CONTROL OF MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTAL ZONES BASED ON PREDICTED CHANGES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF THE ZONES

摘要

An Electronically-Controlled Register vent (ECRV) that can be easily installed by a homeowner or general handyman is disclosed. The ECRV can be used to convert a non-zoned HVAC system into a zoned system. The ECRV can also be used in connection with a conventional zoned HVAC system to provide additional control and additional zones not provided by the conventional zoned HVAC system. In one embodiment, the ECRV is configured have a size and form-factor that conforms to a standard manually-controlled register vent. In one embodiment, a zone thermostat is configured to provide thermostat information to the ECRV. In one embodiment, the zone thermostat communicates with a central monitoring system that coordinates operation of the heating and cooling zones.

主权项

1. A system for wirelessly controlling multiple environmental zones, comprising:
a plurality of zone controllers each associated with one of the environmental zones, each zone controller being configured to:
monitor an environmental condition of the environmental zone associated with the zone controller; andcontrol a local device specific to the environmental zone associated with the zone controller to modify the environmental condition of the environmental zone associated with the zone controller; and a central controller configured to:
receive data indicating an initial environmental condition of one of the environmental zones associated with a particular one of the zone controllers;issue a command to at least one of the zone controllers based at least in part on a predicted effect thereof on the environmental condition of the environmental zone associated with the particular one of the zone controllers;receive data indicating a change to the initial environmental condition responsive to the issued command; andmodify the predicted effect based at least in part on the received data indicating the change to the initial environmental condition.