EP3730856A1

EP3730856A1 - Hvac control system for dynamic temperature control

Info

Publication number: EP3730856A1
Application number: EP20170010.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gino De Brabander
Original assignee: Niko NV
Current assignee: Niko NV
Priority date: 2019-04-19
Filing date: 2020-04-17
Publication date: 2020-10-28
Also published as: BE1027202B1; BE1027202A1

Abstract

The present invention provides an HVAC control system (10) for controlling the temperature in at least one area of a building. The HVAC control system (10) comprises at least one user input interface (2) for receiving a setting from at least one occupant, at least one temperature control means (1) for controlling the temperature in the at least one area, and a control and communication unit (3) comprising a processor (4) for controlling the at least one temperature control means (1) to set a presence temperature setting (T_PRES) and an away temperature setting (T_AWAY) respectively for when the at least one occupant is present in the at least one area or is not present in the at least one area. The HVAC control system (10) furthermore comprises means (6) for tracking activity by the at least one occupant in the at least one area. The processor (4) is further adapted to automatically send a signal to the temperature control means (1) to adapt the presence temperature setting (T_PRES) to at least an activity_high temperature setting (T_{ACT_HIGH}) upon receiving a signal indicative of activity in the at least one area, or to an activity_low temperature setting (T_{ACT_LOW}) upon no longer receiving a signal representative of activity from the means (6) for detecting activity, and in response thereto the temperature in the at least one area is automatically and directly set to respectively the activity_high temperature setting (T_{ACT_HIGH}) or the activity_low temperature setting (T_{ACT_LOW}), so that it becomes more comfortable for the occupant.

Description

Technical field of the invention

The present invention relates to an HVAC control system. More particular, the present invention relates to an HCAC control system that allows dynamic temperature control.

