Patent ID: 9741023
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: F24F,G06Q

Claim:
1. A method of operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) monitoring service by a remote monitoring system including a processor and a memory, the method comprising: providing a local device for installation in an HVAC system of a residential or commercial building, the HVAC system having a plurality of components, the local device being configured to collect data from a single current sensor, wherein the collected data from the single current sensor is representative of an aggregate current draw of the plurality of components of the HVAC system as measured by the single current sensor, and wherein the local device is configured to transform the collected data into frequency domain current data; at the remote monitoring system, periodically receiving frames of information from the local device across a wide area network, wherein each frame of the frames corresponds to a window of time and includes (i) frequency domain current data calculated by the local device from a plurality of time domain current samples measured by the local device during the window of time and (ii) a single time domain current value based on the plurality of time domain current samples; storing the received frequency domain current data in the memory of the remote monitoring system; using the processor of the remote monitoring system, executing a frequency domain analysis to (i) analyze the stored frequency domain current data to determine an individual contribution of at least one of the plurality of components of the HVAC system without individual current data from a plurality of individual current sensors respectively configured for monitoring each of the plurality of components and (ii) selectively identify problems occurring in the at least one of the plurality of components of the HVAC system based on the determined individual contribution; receiving a subscription fee corresponding to the building, the subscription fee applying to a calendar period; and in response to at least one of the problems being identified, selectively transmitting an alert message to a customer corresponding to the building, wherein the transmitting is restricted to the calendar period.