FR2816981A1 - Method for controlling opening and closing of automatic electric blinds using external weather forecast data with a control device, so annoying opening and closing is prevented - Google Patents

Abstract

Method in which external weather forecast data is received for a given period and the data analyzed to control the automatic opening and closing of blinds. The invention also relates to a system for controlling opening and closing of blinds over glass windows or surfaces.

Description

<Desc / Clms Page number 1>

Method and system for controlling means for concealing a glass wall.

 The invention relates to the field of design and production of devices used to obscure the glass walls (bays, windows, verandas, greenhouses, etc.) equipping a room, such as in particular, but not exclusively, the internal or external roller shutters of all types, the shutters, the shutters, the Venetian blinds, the curtains ... for an optimized management of the energy flows through the said walls.

 It will be noted that, in the context of the present invention, the terms "glass wall" are understood to denote any wall wholly or partially made of glass or any other equivalent material, in particular plastic materials which allow light to pass thereby acting on the energy flows. . The term “screening means” also means any means making it possible to completely or partially mask the light and to create, in the event of total closure, an air space making it possible to reinforce the thermal insulation of the wall. These concealment means can be opaque or not.

 More specifically, the invention relates to such devices provided with motorization means, very generally electrical, making it possible to open and close them automatically. Such automated devices are more and more commonly used.

 In the state of the art, a method and a control system are known which have the object of automatically opening and closing such concealment devices as a function of the brightness outside the premises in order to protect the premises.

 According to this prior art, one or more sensors are installed outside the room in order to permanently detect the ambient brightness. These sensors are directly connected to the motorization means of the concealment devices to act on them in real time. They make it possible to close the concealment means if the light intensity is too high.

<Desc / Clms Page number 2>

 This type of system has the major drawback of operating in real time. When the ambient external light intensity experiences rapid variations, the concealment means are consequently alternately open and closed at a high frequency. Such operation can annoy people in the premises thus equipped and cause significant energy consumption.

 The object of the invention is to propose a method and a system for controlling means for concealing one or more glass walls which do not have the drawbacks of the state of the art.

 In particular, an objective of the present invention is to disclose such a system and such a method which avoid openings and closings according to too high a frequency of these occultation means.

 Another objective is to describe such a method and such a system which can be used to save energy for heating or air conditioning one or more premises.

 Yet another objective of the present invention is to propose such a method and such a system which do not cause inconvenience to the persons present in the premises which they equip.

 Yet another objective of the present invention is to propose such a method and such a system which make it possible to take into account the specific features of the premises which they equip.

- à exploiter lesdites données pour agir sur lesdits moyens de commande automatique desdits moyens d'occultation pendant ladite période D. These objectives, as well as others which will appear subsequently, are achieved by means of a method for controlling concealment means of at least one glazed wall equipping at least one room, said method implementing electric automatic control means for opening and closing said concealment means, and being characterized in that it comprises the steps consisting in: - collecting external data relating to the weather forecasts for a given period D, and,

- to use said data to act on said automatic control means of said concealment means during said period D.

<Desc / Clms Page number 3>

 It will be noted that the action on the means for controlling the concealment means may lead to the total or partial opening or to the total or partial closing of these.

 Unlike the prior art, the method according to the invention therefore does not aim to act in real time on the occultation means but that of integrating meteorological forecasts issued for a period D, in order to act then during said period D, on the concealment means.

 This period D will be between sunrise and sunset, since it can be considered that at night the occultation means will be systematically closed, at least during the period when heating is required. It may be longer or shorter, depending in particular on the origin of the weather forecast.

Ideally this duration could be between three and six hours.

 Such a method therefore preferably makes it possible to maintain said concealment means in a stable configuration throughout the given period D, which eliminates the drawbacks resulting from the operation in yoyo of the system according to the prior art.

 According to a preferred variant of the method according to the invention, said external data relating to weather forecasts are transmitted by a communicating network. This network could for example be an electrical network, a telematic network, a telephone network or even the Internet. In certain cases, the data may however be transmitted directly by a meteorological station by a dedicated link installed between said station and the premises or premises equipped.