Background of the invention

Nowadays, everything is getting smart, from smart phones to smart HVAC control systems, e.g. smart thermostats, to smart buildings and even to smart cities. This evolution is a direct result of the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), which, in combination with a growing environmental awareness, has led to the identification of the potential of ICT for improving energy efficiency of, for example, appliances or buildings.
Also efficient use of energy becomes more and more important in today's society. Introducing intelligence into devices, by modelling their usage, creating so-called intelligent or smart products, is one way of achieving energy savings. Examples hereof are smart thermostats, of which already quite some concepts exist.
Smart thermostats need to be programmed once and then can adapt automatically to the set temperatures, depending on whether or not there are people present in a home or building, in order to save energy.
EP 2 769 277 describes a smart thermostat. Embodiments of EP 2 769 277 describe thermostats who can be configured to operate in one mode when the home is occupied and to operate in a second mode when the home is unoccupied. For example, when the home is occupied, devices can be configured to activate user interfaces, maintain certain levels of temperature and/or humidity. On the other hand, when the home is unoccupied, devices can be configured to turn off user interfaces, conserve power by altering normal levels of humidity, turn off appliances, and otherwise reduce power usage of the home when no one is there. Therefore, the thermostat comprises one or more temperature sensor for determining an ambient air temperature. Further, the thermostat comprises at least one occupancy sensor in operative communication with a processing system. The thermostat includes an away-state feature in which the thermostat enters into an away-state mode of operation upon a determination by the processing system based on readings acquired by the at least one occupancy sensor that an away-state criterion indicative of a non-occupancy condition for an enclosure in which the thermostat has been installed has been satisfied. The away-state mode of operation includes an automated setpoint temperature setback mode. The processing system is configured to automatically determine, without requiring user input, whether to activate the away-state feature for the enclosure in which the thermostat has been installed.
The thermostat described in EP 2 769 277 can only be set in an away state and an occupancy state, i.e. a temperature setpoint for the case when nobody is in the home or building and a temperature setpoint for the case when at least one person is present in the home or building. However, if for example a temperature setpoint for occupancy on evenings is set at 21°, it happens that a person present in the building or home is, at that time, walking around for, e.g. cleaning the house. At that time, 21° may be too high for that person, and he or she needs to adapt the temperature, i.e. lower the temperature, manually. On the other hand, on another night, the person may be sitting in the seat watching television. At that moment, 21° may be too low, and again, he or she needs to adapt the temperature, in that case increase the temperature, manually.
US 2016/0168002 relates to temporarily or permanently modifying a time-based temperature program of a programmable thermostat based on changes in the type or degree of observed or anticipated occupant activity. Additionally, the present disclosure relates to determining and implementing an activity-based temperature program that a programmable thermostat may use to control a HVAC system based on a type or degree of observed or anticipated occupant activity, rather than according to a time-based schedule. Measurements performed by sensors provide inputs to the HVAC system, that may be used to determine how many occupants may be in the structure 10, where occupants may be located within the structure, and what types and/or levels of activity these occupants may be performing. The thermostats may use this sensor data, as well as other measurements or observations, to determine occupancy and/or occupant activity information and then to modify a temperature setpoint schedule for the structure 10 based on this occupancy and/or occupant activity information. Throughout learning mode operation, after each user input is received, a processor of the thermostat analyzes the time, temperature, and occupant activity data associated with the current user input relative to the time, temperature, and occupant activity data associated with previous user inputs and attempt to identify trends. If the processor identifies a trend or correlation between the time, temperature, and occupant activity data associated with the current user input and the time, temperature, and occupant activity data associated with previous user inputs, the processor may create or modify a temperature setpoint of the temperature setpoint schedule based on the correlation.
Hence, the information received from the sensors or from input from a user are used to leam about the behavior of a user and to update the programmed temperature setpoint schedule accordingly. US 2016/0168002 suffers from same problem as described for EP2 769 277 above. The information is not used for activating a particular temperature directly when e.g. activity is detected. So, when a person is active, e.g, cleaning the house, it may be too hot, and the person will manually set a lower temperature. The HVAC system will learn from it, and will later on, when this is a recurring process, adapt the programmed temperature setpoint schedule accordingly. It will thus take some time, e.g. days or months, before the HVAC system learns from this.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide an HVAC control system that provides dynamic temperature control during use, based on activity detection.
