Patent ID: 11913657
Assignee: BELIMO HOLDING AG
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 21:
22. A computer-implemented method of monitoring and controlling an HVAC system which comprises one or more fluid transportation systems with a plurality of parallel zones in each of the fluid transportation systems, the method comprising one or more processors of a computer system performing the steps of:
receiving via a communication network from a plurality of devices of the HVAC sys-tem a plurality of operating variables of the fluid transportation systems, the operating variables of the fluid transportation systems comprising a fluid temperature;
determining for each of the operating variables a temporal course of the respective operating variable;
detecting from the temporal courses of the operating variables interdependencies between the temporal courses of the operating variables by determining correlations of the temporal courses of the fluid temperature;
grouping the operating variables and their associated devices into different sets, depending on the interdependencies, the sets being related to a different one of the fluid transportation systems and including the operating variables and their associated devices connected by the different one of the fluid transportation systems to a common thermal energy source;
identifying in the HVAC system thermal energy exchanging devices which couple a zone of a first one of the fluid transportation systems and a zone of a second one of the fluid transportation systems as primary and secondary fluid circuits, by detecting the interdependencies between the temporal courses of at least one of the following pairs of operating variables: flow of fluid in a first fluid transportation system and flu-id temperature in a second fluid transportation system, valve position of a valve in a first fluid transportation system and the fluid temperature in a second fluid transportation system, fluid supply temperature in the first fluid transportation system and fluid temperature in the second fluid transportation system, flow of fluid in a first flu-id transportation system and valve position of a valve in a second fluid transportation system, valve position of a valve in a first fluid transportation system and valve position of a valve in a second fluid transportation system, fluid supply temperature in the first fluid transportation system and valve position of a valve in a second fluid transportation system, or valve position of a valve in the second fluid transportation system and fluid return temperature in the first fluid transportation system; and
using the sets to control the HVAC system to heat, ventilate, air condition and/or cool one or more buildings by controlling devices of a particular section of the HVAC system, using the operating variables related to the particular section of the HVAC system, and generating a fault detection message regarding one or more of the devices of the particular section of the HVAC system, using the operating variables associated with the one or more devices of the particular section of the HVAC system.