 According to a preferred variant of the invention, the method also comprises a step consisting in collecting resident data and in using said resident data and said weather forecast data to act on said automatic control means of said occultation means. Such resident data is made up of all data on the room and / or its environment and / or the concealment means and / or the glass wall (s).

<Desc / Clms Page number 4>

 Preferably, this resident data includes at least data relating to the energy consumption of said control means of said concealment means and to the state of opening or closing of said concealment means.

 By taking into account data relating to the control means and the concealment means, the method according to the invention differs from the prior art and makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the method.

 Thus, during periods when heating is required, by using information relating to the energy consumption of the control means, the opening and closing of the concealment means can only be done if an effective energy gain can be expected. , that is to say if the balance of free energy that can be expected by meteorological forecasts is greater than the consumption of the means for controlling the concealment means.

 The use of information relating to the state of opening or closing of said concealment means will avoid commanding the opening of these means if they are already open or the closing of these if they are already closed.

 Thus, the energy savings that can be achieved by the method according to the invention will be optimized.

 According to a particularly advantageous variant of the invention, said resident data taken into account for controlling the screening means also include data relating to said room equipped with said glazed wall.

 These data could be of different natures.

 Preferably, they will include information relating to the amount of energy required to maintain said room at a given heating temperature (which can be selected by the user, if necessary). This information, which will take into account not only the energy necessary to maintain a given temperature in the room but also the energy losses from it and / or from the glass wall, can be used to decide, depending on the free energy expected from weather forecasts to act or not on the means of control of the concealment means.

<Desc / Clms Page number 5>

- un facteur de correction entre la surface de la paroi vitrée recevant effectivement le soleil et la surface de celle-ci (meneaux, joints, etc...) ne la recevant pas ; - un facteur relatif au caractère filtrant de la paroi vitrée ; - un facteur d'ombrage de la paroi vitrée lié à des obstacles (arbres, autres locaux...) devant celle-ci ; - la position du soleil par rapport à ladite paroi vitrée en fonction de l'heure GMT et de la date ; - la température intérieure du local ; - la température extérieure au local ; - l'albédo du sol extérieur au local ; - au moins une information relative à la quantité d'énergie nécessaire au chauffage dudit local ;

- au moins une information relative aux éventuelles déperditions énergétiques dudit local et/ou de ladite paroi vitrée. Preferably, this data relating to said room will include at least one of the following data: the geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude, altitude) of said room; - the number of glass walls of said room; - the orientation of each glass wall of said room, preferably relative to the south and relative to the vertical;

- a correction factor between the surface of the glazed wall effectively receiving the sun and the surface thereof (mullions, joints, etc.) not receiving it; - a factor relating to the filtering character of the glass wall; - a shading factor for the glass wall linked to obstacles (trees, other premises, etc.) in front of it; the position of the sun relative to said glazed wall as a function of the GMT time and the date; - the interior temperature of the room; - the temperature outside the room; - the albedo of the soil outside the room; - at least one piece of information relating to the amount of energy required to heat said room;

- at least one piece of information relating to possible energy losses from said room and / or from said glazed wall.

 Thus, the method according to the invention can be further refined to take into account not only the weather forecast, the state of the concealment means, the consumption of the control means thereof, the energy required to heat the premises. (taking into account losses) but also data specific to the equipped room and / or its immediate surroundings. In this regard, it should be noted that even a diffuse supply of solar energy, which can for example occur in cloudy weather, may prove to be advantageous for heating the premises.

<Desc / Clms Page number 6>

 The weather forecasts used in the context of the invention may be more or less precise depending on the degree of complexity that one wishes to give to the process.

 Ideally, these forecasts will directly include at least one piece of information on the amount of energy (for example in Watt per square meter) expected in the area where the room is located.