The above objective is accomplished by a device according to embodiments of the present invention.
An HVAC control system for controlling the temperature in at least one area of a building, The HVAC control system comprises at least one user input interface for receiving a setting from at least one occupant, at least one temperature control means for controlling the temperature in the at least one area, and a control and communication unit comprising a processor for controlling the at least one temperature control means to set a presence temperature setting and an away temperature setting respectively for when the at least one occupant is present in the at least one area or is not present in the at least one area. The HVAC control system furthermore comprises means for tracking activity by the at least one occupant in the at least one area. The processor is further adapted to automatically send a signal to the temperature control means to adapt the presence temperature setting to at least an activity_high temperature setting upon receiving a signal indicative of activity in the at least one area, or to an activity_low temperature setting upon no longer receiving a signal representative of activity from the means for detecting activity, the activity_high temperature setting being of course lower than the activity_low temperature setting, but still being higher than the away temperature setting. In response to receiving the signal, the temperature in the at least one area is automatically and directly adapted to respectively the activity_high temperature setting (T_{ACT_HIGH}) or the activity_low temperature setting (T_{ACT_LOW}), so that it becomes more comfortable for the occupant.
An HVAC control system according to embodiments of the invention has two possible modes, i.e. an away mode and a presence mode and has at least three possible temperature setting points, i.e. an away temperature setting, an activity_high temperature setting and an activity_low temperature setting. Because of that, an HVAC system according to embodiments of the invention, can lower the energy consumption compared to existing HVAC systems. This is because when an occupant is, for example, walking around or cleaning or the like, the temperature may be lower than when this occupant is, for example, sitting on a chair or in a seat, otherwise it may become too hot. By making the HVAC system according to embodiments of the invention, such that it can adapt the temperature automatically to a lower value when there is activity going on, a lot of energy consumption can be saved.
The control and communication unit may be a remote control and communication unit that is located away from the temperature control means and that is connected to the at least one temperature control means.
Hence, according to embodiments of the invention, the intelligence necessary for the control of the devices part of the HVAC control system for controlling the temperature in at least one area of a building, is not part of the temperature control means but is located on a, preferably central, location away from the temperature control means.
The processor may be adapted for receiving input for setting the presence temperature setting and the away temperature setting via the at least one user input interface.
According to embodiments of the invention, the HVAC control system may furthermore comprise means for detecting presence of at least one occupant, and the processor may be adapted for receiving input from the means for detecting presence of the at least one occupant and for, upon receiving a signal representative of the presence of at least one occupant, sending a signal to the at least one temperature control means for adapting the temperature to a presence temperature setting and for, when no longer receiving the signal representative of the presence of at least one occupant, sending a signal to the at least one temperature control means for adapting the temperature to an away temperature setting.
The HVAC system may furthermore comprise a processor memory for storing away/present/activity curves, determined by historical settings of the away temperature settings, the presence temperature settings the activity_low temperature settings and the activity_high temperature settings made by a user or determined by the processor.
According to embodiments of the invention, the processor may further be adapted for predicting future away/present/activity curve from historical settings determined by a user determined by the processor.
The means for tracking activity in the at least one area may, according to embodiments of the invention, be at least one of a mobile device such as e.g. a mobile phone, an activity tracker or a smart watch, at least one activity measuring, sensor or a camera which may, for example, be activated by a signal from the means for detecting presence of at least one occupant. According to embodiments of the invention, the means for detecting presence of the at least one occupant may comprise a CO2 sensor, means for detecting opening or closing of a door, means for detecting presence of WiFi or Bluetooth, or the like.
The user input interface may be part of the temperature control means or may be formed by a wall display, a tablet or a smart phone.
The control and communication unit may be a gateway or is integrated in one of a display, a tablet, a TV, a settopbox or a smart phone.
The temperature control means may comprise at least one of a thermostat, at least one thermostatic valve or at least on sensor.

