| 摘要 |
A temperature control apparatus 10 for a building comprises an electricity generator 26 which is cooled by a heat transfer fluid in a heat transfer circuit. A heating system comprises a heat source 22, space heater 20, and hot water tank 18. A heat exchanger 24 supplements heat from heat source 22 with heat energy from the heat transfer circuit. An interface 12 enables a user to select a desired temperature for a zone of the building and a first time period for which is to be maintained, along with a second time period for the supply of hot water. A controller 16 determines when to operate the generator 26 based on the thermal capacity of tank 18 or the first time period, desired temperature, and current temperature of a zone of the building. The system may be controlled using a rate of change of temperature of a zone of the building. A power distribution system comprising a plurality of combined heat and power systems (30, 32, Fig. 2) in separate dwellings, a controller (160, Fig. 2) and a communications interface (140, Fig. 2) is also described. |