"mauvais temps"la fermeture de ceux-ci. In the simplest cases, it may simply be relatively vague information for the given period to come such as "good weather" or "bad weather". Thus, during a heating period, the forecast "good weather" may then lead to the opening of the blackout means and the forecast

"bad weather" closing these.

 However, when the weather forecast does not include direct information on the amount of energy expected in the area where the room is located, these forecasts will preferably include at least information on sunshine and / or cloudiness and / or the height of the cloud ceiling and / or the density of the clouds. This information proportional to the amount of energy received by the glass wall will make it possible to assess the amount of energy likely to be transferred inside the premises and therefore to more precisely identify the economic opportunity to open or close the means for obscuring the glass wall.

 In other embodiments of the invention, said data relating to the weather forecasts relating to said given period D used in the context of the method according to the invention will preferably also include at least information on the outside temperature. This temperature can in fact contribute to acting on the temperature of the room, in particular when it is imperfectly isolated, and counteract the effects of solar radiation. For example, sunshine in very cold weather may, if necessary, lead to keeping the screening means closed or partially closed, in order to reduce the energy losses through the walls.

 In other embodiments of the invention which are even more precise, said data relating to the weather forecasts relating to said period

<Desc / Clms Page number 7>

 data D or said resident data will also preferably include at least hygrometric and / or pluviometric and / or anemometric information.

When these data are resident, they can be obtained by suitable sensors (hygrometer, rain gauge, anemometer) installed near the premises.

 Preferably, said step consisting in using said resident data and said weather forecast data to act on said control means of said concealment means consists in: - analyzing said meteorological data in order to deduce therefrom at least information on the quantity of energy expected on said glass wall during said period D or collect said information when it is included in said weather forecast; - reconciling said information with said resident data of said concealment means; - Interpret the result of this reconciliation to control, during period D, said control means of said concealment means.

 As is already apparent from the description, the method according to the invention can be used to save on the cost relating to the heating or air conditioning of premises.

 Thus, in the heating regime of said room, said step consisting in using said data to act on said automatic control means of said concealment means during said period D consists of: - opening, or keeping open, said concealment means of said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the expected amount of free energy, which can be transferred into the room by the wall, is greater than the amount of energy required for opening and closing of said means d increased occultation of the amount of energy necessary to maintain the temperature of the room at a given temperature during period D, taking into account any losses of the room and / or the glass wall;

<Desc / Clms Page number 8>

 closing, or keeping closed, said means for concealing said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the quantity of free energy expected, which can be transferred into the room by the wall, is less than the amount of energy required to open and close said concealment means increased by the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature of the room at a given temperature during period D, taking into account any losses of the room and / or the glass wall; - Maintain in the said state of occultation of said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the expected amount of free energy, which can be transferred into the room by the wall, is substantially equal to the amount of energy required for opening and closing of said concealment means increased by the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature of the room at a given temperature during period D, taking into account any losses of the room and / or of the glass wall.

 In air conditioning mode, said step consisting of using said data to act on said automatic control means of said concealment means during said period D consists of closing or keeping closed, said means of concealing said glazed wall if, related to the surface of the glass wall, the amount of energy expected is greater than a predetermined threshold.

 The invention also relates to any system for controlling occultation means of at least one glazed wall equipping a room for implementing the method as described above, said system including automatic electric opening control means. and closing said blocking means and being characterized in that it comprises: - means for recovering data relating to weather forecasts, - means for acting on said control means as a function of said data.

<Desc / Clms Page number 9>

 According to a preferred variant of the invention, the system further comprises means for inputting and storing resident data as described above.

 According to a variant of the invention, the system comprises means for analyzing meteorological data designed to deduce therefrom at least information on the amount of energy expected on said glass wall during said period D, if such information is not directly included in these forecasts.

 Preferably, the system comprises: - means for reconciling said forecasts or said information on the amount of energy expected on said glazed wall during said period D with said resident data and, - means for interpreting the results of this reconciliation for act, during period D, on said control means of said concealment means.

 Preferably, said means for recovering data relating to weather forecasts includes a receiver (modem or other) connecting said system to a communicating network.