Brief description of the drawings

It has to be noted that same reference signs in the different figures refer to same, similar or analogous elements.

Fig. 1 illustrates an away/presence curve for HVAC control systems according to the prior art.
Fig. 2 schematically illustrates an HVAC control system according to embodiments of the present invention.
Fig. 3 illustrates an away/presence/activity curve for an HVAC control system according to embodiments of the present invention.
Fig. 4 schematically illustrates the working principle of an HVAC control system according to embodiments of the present invention.

Description of illustrative embodiments

In the description different embodiments will be used to describe the invention. Therefore reference will be made to different drawings. It has to be understood that these drawings are intended to be non-limiting, the invention is only limited by the claims. The drawings are thus for illustrative purposes, the size of some of the elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity purposes.
The term "comprising" is not to be interpreted as limiting the invention in any way. The term "comprising", used in the claims, is not intended to be restricted to what means is described thereafter; it does not exclude other elements, parts or steps.
The term "connected" as used in the claims and in the description has not to be interpreted as being restricted to direct connections, unless otherwise specified. Thus, part A being connected to part B is not limited to part A being in direct contact to part B, but also includes indirect contact between part A and part B, in other words also includes the case where intermediate parts are present in between part A and part B.
Not all embodiments of the invention comprise all features of the invention. In the following description and claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.
As already described above, currently existing HVAC control systems or thermostats are only able to set a temperature for when nobody is home and a temperature for when somebody is in the home. This is illustrated in Fig. 1, which shows an away/presence curve of a prior art HVAC control system, illustrating the away temperature setting T_AWAY and the presence temperature setting T_PRES. It has to be understood that the away temperature setting T_AWAY is also indicating the temperature at night when the occupant(s) is/are sleeping. The away temperature setting T_AWAY and the presence temperature setting T_PRES can be programmed by a user or can be triggered by, e.g. presence detection. However, whenever an occupant is getting hot because high activity (cleaning, walking around, ...) or is getting cold because of no activity (sitting on a chair or in a seat, ...), the temperature always needs to be adapted manually.
Therefore, the present invention provides an HVAC control system for controlling the temperature in at least one area or room of a building. The HVAC control system comprises at least one user input interface for receiving a setting from at least one occupant of the area, at least one temperature control means for controlling the temperature in the at least one area, and a control and communication unit comprising a processor for controlling the at least one temperature control means to set a presence temperature setting and an away temperature setting respectively for when the at least one occupant is present in the at least one area and for when the at least one occupant is not present in the at least one area. According to the invention, the HVAC control system furthermore comprises means for tracking activity by the at least one occupant in the at least one area, and the processor is further adapted to automatically adapt the presence temperature setting to at least an activity high temperature setting upon receiving a signal indicative of activity in the at least one area, or an activity_low temperature setting upon no longer receiving a signal representative of activity from the means for detecting activity. The activity_high temperature setting is lower than the activity_low temperature setting, but is still higher than the away temperature setting. In response to receiving the signal, the temperature in the at least one area is automatically and directly adapted to respectively the activity_high temperature setting (T_{ACT_HIGH}) or the activity_low temperature setting (T_{ACT_LOW}), so that it becomes more comfortable for the occupant.
The HVAC control system according to embodiments of the invention has two possible modes, i.e. an away mode and a presence mode and has at least three possible temperature setting points, i.e. an away temperature setting, an activity_high temperature setting and an activity_low temperature setting. Because of that, an HVAC system according to embodiments of the invention, can lower the energy consumption compared to existing HVAC systems. This is because when an occupant is, for example, walking around or cleaning or the like, the temperature may be lower than when this occupant is, for example, sitting on a chair or in a seat, otherwise it may become too hot. By making the HVAC system according to embodiments of the invention, such that it can adapt the temperature automatically to a lower value when there is activity going on, a lot of energy consumption can be saved.
The present invention will hereinafter be described by means of different embodiments. It has to be understood that these embodiments are only for the ease of understanding the invention and are not intended to limit the invention in any way.
