling a fresh air intake of an AHU (such as the AHU 10) of an HVAC system servicing a building space (such as the building space 12). The AHU including a fresh air intake damper (such as the fresh air intake damper 14) for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow, a return air duct (such as the return air duct 16) for receiving return air from the building space, a mixed air duct (such as the mixed air duct 18) for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow (such as the mixed air flow 22) to a heating and/or cooling unit (such as the heating and/or cooling unit 24) of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space, the AHU including a fan (such as the fan 26) for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU.

The illustrative method 50 includes determining a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow, as indicated at block 52. The illustrative method 50 includes setting the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position during a subsequent operation of the AHU, as indicated at block 54.

In some instances, the method 50 may further include monitoring the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow for possible drift, as indicated at block 56. Monitoring the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow for possible drift may include comparing a current measure of flow rate of the supply air flow with an average of two or more previous measures of flow rate of the supply air flow, as indicated at block 56a. Monitoring the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow for possible drift may include comparing a current measure of flow rate of the supply air flow with a predetermined flow rate threshold, as indicated at block 56b. Monitoring the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow for possible drift may include comparing one or more changes in the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow with one or more changes in a pressure (e.g. duct pressure) in the supply air flow, as indicated at block 56c.

Continuing on FIG. 3B, the illustrative method 50 may further include monitoring the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow for possible drift, as indicated at block 58. Monitoring the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow for possible drift may include comparing a current measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow with a predetermined an energy delivery baseline, as indicated at block 58a. For example, an energy baseline for the AHU may be established using features such as outside temp, cooling degree days, heating degree days, occupancy and humidity. This can be used to compute expected energy consumption. If for a long duration, the calculated energy is higher than the observed energy, such as more than 2 standard deviations from baseline, for a long duration (such as a week), then drift is indicated (assuming flow and pressure hasn't changed drastically)

Monitoring the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow for possible drift may include comparing a performance of the heating and/or cooling unit over time to detect a change in performance of the heating and/or cooling unit, as indicated at block 58b. For example, if the heating and/or cooling flow changes over time to achieve the same or similar temperature drops across the inlet and outlet of the heating and/or cooling unit under similar conditions (e.g. similar mixed air temperature), a drift is indicated in the performance of the heating and/or cooling unit.

Monitoring the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow for possible drift may include comparing a temperature difference between an inlet temperature and an outlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve with a predetermined expected temperature difference under similar conditions (e.g. similar mixed air temperature and flow), as indicated at block 58c. The predetermined expected temperature difference versus flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid over certain conditions (e.g. mixed air temperature and flow) may be derived from a data sheet of the manufacturer of the AHU, or may be measured during a characterization of the AHU. In some instances, the method 50 may further include monitoring the measure of humidity of the supply air flow for possible drift includes, for example, comparing the measure of humidity of the supply air flow with a measure of humidity of the mixed air flow, as indicated at block 60. If these values start to diverge over time, drift may be indicated in the measure of humidity of the supply air flow.

FIG. 4 is a graph providing comparisons between estimated and actual flow rates of supply air. FIG. 4 includes a first graph 62 including a data line 64 that shows fan speed over time. As can be seen, the fan speed was fairly constant from 7 am to about 12 noon for the day shown, and varied considerably during the afternoon for the day shown. FIG. 4 includes a second graph 66 including a data line 68 showing actual flow rate and a data line 70 showing estimated flow rate. It will be appreciated that the estimated flow rate 70 is not very close to the actual flow rate 78, without any correction factor. FIG. 4 includes a third graph 72 including a data line 74 showing actual flow rate and a data line 76 showing the estimated flow rate with a correction factor. It will be appreciated that in the morning of the day shown, the estimated flow rate 76 is quite close to the actual flow rate 74. This demonstrates that flow rate can be reasonably estimated in the absence of an air flow sensor (e.g. based on fan speed). Significant changes in the afternoon fan speed seem to have impacted accuracy in the afternoon.

FIG. 5 is a graph providing comparisons between estimated and actual supply air humidity. FIG. 5 includes a graph 78 including a first data line 80 showing actual supply air relative humidity and a second data line 82 showing estimated supply air relative humidity. While the actual supply air relative humidity varied more than the estimated supply air relative humidity, it will be appreciated that the estimated supply air relative humidity is reasonably close to an average of the actual supply air relative humidity. This demonstrates that supply air humidity can be reasonably estimated in the absence of a supply air relative humidity sensor.

Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respects, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, arrangement of parts, and exclusion and order of steps, without exceeding the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure's scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a fresh air intake of an Air Handling Unit (AHU) of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system servicing a building space, the AHU including a fresh air intake damper for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow, a return air duct for receiving return air from the building space, a mixed air duct for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow to a heating and/or cooling unit of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space, the AHU including a fan for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU, the method comprising: determining a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow;wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of: a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds;a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU; anda constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space;wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes one or more of: determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU; anda predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds;determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve;a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve; anda predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve;determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air; anda signal representing a flow rate of the return air;setting the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position during a subsequent operation of the AHU.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes determining the fresh air intake damper position based at least in part on two or more of the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit and the measure of humidity of the supply air flow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes determining the fresh air intake damper position based at least in part on the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit and the measure of humidity of the supply air flow.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes: determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the current fan speed of the fan of the AHU; andthe predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow is determined in accordance with the equation:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the flow rate of the supply air flow (CFM) is corrected in accordance with a correction factor given by the equation:

