GB2546259A

GB2546259A - Control apparatus for heating and/or cooling system

Info

Publication number: GB2546259A
Application number: GB1600514.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cherry Anthony
Original assignee: Timeostat Ltd
Current assignee: Timeostat Ltd
Priority date: 2016-01-12
Filing date: 2016-01-12
Publication date: 2017-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2036-01-12
Also published as: GB201600514D0; GB2546259B

Abstract

A controller 10 for a heating or cooling system comprises a programming module 14 which receives timer control information defining one or more pre-programmed time periods for the heating or cooling system to be switched on. A user interface enables a user to adjust a setting of a thermostat 18 and switch the heating or cooling system on or off. A monitoring module monitors the user interface for user activity and, in the absence of any user activity for a predetermined period of time, causes the pre-programmed time periods to be overridden and switches the heating or cooling system off. A countdown timer may switch the system off after a predetermined time interval received from a user by means of buttons (28a, 28b, Fig. 2) has elapsed. The thermostat 18 may be a wireless thermostat. A controller for a heating system having radiators and a combination boiler with a diverter valve is also claimed.

Description

CONTROL APPARATUS FOR HEATING AND/OR COOLING SYSTEM

This invention relates generally to a control apparatus for a heating and/or cooling system and, more particularly but not necessarily exclusively, to apparatus for controlling a domestic central heating system.

Domestic central heating systems may include hot water radiators that can be controlled collectively by a timer/programmer and/or wall thermostat. In general, the required ambient temperature for an environment can be user-defined (and altered) by means of a wall thermostat, such that, when the heating system is on, the temperature of the environment can be automatically regulated in accordance with a specified temperature, and the flow of hot water to the radiators is controlled according to the thermostat signals. In addition, a programmer is usually provided (separate from the thermostat) to enable a user to pre-programme on/off times for the heating system. Thus, for example, a heating system may be programmed to come on early in the morning for a predetermined period of time and then again in the evening for a predetermined period of time. If a user wishes to switch the heating system on between the pre-programmed ‘on’ periods, they can do so, either by simply switching the programmer to permanently ‘on’ or ‘advancing’ the programmer to the next pre-programmed ‘on’ period.

The efficiency and appropriate use of current control arrangements rely on the fact that the controlling user is responsible for payment of the fuel bills and will, therefore, be motivated to ensure adequate heating of the environment whilst minimising wastage and unnecessary expenditure. However, there are many domestic environments in which this is not the case, and wherein a non-resident individual or commercial entity is responsible for payment of the fuel bills. Thus, for example, in rented accommodation and holiday let properties, where fuel charges are included in the rental fee, the person responsible for payment of the utility bills may have little or no control over the operation of the central heating system. As a result, it is common for residents to simply leave the heating switched on permanently, with the thermostat set at maximum level, even whilst the property is empty, often regulating the environmental temperature by opening and closing windows. This is clearly inefficient and results excessive fuel consumption. Furthermore, in many cases, this can result in the heating being left on unnecessarily for long periods of time, weeks or even months, after the tenants have left the property, and unbeknown to the bill payer.

It is an object of aspects of the present invention to address at least some of these issues and, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controller for a heating and/or cooling system, the controller being configured to be communicably coupled to said heat and/or cooling system to selectively switch it on or off, and comprising, or being communicably coupled to, a programming module configured to receive timer control information defining one or more pre-programmed time periods for said heating and/or cooling system to be automatically switched on, a user interface configured to enable a user to: manually adjust a thermostat setting associated with said heating and/or cooling system; and/or manually switch said heating and/or cooling system on or off; and a monitoring module for monitoring said user interface for user activity and, in the absence of any user activity for a predetermined period of time, causing said pre-programmed time periods to be overridden and said heating and/or cooling system to be switched off.

The controller may include a countdown timer for receiving a user input representative of a predetermined time interval, and configured to cause said system to switched on in response to said user input and switched off when said predetermined time interval has elapsed. In an exemplary embodiment, the controller may comprise a user interface including at least one button associated with said countdown timer and configured, upon each actuation thereof, to add a predetermined block of time to said countdown timer. The user interface may include a second button associated with said countdown timer and configured, upon each actuation, to subtract a predetermined block of time from said countdown timer.