An HVAC control system 10 according to embodiments of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 2. The HVAC control system 10 comprises at least one temperature control means 1. The temperature control means 1 may, for example, be at least one thermostat, at least one thermostatic valve, at least one sensor, any other suitable means for controlling the temperature as known by a person skilled in the art, or a combination thereof. The HVAC control system 10 also comprises a user input interface 2 through which an occupant of the at least one area can input a setting, i.e. a preferred temperature. The input interface 2 may, according to embodiments of the invention, for example, be part of the temperature control means 1, e.g. thermostat, or may be formed by a wall display, a tablet, a smart phone or the like.
The HVAC control system 10 furthermore comprises a control and communication means 3. According to embodiments of the invention, the control and communication means 3 may, for example, be a gateway or may be integrated in one of a display, a tablet, a TV, a settopbox, a switch, a sensor, a smart phone or the like. The control and communication unit 4 may be, wirelessly or by wires, connected to the at least one temperature control means 1. According to embodiments of the invention, the control and communication means 3 may be a remote control and communication means, i.e. the control and communication means 3 may be located away from the temperature control means 1. Or in other words, the temperature control means 1 and the control and communication means 3 may be implemented as two different devices. The control and communication means 3 may preferably be located at a fixed central location in the building. This may, for example in case of a gateway, be in a cabinet. And according to another example, in case of the control and communication means 3 being e.g. a display, it can be provided on a wall in a room of the building. However, the location of the control and communication means 3 is not necessarily fixed. Indeed, in case of the control and communication means 3 being a smartphone, it can be located anywhere in the house or it can be carried by an occupant of the room, e.g. in its pockets.
The control and communication means 3 comprises a processor 4 for controlling the at least one temperature control means 1 to set a presence temperature setting T_PRES and an away temperature setting T_AWAY. With presence temperature T_PRES setting is meant a preferred temperature to be set when at least one occupant is present in an area or room in a building.
With away temperature setting T_AWAY is meant a preferred temperature to be set nobody is present in the at least one area or room. According to embodiments of the invention, the processor 4 may be adapted for receiving input for setting the presence temperature setting T_PRES and the away temperature setting T_AWAY via the at least one user input interface 2. In such case, the presence temperature setting T_PRES and the away temperature setting T_AWAY may be done manually by the user. This may be done by programming the HVAC control system 10 with the preferred temperature settings T_PRES and T_AWAY as a function of time. In other words, the preferred temperature settings T_PRES and T_AWAY are activated at the programmed hour.
According to other embodiments, programming the HVAC control system 10 may be such that activation of the preferred temperature settings T_PRES and T_AWAY may be connected to the detection of the presence of an occupant. Therefore, the HVAC control system may furthermore comprise means 5 for detecting presence of at least one occupant. Such means 5 for detecting the presence of at least one occupant may, according to embodiments of the invention, comprise a CO₂ sensor, means for detecting opening or closing of a door, means for detecting presence of WiFi or Bluetooth, a PIR sensor, a light measurement sensor, or any other suitable means for detecting the presence of a person in an area, e.g. room or space, of a building. Further according to such embodiments, the processor 4 may be adapted for receiving input from the means 5 for detecting presence of the at least one occupant. This input is a signal representative of the presence of at least one occupant in the area or room. Upon receiving such signal, the processor 4 will send a signal to the at least one temperature control means 1 for adapting the temperature to the presence temperature setting T_PRES. When the occupant leaves the area or room, the means 5 for detecting presence will no longer detect an occupant and will stop sending the signal representative to the presence of at least one occupant to the processor 4. When the processor 4 no longer receives the signal representative of the presence of at least one occupant from the means 5 for detecting presence, the processor 4 will send a signal to the at least one temperature control means 1 for adapting the temperature to the away temperature setting T_AWAY. According to this embodiment, energy consumption can be lowered with respect to the former embodiment, where the HVAC control system 10 is programmed to adapt the temperature to the presence temperature setting T_PRES or to the away temperature setting T_AWAY at predetermine, programmed time frames.
An HVAC control system 10 according to embodiments of the invention can even more lower the energy consumption, because it makes it possible to further adapt the presence temperature setting T_PRES to at least two different values, i.e. an activity_low temperature setting T_{ACT_LOW} and an activity high temperature setting T_{ACT_HIGH}, the activity_high temperature setting T_{ACT_HIGH} thereby being lower than the activity_low temperature setting T_{ACT_LOW}, but still being higher than the away temperature setting T_AWAY. Therefore, the HVAC control system 10 needs to know whether the occupant is active or not. Hence, the HVAC control system 10 furthermore comprises means 6 for tracking activity by the at least one occupant in the at least one area or room. The means 6 for activity tracking may, according to embodiments of the invention, comprise at least on activity tracking sensor such as e.g. an acoustic sensor, a radar senor or other suitable sensors located, for example, in a switch or sensor in a