 Advantageously, said means for recovering meteorological data, said means for inputting and storing said resident data, said means for analyzing said meteorological data and reconciling them with said resident data and said means of interpretation for acting on the control means are included in at least one housing.

 Alternatively, said housing is installed in said room.

According to another variant, said box is installed outside said room.
Preferably, said box may be disconnected by the user. It will be understood that the user can preferentially choose whether or not to use the system according to the invention.

 Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an embodiment

<Desc / Clms Page number 10>

- la figure 2 représente un tableau du pourcentage d'irradiation (directe et/ou diffuse) par rapport à une irradiation directe totale globale sur un plan horizontal en fonction de prévisions relatives à la nébulosité (haute et basse) et du plafond nuageux. preferred of the invention, given by way of illustrative and nonlimiting example, and with reference to the drawings, in which: - Figure 1 shows a diagram of a method according to the invention for controlling the roller shutters of a local,

- Figure 2 represents a table of the percentage of irradiation (direct and / or diffuse) compared to a total total direct irradiation on a horizontal plane according to forecasts relating to the nebulosity (high and low) and the cloudy ceiling.

 With reference to FIG. 1, this room 3 is provided with a glazed wall 2 equipped with concealment means constituted by a rolling shutter 1 provided with automatic control means 4. These control means 4 include a motor 4a making it possible to fully or partially open or close said roller shutter 1.

 According to the invention, the room 3 is equipped with an automatic control system for the roller shutter 1 as a function in particular of the weather forecasts. This system is optional and can only be activated if the user wishes.

 This system includes means 9 for recovering data from a meteorological station M, itself external to the system. These recovery means include a modem connected to the telephone network through which the data from the weather station is transmitted.

 The system also includes means 6 for entering and storing resident data, that is to say data relating to the room 3 itself, its environment, the shutter 1, the control means 4, namely : - the state of shutter 1 (fully or partially open, or closed); - the amount of energy required to open and / or close the shutter 1; - the geographic position of room 1 (latitude, longitude, altitude); - The orientation of said glazed wall 2 relative to the south and relative to the vertical; - a correction factor between the surface of the glazed wall 2 effectively receiving the sun and the surface thereof (mullions, joints, etc.) not receiving it;

<Desc / Clms Page number 11>

- au moins une information relative aux déperditions énergétiques du local et/ou de la paroi vitrée 2. - a factor relating to the filtering character of the glass wall; - a shading factor for the glazed wall 2 linked to obstacles (trees, other premises, etc.) in front of the wall; - the albedo of the ground outside room 3; - at least one piece of information relating to the amount of energy required to heat room 3;

- at least one piece of information relating to the energy losses from the room and / or from the glass wall 2.

 The information on the energy losses concerning the wall can be given in W / m2. C and concern the wall when it is bare or when it is obscured.

 The system also includes means 5 for analyzing weather forecasts to deduce therefrom information on the amount of energy that can be expected on the glass wall 1. It will be noted that, in other embodiments, this information may be transmitted. directly by the weather station, or by a remote management station linked to the weather station.

 The system also includes means 7 for reconciling this information with the resident data.

 Finally, the system includes means of interpretation 8 of the result of this reconciliation to act on the control means 4 of the shutter 1.

 The operation of the system described is as follows.

 The recovery means 9 recover the weather forecasts for the next three hours every 3 hours. In the present example, these forecasts are made up of the relative high and low cloudiness expected during this period, expressed in eighths (or "oktas") and by information on the cloudy ceiling, reflecting the sunshine expected during period D.

 The analysis means 5 calculate a predictive energy, hereinafter called "Epi" expected on the glass wall 2, as a function of these meteorological forecasts. These analysis means integrate an algorithm taking into account the table represented in FIG. 2. According to this table, it will be noted that, if the

<Desc / Clms Page number 12>

nébulosité haute attendue est supérieure ou égale à 5/8 octas ou si la nébulosité basse attendue est supérieure ou égale à 4/8 octas, les apports solaires seront considérés comme négligeables et le système pourra considérer qu'aucun apport énergétique effectif n'aura lieu (Epi = 0).

high expected cloudiness is greater than or equal to 5/8 oktas or if the expected low cloudiness is greater than or equal to 4/8 oktas, the solar gains will be considered negligible and the system may consider that no effective energy supply will take place (Epi = 0).