In an exemplary embodiment, the controller may include a thermostat module communicably coupled to said heating and/or cooling system and configured to selectively switch said system on or off. The thermostat module may be a wireless thermostat module configured to wirelessly transmit control signals to said heating and/or cooling system to selectively switch it on or off. In an exemplary embodiment, the controller may comprise a countdown timer communicably coupled to said thermostat module, wherein said countdown timer is configured to receive a user input representative of a predetermined time interval, generate a first signal in response to said user input, generate a second signal when said predetermined period of time has elapsed and transmit said first and second signals to said thermostat module, wherein said thermostat module is configured, in response to said first signal, to transmit a control signal to said heating and/or cooling system to switch it on and, in response to said second signal, to transmit a control signal to said heating and/or cooling system to switch it off.

Many domestic central heating systems employ a combination boiler that heats the water for use in providing hot water to the taps as well as feeding the radiators associated with the heating system. A diverter valve (DV) is employed with such boilers to direct the heated water to either the running water supply or the radiators of a property, as required. Conventionally, the diverter valve is configured by default to direct the hot water to the running water supply, until the central heating is switched on, causing the diverter valve to switch over and direct or divert the hot water from the boiler to the radiators. When hot water is no longer required to be supplied to the radiators, the diverter valve switches back to the default configuration.

In properties such as, for example, student rented accommodation or holiday let properties, that may be unoccupied for long periods of time, during which the central heating system is not used at all, the diverter valve remains in its default configuration, often for months at a time. This commonly causes such valves to stick, such that when the heating is required, the diverter valve does not switch over and hot water cannot be diverted to the radiators. As a result, the central heating system requires repair and the diverter valve needs to be replaced, which can be costly.

It is an object of aspects of the present invention to address at least some of these issues and, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controller for a heating system comprising one or more radiators and including a combination boiler having a diverter valve associated therewith and having first and second configurations, the diverter valve being configured to selectively switch between said first configuration, in which water from said boiler is directed to a running water supply of a property, and said second configuration, in which water from said boiler is directed to said one or more radiators, the controller comprising a monitoring module for monitoring operation of said heating system and, in the event that said heating system is determined to be off for a predetermined period of time, causing said diverter valve to be switched from said first configuration to said second configuration, or vice versa.

These and other aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specific description, in which embodiments of the present invention are described in detail, by way of examples only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a schematic front view of a controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, a controller 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 12 incorporating a processor module 14, a timer module 16 and a thermostat module 18. The thermostat module 18 may be of any known type for this purpose, and is configured to switch a heating system on and off as necessary. In its most basic form, it works by sensing the air temperature, switching on the heating when the air temperature falls below the thermostat setting, and switching it off once this set temperature has been reached. In a preferred embodiment, the thermostat 18 is a wireless thermostat that includes a microwave transceiver for transmitting control signals, via a common wireless router (WiFi) to the heating system.

The timer module 16 (which may be incorporated in, or separate from, the processor module 14) is a digital timer that counts down from a predetermined time value and generates a signal when the set time period has elapsed. In general, digital timers can be configured to receive a user input representative of any desired time period, but in an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the timer is configured to respond to user inputs via a pair of incremental/decremental buttons (touch-sensitive or otherwise) to increase or decrease a “time bank” from which the timer counts down. Such increments may be predetermined blocks of time (e.g. 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc) according to the specific design of the controller, and the present invention is not necessarily intended to be limited in this regard.

When the timer module 16 is actuated (by a user pressing the V button 28a (Figure 2) one or more times to place a positive value in the time bank), a signal is generated by the timer, which is transmitted to the thermostat module 18, and in response to which the thermostat module 18 generates a control signal and transmits it to the hating system in order to switch it on. Whilst the heating system is thus switched on, it operates in a conventional manner: thus, it diverts hot water to the system radiators and is regulated in accordance with signals received from the thermostat module.

