GB2400192A

GB2400192A - Climate control device

Info

Publication number: GB2400192A
Application number: GB0316057A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Klaus-Werner Popplemann
Original assignee: Invensys Controls UK Ltd
Current assignee: Schneider Electric Controls UK Ltd
Priority date: 2003-07-09
Filing date: 2003-07-09
Publication date: 2004-10-06
Anticipated expiration: 2023-07-09
Also published as: GB2400458A; GB0401271D0; GB0316057D0; GB2400192B; GB2400458B

Abstract

A climate control device 6 for controlling operation of apparatus which influences the environment of a dwelling eg a central heating system (5, Fig 1), wherein the climate control device has a first mode of operation 10, N which causes the apparatus to seek to provide an environmental condition preselected by or for an inhabitant of that environment, and a second mode of operation 10, R for causing the apparatus to seek to provide an environmental condition lying in a range more restricted than the range of conditions which may be sought in the first mode of operation, and delay means 9 for causing the second mode of operation to be operative only when the controlled apparatus is due for inspection or maintenance, reset means 11 being provided to reset the delay means to allow operation in the first mode subsequent to an inspection or maintenance of the controlled apparatus. Preferably, the delay means is a timer or counter eg operably after 400 days to restrict fuel flow. Preferably the device 6 fits between a room thermostat 1 and a time control 2 for a central heating boiler (3).

Description

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEM AND DEVICE

The present invention relates to an environmental control system and device and in particular, but not exclusively, to a control device for a domestic central heating system fuelled by gas or oil. The invention may also be applied to an air conditioning system.

Current UK legislation requires landlords and managing agents of rented accommodation to ensure that all gas installations and appliances are tested and certified safe every year.

The approved code of practice for this legislation requires that the landlord or managing agent shall take all reasonable steps to gain access to the rented accommodation.

However landlords have found it difficult sometimes to comply with these statutory requirements for the reasons that their tenants are unwilling or unable to allow access to the appliance. Since the approved code of practice leaves a court to finally decide whether all reasonable steps to gain access have been taken for it is the case that in certain circumstances landlords have been obliged to resort to forcible entry into the premises in order to ensure they are not guilty of an offense in respect of their statutory obligations. This has resulted in significant extra expense in repairing doors and / or locks damaged in entering such properties.

Conventional heating control devices enable the occupants of domestic premises to control both the operating times of the heating appliance and the ambient temperature of the various parts of their accommodation and thus establish what may be termed a 'comfortable ambient temperature profile'.

Prior art heating control devices which are concerned with this problem seek to coerce the tenant of rented accommodation into allowing checking and servicing domestic heating appliances by causing the appliance to become totally inoperative after a pre-determined period of time which, at least in the UK, is most commonly the 12 month statutory period. UK Patent No. GB 2 346 225 and pending UK Patent No. 2 363 450 are two publications which describe such devices.

However the major disadvantage of the above mentioned prior art devices is that for certain tenants such as the very young or the elderly or À :: À A::: :: le: À . À tenants who are ill, and in certain seasons notably winter, the disabling of central heating, which in many cases is the only source of domestic heating and hot water, may be injurious to their health. Furthermore in prolonged periods of sub-zero temperatures rendering the primary heating source inoperative risks damage from frozen plumbing.

In the case of an air conditioning system periodic maintenance is also necessary for correct and safe operation.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a environmental control device which is operable to encourage regular servicing of the appliance(s) whilst avoiding putting at risk the health and well being of vulnerable inhabitants or the fabric of the dwelling.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a environmental control device for controlling the ambient temperature profile in an inhabited environment, said device comprising a first control mode which enables the ambient temperature profile to be controlled by the inhabitant such that a comfortable ambient temperature profile may be established, a second control mode wherein the ambient temperature profile is restricted in a predetermined manner by the control device such that the ambient temperature profile is less comfortable to the inhabitant, counter means for measuring a predetermined elapsed period after which the control device is switched from the first control mode to the second control mode and reset means for resetting the counter means to zero and switching the control device back to the first control mode.

The reset means may cause the counter means to be reset to a zero reading.

- The second control mode may operate by incrementing the ambient temperature profile of the first control mode but preferably the second control mode operates by decrementing the ambient temperature profile of the first control mode.

A predetermined elapsed time period may be twelve months and the reset means may comprise switch means incorporated in the control device or an external plug-in device. À

: : : À # c. À

The counter means may comprise a timer or may comprise means for counting on - off cycles of the apparatus.

The environmental control device may comprise alarm means for warning the occupant that the device is about to switch from the first control mode to the second control mode.

Thus the present invention provides a climate control device for controlling operation of apparatus which influences the environmental conditions of an inhabited environment, said climate control device having a first and a second mode of operation, the first mode of operation causing the apparatus to seek to provide an environmental condition preselected by or for an inhabitant of that environment, the second mode of operation causing the apparatus to seek to provide an environmental condition lying in a range more restricted than the range of conditions which may be sought in the first mode of operation, delay means for causing the second mode of operation to become operative only when the controlled apparatus is due for inspection or maintenance, and reset means for resetting the delay means to allow operation in the first mode subsequent to an inspection or maintenance of the apparatus.

The first control mode may allow the environmental temperature to be selected by the user on a time basis, for example a daily basis.