wall or ceiling. According to other embodiment, the means 6 for activity tracking may further comprise at least one of a mobile device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, a smart watch or an activity tracker such as e.g. a fitness gear, or a camera. In case of a camera, the camera may, for example, be activated by a signal from a sensor, such as e.g. a presence detection sensor, present in the area or room. According to such embodiments, upon receiving a signal indicative of activity in the at least one area or room from the means 6 for tracking activity, the processor 4 will automatically send a signal to the temperature control means 1 to adapt the presence temperature setting T_PRES to the activity_high temperature setting T_{ACT_HIGH}. As a response to that signal, the temperature control means 1 will lower the temperature in the at least one area until it reaches the preferred, pre-programmed activity_high temperature setting T_{ACT_HIGH}. The means 6 for tracking activity will continuously be sending information to the processor 4, any small difference or variation inactivity will be sent. In the processor 4, an algorithm will continuously be evaluating the information received from the means 6 for tracking activity. Depending on the outcome of this algorithm the processor 4 will or will not send a signal to the temperature control means 1 for changing the temperature setting. For example, when evaluation by the algorithm results in low or no activity detection for at least between 10 and 30 minutes, e.g. for at least 15 minutes, it will stop sending signals to the processor 4. Including such time period may be necessary to avoid that the temperature switches too often between T_{ACT_LOW} and T_{ACT_HIGH}. For example, standard settings may be set at 15 minutes, but a user can adapt this to any value that is suitable for a particular situation or this may automatically be adapted by the processor 4 based on detected patterns. So after the algorithm determined that there is no activity anymore for the pre-set amount of time, the processor 4 will send a signal to the temperature control means 1 for setting the temperature to the preferred, pre-programmed activity_low temperature setting T_{ACT_LOW}, or in other words, it will send a signal to the temperature control means 1 for increasing the temperature to the activity_low temperature setting T_{ACT_LOW}. An example hereof is illustrated in Fig. 3, which shows an away/present/activity curve 8 (full line) of an HVAC control system 10 according to embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood that this is only an example for illustrating the invention and is not intended to limit the invention in any way. The away/present/activity curve 8 shows in fact temperature settings T_AWAY, T_PRES, T_{ACT_LOW} and T_{ACT_HIGH} over a whole day are shown. From this curve 8 it can be seen that in the early morning, when everybody is still lying in bed, temperature is set at T_AWAY, as is also the case at night, e.g. after 11 p.m..
This T_AWAY, as well as the T_PRES, may, according to embodiments of the invention, manually be programmed in the HVAC control system 10, in a way as was described earlier, or may be connected to presence measurements by means 5 for measuring presence of an occupant, as also already described earlier.
For example, T_PRES may be set at 7 a.m., same time as the alarm clock of the occupant is set. So, at 7 a.m. the processor activates the temperature control means 1 to set the temperature at T_PRES. When the occupant gets out of bed, activity will be tracked. This may be already in the bedroom, when means 6 for tracking activity are provided there. According to embodiments of the invention, means 6 for tracking activity may be provided in every room. However, according to other embodiments, means 6 for tracking activity may, for example, only be provided in the living room, or in the bathroom and the living room, or in any other room that is deemed necessary.
So, when for example, as mentioned above, means 6 for tracking activity is provided in the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen, once an occupant wakes up and gets out of bed, the means 6 for tracking activity is activated, determines the activity, and sends a signal to the processor 4. As the occupant goes, for example, to the bathroom, activity remains tracked, so the processor sends a signal to the temperature control means to set the temperature at the activity_high temperature setting T_{ACT_HIGH}. Once the occupant is ready for breakfast, he or she goes into the kitchen and sits down at the kitchen table. As described above, when evaluation of the signals sent by the means 6 for tracking activity indicate that there is no for between 10 and 30 minutes, e.g. for about 15 minutes, the processor 4 will send a signal to the temperature control means 1 to set the temperature to the activity _low temperature setting T_{ACT_LOW}. Hence, the temperature will increase accordingly, as can be seen in Fig. 3. After that, when everybody is out for work or school, the temperature needs to drop down to the away temperature setting T_AWAY. This can be obtained by means of the programmed preference in the HVAC control system 10 or can be as a consequence of the fact that evaluation of the signals received from the means 6 for detecting presence indicates that there is nobody present in the building anymore. The away temperature setting T_AWAY then stays active until another programmed time frame is reached or until presence is again detected by the means 5 for detecting presence when an occupant is entering the building. At that time, the means 6 for tracking activity will also track activity and will send a signal representative to that activity to the processor 4, which at his turn will send a signal to the temperature control means 1 for setting the temperature at the activity_high temperature setting T_{ACT_HIGH}. When activity is measured for less than between 10 and 30 minutes, e.g. for less than 15 minutes, the signal received by the processor 4 will indicate that there is no longer activity and the temperature will be set to the activity_low temperature setting T_{ACT_LOW}. In the example given in Fig. 3, first activity is measured, so the temperature is set at T_{ACT_HIGH} for a particular amount of time until no activity is measured anymore. Then the temperature is set to T_{ACT_LOW}. At a predetermined time or when no activity and no presence is detected anymore, the temperature will drop to T_AWAY for the night.