 Thanks to the means 7, this predictive energy is weighted as a function of the resident data stored in the means 6.

 In the heating regime of room 3, the resident data cited above also includes information on the amount of energy required to maintain the heating temperature in room 3 during period D taking into account the losses.

 We consider "Ech" as the sum of the energy linked to the opening and closing of the shutter 1 and that necessary to maintain the room at a heating temperature. According to the invention: if Epi> Ech, then the means 8 transmit to the control means 4 an instruction for the opening of the shutter 1 or to leave it in the state if it is open; if Epi <Ech, the means 8 transmit to the control means 4 an instruction for closing the shutter 1 or for leaving it in the state if it is closed; if Epi = Ech, then the means 8 transmit an instruction to leave the flap 1 in the state.

 For a room located in Sarthe (France) with a glass wall on the south facade, without shade, the energy expected on the glass wall (Epi) in sunny weather on November 25 between 12h and 15h GMT (period D of 3 hours) is from 2700 W.

In addition, Ech for this room for the given period is 2,000 W, i.e. a free contribution estimated at 700 W
The use of a system according to the invention would in this case lead to the instruction to open the shutter 1.

 The next day, November 26, between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. GMT, the data is as follows: - Epi = 300 W; - Failure for the given period = 2,500 W;

<Desc / Clms Page number 13>

 - free contributions estimated lower than consumption linked to heating and. the opening of the concealment means.

 The use of a system according to the invention would in this case lead to the instruction to close (or leave closed) the concealment means.

 It will be noted that, in other embodiments, the system may be designed for a room equipped with several glass walls, or even for several rooms. In such embodiments, the resident data will include information on each wall and / or each room.

 The embodiment described here is not intended to reduce the scope of the invention, it can therefore be made numerous modifications without departing from its scope. In particular, provision may be made to connect the system to the concealment means of several glass walls. We can also plan to connect the system to "awnings" to improve summer comfort and thus reduce the heating of the room to use less air conditioning.

Claims (22)

 - to use said data to act on said automatic control means of said concealment means during said period D.

 CLAIMS 1. Method for controlling occultation means of at least one glazed wall equipping at least one room, said method using automatic electric control means for opening and closing said occultation means, and being characterized in that it comprises the stages consisting of: - collecting external data relating to the weather forecasts for a given period D, and, 2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that said period D has a duration between 3 hours and 6 hours. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that said external data relating to weather forecasts are transmitted by a communicating network. 4. Method according to claim 1 to 3 characterized in that it also comprises a step consisting in collecting resident data relating to the control means and the concealment means including at least information relating to the energy consumption of said control means said concealment means and information relating to the state of opening or closing of said concealment means, and to using said resident data and said weather forecast data to act on said means for automatic control of said means of occultation. 5. Method according to claim 4 characterized in that said resident data also includes data relating to said room equipped with said glazed wall. 6. Method according to claim 5 characterized in that said resident data relating to said room equipped with said glazed wall include at least one of the following data: - the geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude, altitude) of said room; - the number of glass walls of said room; <Desc / Clms Page number 15>  - at least one piece of information relating to possible energy losses from said room and / or from said glazed wall.

