Patent ID: 6409090
Filing Date: 2002-06-25
Classification: G05D

Abstract:
An apparatus for controlling a heating unit, the heating unit employing a heating medium that is heated by the heating unit and which transfers heat into an ambient atmosphere outside of the heating unit, the heating unit having an on-state initiated when a characteristic of the heating medium representative of the heating capacity of the medium decreases below a minimum level, and an off-state initiated when the characteristic of the heating medium reaches a maximum level, the apparatus comprising:an input element for receiving a signal from a sensor, the signal indicating the heating medium characteristic representative of the heating capacity of the heating medium; an output element for signaling the heating unit to begin its on-state; a time-measuring element for measuring an off-time, the off-time being the length of time from initiation of the off-state of the heating unit until the characteristic of the heating medium decreases below the minimum level; and a processor for determining a delay time and for signaling the heating unit to delay initiation of the on-state by the delay time amount, the delay resulting in an energy savings over an undelayed initiation, the processor further comprising an autocalibration processor which tests at least one delay time and calculates an energy savings index for each delay time tested, then calculates an optimum energy savings delay time.