The second mode of operation may restrict the maximum temperature to a value less than in the first mode and / or may restrict the period of operation of the apparatus and / or may restrict the time of day when the apparatus is operative.

Furthermore in the second mode of operation the degree of restriction may increase with time. The increasing restriction may occur in a gradual or a step wise change manner.

Where the climate control device controls the operations of an air conditioning apparatus the second mode of operation may be restrict the minimum temperature available to the inhabitants of the environment.

The present invention also provides a climate control system comprising a climate control appliance being controlled by the climate control device of the invention.

:::: . .:e:: * À À e The climate control system may further comprise input devices such as room thermostats.

The climate control system may be an air conditioning system or may be a central heating system wherein the combustible fuel may be gas or oil.

Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of example only, of one embodiment in conjunction with the following Figures wherein: Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a conventional domestic central heating system; Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a climate control device in accordance with the present invention, and Figure 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing various ways in which a restricted operation of the climate control unit can be implemented.

Shown in Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a domestic central heating system in which a variable room thermostat (1) in conjunction with a remote time clock (2) control the operation of a boiler (3) which circulates hot water to a radiator (4) positioned within a room (5).

The variable thermostat (1) of Figure 1 is adjustable to control the temperature of the room over the normal full range.

Shown in Figure 2 is a climate control device in accordance with the present invention which is interposed in the communication line between the variable room thermostat (1) and the time clock (2). The climate control device (6) comprises a relay (7) operably controlled by counting means (9) to activate a flip-flop type switch (10). The switch (10) is used to disconnect the time clock (2) from the variable room thermostat (1) and connect it to a restricted range thermostat (8) which, in this embodiment, controls the boiler (3) to operate only if the room temperature is below 10 degrees centigrade.

In operation the counting means (9) causes the switch (10) to switch the communication line from the variable thermostat (1) to the restricted thermostat (8) after a pre-determined number of events have been counted by the counting means (9). Such events may be of periods of time or may be events such as the switching on and off of the boiler. In this embodiment the counting means is a timer which causes switching after 400 days. The , t À À À ' at, to environmental control device (6) thus switches from a first climate control mode to a second climate mode, being of a restricted temperature range in comparison to the first control mode, after a pre-determined number of days have been counted.

In the second climate control mode the restricted thermostat (8) may be such that the maximum temperature available to the inhabitant is substantially lower than that in the first control mode and for example may be restricted to temperatures in the range of O to 10 degrees centigrade.

The climate control device (6) also comprises reset means (11) which can be activated by a service engineer after servicing is completed to reset the counter means to zero and return the system to the first control mode.

Whilst this embodiment of the invention has been described utilising electro mechanical devices, other forms of switching may be used. In a preferred embodiment the function of the relay and switching is accomplished by electronic means.

The interposed climate control device (6) may be incorporated into the remote time clock (2) or the thermostat (1) or into a programmable room thermostat which is a combination of the two.

Figures 3 and 4 show various ways in which the restricted range of environmental conditions available to the inhabitant may be implemented in the second control mode. Thus in Figures 3a, 3b and 3c the environmental conditioning apparatus remains continuously operable but the environmental parameter (e.g. temperature) range available to the inhabitant is restricted in comparison to the first control mode. Thus restriction may be implemented wholly when the control device switches from the first control mode to the second control mode as illustrated in Figure 3a, or may be implemented gradually as illustrated in Figure 3b or in a step wise manner as illustrated in Figure 3c. Thus the climate temperature range available to the inhabitant would be reduced when the device switches to the second control mode.

Illustrated in Figure 4 is an alternative method of restricting the environmental conditioning by rendering the environmental conditioning apparatus only intermittently operable in the second control mode as compared to being continuously operable in the first control mode. Again 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 À 1 1 1 1. 1 1 ' 1 1 4 4 1 similar to restricted operation illustrated in Figures 3a to 3c, the intermittently operability of the apparatus may be effected immediately or may be gradually made less frequent.

Claims

:: ce B.- ::: . . c CLAIMS

1. A climate control device for controlling operation of apparatus which influences the environmental conditions of an inhabited environment wherein the climate control device has a first and a second mode of operation, the first mode of operation causing the apparatus to seek to provide an environmental condition preselected by or for an inhabitant of that environment, the second mode of operation causing the apparatus to seek to provide an environmental condition lying in a range more restricted than the range of conditions which may be sought in the first mode of operation, delay means for causing the second mode of operation to become operative only when the controlled apparatus is due for inspection or maintenance, and reset means for resetting the delay means to allow operation in the first mode subsequent to an inspection or maintenance of the apparatus.

2. A climate control device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the delay means comprises a counter for counting events occurring in operation of the apparatus.

3. A climate control device in accordance with either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the delay means comprises means for counting the passage of time.

4. A climate control device in accordance with claim 3, wherein the delay means causes the second mode of operation become operative after the passage of 400 days.

5. A climate control system comprising an environmental conditioning apparatus which influences the environmental conditions of an inhabited environment wherein the environmental conditioning apparatus is controlled by the climate control device of any of the previous claims.

6. A climate control system according to claim 5, wherein the environmental conditioning appliance is a central heating appliance.

7. A climate control system in accordance with claim 6, wherein the environmental conditioning appliance utilises a combustible fuel.

Be I: t Age:

8. A climate control system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the combustible fuel is gas.

9. A climate control system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the combustible fuel is oil.