 - the orientation of each glass wall of said room, preferably relative to the south and relative to the vertical; a correction factor between the surface of the glass wall effectively receiving the sun and the surface of the latter not receiving it; - a factor relating to the filtering character of the glass wall; - a shading factor for the glass wall linked to obstacles (trees, other premises, etc.) in front of it; the position of the sun relative to said glazed wall as a function of the GMT time and the date; - the interior temperature of the room; - the temperature outside the room; - the albedo of the soil outside the room; - at least one piece of information relating to the amount of energy required to heat said room; 7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that said data relating to weather forecasts for said given period D include at least information on the amount of solar energy expected in the area where the room is located. 8. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 characterized in that said data relating to weather forecasts for said given period D include at least information on sunshine and / or cloudiness and / or on the height of the cloudy ceiling and / or cloud density. 9. The method of claim 7 or 8 characterized in that said data relating to weather forecasts for said given period D include at least information on the outside temperature. 10. Method according to any one of claims 7,8 or 9, characterized in that said data relating to weather forecasts concerning said <Desc / Clms Page number 16>  given period D or said resident data include at least hygrometric and / or rain and / or anemometric information. 11. Method according to any one of claims 4 to 10, characterized in that said step, consisting in using said resident data and said weather forecast data to act on said control means of said occultation means, consists in: - Analyze said meteorological data in order to deduce therefrom at least one item of information on the amount of energy expected on said glazed wall during said period D or collect said item of information when it is included in said meteorological forecasts; - reconciling said information with said resident data of said concealment means; - Interpret the result of this reconciliation to control, during period D, said control means of said concealment means. 12. Method according to any one of claims 6 to 11 characterized in that in the heating regime of said room, said step consisting in using said data to act on said automatic control means of said concealment means during said period D, consists in: - opening, or keeping open, said concealing means of said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the expected amount of free energy, which can be transferred into the room by the wall, is greater than the amount of energy required to open and close said concealment means increased by the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature of the room at a given temperature during period D, taking into account any losses the room and / or the glass wall; closing, or keeping closed, said means for concealing said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the expected amount of free energy, which can be transferred into the room by the wall, is less than the amount of energy required to open and close said concealment means increased by the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature of the room at a <Desc / Clms Page number 17>  temperature given during period D, taking into account any losses in the room and / or the glass wall; - Maintain in the said state of occultation of said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the expected amount of free energy, which can be transferred into the room by the wall, is substantially equal to the amount of energy required for opening and closing of said concealment means increased by the amount of energy required to maintain the temperature of the room at a given temperature during period D, taking into account any losses of the room and / or the glass wall. 13. Method according to any one of claims 4 to 10 characterized in that in the room air conditioning regime, said step consisting in using said data to act on said automatic control means of said occultation means during said period D, consists in closing, or keeping closed, said concealment means of said glazed wall if, relative to the surface of the glazed wall, the amount of energy expected thereon is greater than a predetermined threshold. 14. Control system for concealing means (1) of at least one glazed wall (2) equipping a room (3) for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, said system including electric automatic control means (4) for opening and closing said concealment means (1) and being characterized in that it comprises:

 means for recovering (9) data relating to weather forecasts, and means for acting on said control means as a function of said data. 15. The system of claim 14 characterized in that it further comprises means (6) for input and storage of resident data. 16. System according to one of claims 14 or 15 characterized in that it comprises means of analysis (5) of said meteorological data in order to <Desc / Clms Page number 18>  deduce at least one piece of information on the amount of energy expected on said glazed wall during said period D. 17. System according to one of claims 14 to 16 characterized in that it comprises - means for approximating (7) said forecasts or said information on the amount of energy expected on said glass wall during said period D with said resident data, and, - means of interpretation (8) of the results of this reconciliation to act, during period D, on said control means (4) of said concealment means. 18. System according to any one of claims 14 to 17 characterized in that said means for recovering (9) data relating to weather forecasts includes a receiver (modem or other) connecting said system to a communication network. 19. System according to any one of claims 17 or 18 characterized in that said means for recovering (9) meteorological data, said means for inputting and storing said resident data (6), possibly said means for analyzing said meteorological data (5) and reconciliation of these with said resident data and said interpretation means (8) are included in at least one housing (10). 20. The system of claim 19 characterized in that said housing (10) is installed in said room. 21. The system of claim 19 characterized in that said housing is installed outside of said room (10). 22. System according to any one of claims 14 to 21 characterized in that said housing is disconnectable.