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes: determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: the signal representing the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing the current valve position of the control valve; andthe predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the measure of energy is determined in accordance with the equation: Q=mcΔTwhere: Q represents the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit;m represents the mass flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit;c represents the specific heat capacity of the heating and/or cooling fluid; andΔT represents a temperature difference between the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes: determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the relative humidity of the return air; andthe signal representing the flow rate of the return air.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the measure of humidity is determined in accordance with the equation:

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes two or more of: determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the current fan speed of the fan of the AHU; andthe predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds;determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: the signal representing the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing the current valve position of the control valve; andthe predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve;determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the relative humidity of the return air; andthe signal representing the flow rate of the return air.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the fresh air intake damper position includes: determining the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the current fan speed of the fan of the AHU; andthe predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds;determining the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: the signal representing the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing the current valve position of the control valve; andthe predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve;determining the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the relative humidity of the return air; andthe signal representing the flow rate of the return air.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow for possible drift including one or more of: comparing a current measure of flow rate of the supply air flow with an average of two or more previous measures of flow rate of the supply air flow;comparing a current measure of flow rate of the supply air flow with a predetermined flow rate threshold; andcomparing one or more changes in the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow with one or more changes in a pressure in the supply air flow.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow for possible drift including one or more of: comparing a current measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow with a predetermined an energy delivery baseline;comparing a performance of the heating and/or cooling unit over time to detect a change in performance of the heating and/or cooling unit; andcomparing a temperature difference between an inlet temperature and an outlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve with a predetermined expected temperature difference.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the measure of humidity of the supply air flow for possible drift including comparing the measure of humidity of the supply air flow with a measure of humidity of the mixed air flow.

16. An Air Handling Unit (AHU) of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system for servicing a building space, the AHU including: a fresh air intake damper for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow;a return air duct for receiving return air from the building space;a heating and/or cooling unit;a mixed air duct for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow to the heating and/or cooling unit of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space;a fan for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU;a controller operatively coupled to the fresh air intake damper, the heating and/or cooling unit and the fan, the controller configured to: determine a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow;wherein the fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of: a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds;a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU; anda constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space;wherein the controller, when determining the fresh air intake damper position, includes one or more of: determine the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU; anda predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds;determine the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve;a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve; anda predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve;determine the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air;a signal representing a flow rate of the return air; andset the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the current fan speed of the fan of the AHU;the predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds;wherein the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow is determined in accordance with the equation:

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: the signal representing the inlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;the signal representing the current valve position of the control valve;the predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve;wherein the measure of energy is determined in accordance with the equation: Q=mcΔTwhere: Q represents the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit;m represents the mass flow rate of the heating and/or cooling fluid flowing through the heating and/or cooling unit;c represents the specific heat capacity of the heating and/or cooling fluid; andΔT represents a temperature difference between the inlet temperature and the outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: the signal representing the relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;the signal representing the relative humidity of the return air;the signal representing the flow rate of the return air;wherein the measure of humidity is determined in accordance with the equation:

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions thereon that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to: control a fresh air intake damper of an Air Handling Unit (AHU) of an HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system servicing a building space, wherein the AHU includes: a fresh air intake damper for admitting a fresh air ventilation air flow;a return air duct for receiving return air from the building space;a heating and/or cooling unit;a mixed air duct for mixing the fresh air ventilation air flow from the fresh air intake damper and return air from the return air duct and providing a mixed air flow to the heating and/or cooling unit of the AHU which supplies a supply air flow to the building space;a fan for providing a motive force to move the return air, the fresh air ventilation air flow, the mixed air flow and the supply air flow through the AHU;wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to: determine a fresh air intake damper position for the fresh air intake damper based at least in part on one or more of a measure of flow rate of the supply air flow, a measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit to the supply air flow, and a measure of humidity of the supply air flow;wherein the fresh air intake damper position is subject to two or more constraints including a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more comfort conditions in the building space and one or more of: a constraint that the AHU maintains one or more Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) contaminants in the building space below one or more IAQ thresholds;a constraint that the AHU minimizes energy consumption of the AHU; anda constraint that the AHU maximizes the fresh air ventilation air flow into the building space;wherein, when determining the fresh air intake damper position, the instructions cause the one or more processor to perform one or more of: determine the measure of flow rate of the supply air flow based on: a signal representing a current fan speed of the fan of the AHU; anda predetermined flow rate of the fan at each of one or more predetermined fan speeds;determine the measure of energy delivered by the heating and/or cooling unit based on: a signal representing an inlet temperature of a heating and/or cooling fluid entering the heating and/or cooling unit through a control valve;a signal representing an outlet temperature of the heating and/or cooling fluid exiting the heating and/or cooling unit;a signal representing a current valve position of the control valve; anda predetermined flow rate of heating and/or cooling fluid at each of one or more predetermined valve positions of the control valve;determine the measure of humidity of the supply air flow based on: a signal representing a relative humidity of the fresh air ventilation air flow;a signal representing a flow rate of the fresh air ventilation air flow;a signal representing a relative humidity of the return air;a signal representing a flow rate of the return air; andset the fresh air intake damper to the determined fresh air intake damper position.