The time bank held in the timer module 16 starts counting down immediately. Referring now additionally to Figure 2 of the drawings, a counter display 20 may be provided on the front-facing surface of the controller housing 12 to indicate to a user how much of the time bank remains. In an exemplary embodiment, the counter display counts down in whole minutes, but it will be appreciated that the present invention is in no way intended to be limited in this regard. Also displayed on the front-facing surface of the controller housing 12 (via an LCD display screen) is the current room temperature value 22. An indicator 24 provided nearby on the screen provides an indication that the heating system is switched on and hot water is being directed to the radiators because the room temperature (determined by the thermostat) is lower than that to which the thermostat is set. The temperature value of the thermostat setting can be increased or decreased by a user, as required, by pressing the ‘+’ and buttons 26a, 26b associated therewith, and whilst a user is adjusting the desired temperature setting, the temperature setting briefly replaces the room temperature value 22 on the LCD display screen, before returning to the actual room temperature display.

Thus, the heating system will remain operational (and controlled in accordance with the thermostat module output) until the time bank (indicated by the counter display 20) has counted down to zero, in response to which, the timer module 16 generates a signal which is transmitted to the thermostat module 18 and the thermostat module 18 then generates a control signal and transmits it to the heating system to switch it off. It can be seen in Figure 2 of the drawings, that two buttons, a ‘+’ button 28a and a button 28b, are provided on the front-facing surface of the controller housing 12, and coupled to the timer module 16, to enable a user to add or subtract blocks of time (e.g. lminute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc) to and from the time bank (indicated by the counter display 20.

The processor module 14 provides a programming function similar to that of conventional central heating programmers. Thus, a user can enter one or more times (repeated daily) for which the heating system is required to be automatically switched on for a predetermined period of time (e.g. 1 hour). Thus, a user can select one or more certain times each day (in the example shown, 06:30 and 17:00 are selected) at which the heating system is to be switched on for (say) one hour. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, this time period for which the heating system can be pre-programmed to be switched on is a predetermined value (i.e. it cannot be user-defined). So, in the specific exemplary embodiment illustrated, the controller allows a user to set a maximum of two daily times for which the heating system will be automatically switched on for some pre-set time (in this case, one hour). The processor module 14 includes a clock, and the current time of day is displayed (at 30) on the front-facing surface of the housing 12. Each day, at the set time, the processor module 14 is configured to automatically cause the pre-set time interval (in this case, one hour) to be added to the time bank (indicated by the counter display 20). In response, and as before, the timer module generates a signal and transmits it to the thermostat module, in response to which a control signal is transmitted wirelessly by the thermostat module 18 to the heating system to switch it on. When the time bank has counted down to zero, a further signal is generated by the timer module 16 and transmitted to the thermostat module, in response to which a control signal is generated by the thermostat module 18 and wirelessly transmitted thereby to the heating system to switch it off (as described above) until the next pre-programmed time, or until the user manually adds time to the time bank.

The processor module 14 is further configured to monitor user activity in respect of the user interface defined on the front-facing surface of the controller housing 12. User activity may comprise one or more of: pressing the incremental/decremental buttons 28a, 28b associated with the time bank of the timer module 16, pressing the incremental/decremental buttons 26a, 26b associated with the temperature setting of the thermostat module 18, or pressing one or more additional functional buttons provided on the LCD display screen (e.g. button 32 for cycling between program and non-program modes of controller operation). If it is determined that there has been no user activity for a predetermined prolonged period of time (e.g. 24 hours or more), the processor module 14 is configured to override the set times (indicated at 34 in Figure 2) and prevent the time bank from being automatically populated with the predetermined time value, thereby overriding the pre-programmed heating cycles (on the basis that, in the absence of any user activity for a prolonged period of time, the property is unoccupied and/or the heating system is not required to be used). The controller (including the pre-programmed heating cycles) can be reset by simply adding time to the time bank via buttons 28a, 28b.