The above example, however it may also be a combination of both embodiments. In that case, pre-programmed preference temperature and time frame settings are done by an occupant. But next to that, also means 5 for presence detection is present in the area or room. According to these embodiments, the means 5 for detection presence of at least one occupant is dominant over the pre-programmation. This means that whenever presence is detected by the means 5 for detecting presence of an occupant, even the time frame for setting T_PRES is not yet arrived, a signal will be sent by the processor to the temperature control means so as to set T_PRES, and then depending on whether there is activity or not, the processor may further send a signal to the temperature control means for setting the temperature to respectively T_{ACT_HIGH} or T_{ACTT_LOW}.
For comparison purposes, the dashed line indicates the away/presence curve for a prior art HVAC control system. According to prior art HVAC control systems, no distinction can be made between different levels of activity, it is either someone is there or nobody is there. This means that, even when somebody is active for a long period, the temperature will always stay the same as if this person would be on a chair or in a seat for the same period. Because of this, a lot of energy is lost, because during activity the temperature should not be that high. Hereabove and with respect to Fig. 3, an away/presence/activity curve 8 of an HVAC control system 10 according to embodiments of the invention was described and discussed. Such away/presence/activity curve 8 can have many different settings, either pre-programmed in combination with means 6 for activity tracking or determined by a combination of means 5 for presence detection and means 6 for activity tracking. These away/presence/activity curves with their corresponding settings may, according to embodiments, be stored in a memory 7 of the processor 4. Such stored away/presence/activity curve 8 thus provide historical settings of away temperature settings T_AWAY, presence temperature settings T_PRES, activity_high temperature settings T_{ACT_HIGH} and activity_low temperature settings T_{ACT_LOW} of the HVAC control system 10 set by a user or determined by the processor 4.
According to embodiments of the invention, these historical temperature settings T_AWAY, T_PRES, T_{ACT_LOW} and T_{ACT_HIGH} may be used to predict future away/presence/activity curves 8 of the HVAC control system 10. This means that the HVAC control system 10 may be self-learning. With self-learning is meant that The HVAC control system 10 according to embodiments of the invention is able to detect behaviour patterns and to adapt the temperature setting according to these behaviour patterns. Also user feedback to the HVAC system 10 in case the temperature setting is too high or too low, provides information to adapt these calculated/predicted behaviour patterns. Hence, the HVAC control system 10 starts with a basic database which comprises pre-set scenarios. These pre-set scenarios can be pre-programmed during manufacturing of the HVAC control system 10, or can be programmed by an installer or a user when first using the HVAC control system 10. The (pre-)programmed scenarios can then be adapted with the input the HVAC control system 10 receives from a user or the input that is received from the means 5 for detecting presence of at least one occupant. When behaviour patterns are returning, the HVAC system 10 learns these patterns. After, for example, a few days all inputs and behaviour patterns will be analysed by a learning algorithm present in the processor 4 of the HVAC system 10 and on the basis of this analysis the HVAC system 10 will be able to determine which temperature setting matches a particular amount of activity, and will then automatically adapts the settings of these matching temperature setting. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates the working principle of an HVAC control system according to embodiments of the present invention. When a system is first used, either it comprises pre-set scenarios or an installer or a user programs the HVAC system 10 with a first set of scenarios. This is indicated by t_SET1 to t_SET6. These settings comprise the time settings when the temperature settings T_AWAY, T_{ACT_HIGH} and T_{ACT_LOW} have to be set. As a result of presence detection by the means 5 for detecting presence of at least one occupant, the system 10 can adapt the pre-programmed settings to settings more suitable to the habits of the user. This is indicated by Δt_PRES. Further, also the preferred temperature settings may be (pre-)programmed. During use, the user may give feedback by manually adapting the temperature setting. This is indicated in Fig. 4 by ΔT_FB. After a particular period of time, the system self-learned the preferred temperature of the user and automatically adapts the temperature settings according to the new preferred temperature settings. In that way, the difference ΔT_ACT between the new settings T_{ACT_HIGH} and T_{ACT_LOW} may become lower or higher than the initially programmed difference. In that way, the present invention provides an adaptive HVAC system 10 which takes into account activity of a user and which is able to provide a preferred temperature setting based on activity tracking.

