Patent ID: 11898764
Assignee: LENNOX INDUSTRIES INC.
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  G | IPC F

Claim 8:
9. A method of operating a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the method comprising:
closing a controllable valve of the HVAC system, wherein the controllable valve is positioned in a refrigerant conduit connecting a condenser to an evaporator;
causing a compressor of the HVAC system to operate until a particular refrigerant pressure is reached;
after the predetermined refrigerant pressure is reached, causing the compressor to stop operating;
after stopping operation of the compressor and waiting at least a particular wait time, monitoring a refrigerant pressure in a low-pressure subsystem of the HVAC system for a period of time;
determining a rate of change of the refrigerant pressure in the low-pressure subsystem for the period of time;
if the rate of change is negative and a magnitude of the rate of change is greater than a threshold value, determining that a leak location of the refrigerant is in the low-pressure subsystem of the HVAC system; and
if one or both of the rate of change is not negative and the magnitude of the rate of change is not greater than a threshold value, determining that the leak location of the refrigerant is in a high-pressure subsystem of the HVAC system.