The processor module 14 is further configured, after a predetermined period of non user activity, i.e. when the heating system has been off for a predetermined prolonged period of time, to instigate a diverter valve (DV) saver function. The DV saver function is configured to periodically (e.g. every 24 hours) add a very small time period (e.g. 1 minute) to the time bank (indicated by the counter display 20), thereby causing the heating system to be periodically switched on for that very short period of time, and then switched off again. It will be appreciated that this function, therefore, causes the DV to be periodically switched from hot water to radiators and back, to prevent it from sticking or otherwise becoming faulty due to prolonged non-use.

Thus, the above-described exemplary embodiment of the present invention links a countdown timer to a thermostat to provide a controller for a heating and/or cooling system. The controller may comprise an RF battery powered user interface with LCD screen and may include a mains powered control switch wired into the boiler. It will be appreciated that the controller of the present invention may be equally applicable to cooling systems or a combined heating/cooling system, and the present invention is not necessarily intended to be limited in this regard.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, from the foregoing description, that modifications and variations can be made to the described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A controller for a heating and/or cooling system, the controller being configured to be communicably coupled to said heat and/or cooling system to selectively switch it on or off, and comprising, or being communicably coupled to, a programming module configured to receive timer control information defining one or more pre-programmed time periods for said heating and/or cooling system to be automatically switched on, a user interface configured to enable a user to: manually adjust a thermostat setting associated with said heating and/or cooling system; and/or manually switch said heating and/or cooling system on or off; and a monitoring module for monitoring said user interface for user activity and, in the absence of any user activity for a predetermined period of time, causing said preprogrammed time periods to be overridden and said heating and/or cooling system to be switched off.

2. A controller according to claim 1, including a countdown timer for receiving a user input representative of a predetermined time interval, and configured to cause said system to switched on in response to said user input and switched off when said predetermined time interval has elapsed.

3. A controller according to claim 2, comprising a user interface including at least one button associated with said countdown timer and configured, upon each actuation thereof, to add a predetermined block of time to said countdown timer.

4. A controller according to claim 3, wherein said user interface includes a second button associated with said countdown timer and configured, upon each actuation, to subtract a predetermined block of time from said countdown timer.

5. A controller according to any of the preceding claims, including a thermostat module communicably coupled to said heating and/or cooling system and configured to selectively switch said system on or off.

6. A controller according to claim 5, wherein said thermostat module is a wireless thermostat module configured to wirelessly transmit control signals to said heating and/or cooling system to selectively switch it on or off.

7. A controller according to claim 5 or claim 6, comprising a countdown timer communicably coupled to said thermostat module, wherein said countdown timer is configured to receive a user input representative of a predetermined time interval, generate a first signal in response to said user input, generate a second signal when said predetermined period of time has elapsed and transmit said first and second signals to said thermostat module, wherein said thermostat module is configured, in response to said first signal, to transmit a control signal to said heating and/or cooling system to switch it on and, in response to said second signal, to transmit a control signal to said heating and/or cooling system to switch it off.

8. A controller according to any of the preceding claims for a heating system comprising one or more radiators and including a combination boiler having a diverter valve associated therewith and having first and second configurations, the diverter valve being configured to selectively switch between said first configuration, in which water from said boiler is directed to a running water supply of a property, and said second configuration, in which water from said boiler is directed to said one or more radiators, the controller comprising a monitoring module for monitoring operation of said heating system and, in the event that said heating system is determined to be off for a predetermined period of time, causing said diverter valve to be switched from said first configuration to said second configuration, or vice versa.

9. A controller for a heating system comprising one or more radiators and including a combination boiler having a diverter valve associated therewith and having first and second configurations, the diverter valve being configured to selectively switch between said first configuration, in which water from said boiler is directed to a running water supply of a property, and said second configuration, in which water from said boiler is directed to said one or more radiators, the controller comprising a monitoring module for monitoring operation of said heating system and, in the event that said heating system is determined to be off for a predetermined period of time, causing said diverter valve to be switched from said first configuration to said second configuration, or vice versa.

10. A controller for a heating and/or cooling system substantially as herein described and/or with reference to the accompanying drawings.