Claims

An HVAC control system (10) for controlling the temperature in at least one area of a building, the HVAC control system (10) comprising:
- at least one user input interface (2) for receiving a setting from at least one occupant,

- at least one temperature control means (1) for controlling the temperature in the at least one area, and

- a control and communication unit (3) comprising a processor (4) for controlling the at least one temperature control means (1) to set a presence temperature setting (T_PRES) and an away temperature setting (T_AWAY) respectively for when the at least one occupant is present in the at least one area or is not present in the at least one area,

- means (6) for tracking activity by the at least one occupant in the at least one area, characterized in that the processor (4) is further adapted to automatically send a signal to the temperature control means (1) to adapt the presence temperature setting (T_PRES) to at least an activity_high temperature setting (T_{ACT_HIGH}) upon receiving a signal indicative of activity in the at least one area, or to an activity_low temperature setting (T_{ACT_LOW}) upon no longer receiving a signal representative of activity from the means (6) for detecting activity.
HVAC control system (10) according to claim 1, wherein the control and communication unit (3) is a remote control and communication unit that is located away from the temperature control means (1) and that is connected to the at least one temperature control means (1).
HVAC control system (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor (4) is further adapted for receiving input for setting the presence temperature setting (T_PRES) and the away temperature setting (T_AWAY) via the at least one user input interface (2).
HVAC control system (10) according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the HVAC control system (10) furthermore comprises means (5) for detecting presence of at least one occupant, and wherein the processor (4) is adapted for receiving input from the means (5) for detecting presence of the at least one occupant and for, upon receiving a signal representative of the presence of at least one occupant, sending a signal to the at least one temperature control means (1) for adapting the temperature to a presence temperature setting (T_PRES) and for, when no longer receiving the signal representative of the presence of at least one occupant, sending a signal to the at least one temperature control means (1) for adapting the temperature to an away temperature setting (T_AWAY).
HVAC control system (10) according to any of the previous claims, furthermore comprising a processor memory (7) for storing away/present/activity curves (8), determined by historical settings of the away temperature settings (T_AWAY), the presence temperature settings (T_PRES) the activity_low temperature settings (T_{ACT_LOW}) and the activity_high temperature settings (T_{ACT_HIGH}) made by a user or determined by the processor (4).
HVAC control system (10) according to claim 5, wherein the processor is further adapted for predicting future away/present/activity curve from historical settings determined by a user determined by the processor (4).
HVAC control system (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the means (6) for tracking activity in the at least one area is at least one of a mobile device, at least one activity measuring sensor or a camera.
HVAC control system (10) according to any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the means (5) for detecting presence of the at least one occupant comprises a CO₂ sensor, means for detecting opening or closing of a door, means for detecting presence of WiFi or Bluetooth, or the like.
HVAC control system (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the user input interface (2) is part of the temperature control means (1) or is formed by a wall display, a tablet or a smart phone.
HVAC control system (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the control and communication unit (3) is a gateway or is integrated in one of a display, a tablet, a TV, a settopbox, a switch, a sensor, a smart phone or the like.
HVAC control system (10) according to any of the previous claims, wherein the temperature control means (1) comprises at least one of a thermostat, at least one thermostatic valve or at least on sensor.