Patent Publication Number: US-2021165926-A1

Title: Hvac zoning devices, systems, and methods

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/015,168, filed Jun. 20, 2014, entitled “HVAC Zoning Devices, Systems, and Methods”, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to HVAC systems, and more particularly, to HVAC systems that can be configured to accommodate zone control. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) systems are often used to control the comfort level within a building or other structure. Such HVAC systems typically include an HVAC controller that controls various HVAC components of the HVAC system in order to affect and/or control one or more environmental conditions within the building. Such HVAC controllers typically have a user interface for allowing a user to interact and the HVAC controller. The user interface is often integral with the HVAC controller housing, but in some instances, can be remote from the HVAC controller, such as when using a user interface of a smart phone, tablet computer, personal computer, laptop etc. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure relates generally to HVAC systems, and more particularly, to HVAC systems that can be configured to accommodate zone control. 
     In one example, an HVAC system may include one or more HVAC components for providing conditioned air to one or more HVAC ducts of the building and a plurality of electronically controllable register vent dampers for controlling delivery of the conditioned air from the one or more HVAC ducts into the building. In some cases, each of the plurality of electronically controllable register vents may be configured to sense one or more local conditions in the building and issue one or more requests for conditioned air. The HVAC system may be controlled by an HVAC control system and may include, among other elements, a communications block and a controller operatively coupled to the communications block. The communications block may receive one or more requests for conditioned air issued by one or more of the plurality of register vents and thus, the controller may receive the one or more requests for conditioned air. In response to the requests, the controller may determine a damper setting for at least one of the plurality of electronically controllable register vent dampers and communicate the determined damper setting for the at least one of the plurality of electronically controllable register vent dampers via the communications block. In some instances, the controller may determine which HVAC components should be active, if any, to accommodate the requests and provide one or more control signals to activate or keep active the one or more HVAC components that are to be active. 
     In some cases, the HVAC control system configured to control the HVAC system may include two or more sensors to sense environmental parameters at two or more different locations in the building. At least one of the two or more sensors may sense an environmental parameter other than temperature (e.g., humidity, CO 2  concentration, VOC concentration, or other parameter other than temperature). In such cases, the controller may control one or more HVAC components and electronically controllable register vent dampers based, at least in part, on the sensed environmental parameter other than temperature. 
     In some instances, the HVAC system may include one or more HVAC components for providing conditioned air to one or more HVAC ducts of a building and a plurality of electronically controllable register vent dampers for controlling delivery of conditioned air from the one or more HVAC ducts into each of two or more zones of the building. Each of the zones of the building may have at least one sensor for sensing a sensed condition in the corresponding zone. 
     The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following description of various illustrative embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an illustrative HVAC system servicing a building or structure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative register vent; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of another illustrative register vent; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative connection between a remote system and a building automation system; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative local device sensing system; and 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of illustrative components of various levels of HVAC system configurations. 
     
    
    
     While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit aspects of the disclosure to the particular illustrative embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. 
     DESCRIPTION 
     The following description should be read with reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views. The description and drawings show several embodiments which are meant to be illustrative in nature. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a building  2  having an illustrative building automation system  4  with a building automation sub-system  12 . While  FIG. 1  shows a typical forced air type HVAC system as an illustrative building automation sub-system  12 , other building automation sub-systems  12  (e.g., devices or systems at least partially local to a space conditioned by the HVAC system or other building automation sub-systems  12 ) are contemplated including, but not limited to, security systems, lighting control systems, water heater systems (e.g., boiler systems), refrigerators, clothes washers, clothes dryers, ovens, garage doors, radiant heating systems, electric heating systems, cooling systems, heat pump systems, register vent systems, any other suitable sub-system  12  of building automation systems  4 , and/or portions thereof, as desired. 
     In some instances, the building automation system  4  may include and/or be in communication with a remote system  36  (see  FIG. 4  and description in greater detail below). The remote system  36  may be a system that is remote from one or more components of a building automation controller  18  and/or physically remote from the building  2 . In some cases, the remote system  36  may, at least partially, reside on one or more servers located in the cloud and remote from the building  2 , where the one or more servers may include a memory and a processor configured to execute instructions stored on the memory and/or stored on other memory. 
     An HVAC system of building  2  may be controlled by an HVAC control system implemented in one or more of a wall mounted thermostat, an equipment interface module, a remote system  36  (e.g., cloud server) or other device. The HVAC control system may include a communications block and a controller operatively coupled to the communications block. The communications block may receive information from the HVAC system and the controller may receive the information and in response, use the information in analyses, to make determinations, to provide recommendations to a user interface, and/or to provide control signals to the HVAC system. In some cases, the HVAC control system (e.g., a building control system) may include a building automation controller  18 , a remote system  36 , and/or other controller. 
     The illustrative HVAC system of  FIG. 1  may include one or more HVAC components  6 , a system of ductwork and air vents including a supply air duct  10  and a return air duct  14 , and one or more building automation controllers  18  (e.g., central HVAC controllers, thermostats, etc.), where an HVAC component  6  may provide conditioned air to one or more HVAC supply air ducts  10 . The one or more HVAC components  6  may include, but are not limited to, a fan, a portable electric fan, a ceiling fan, a furnace (e.g., a forced air furnace or other furnace), a boiler, a hot water heater, a heat pump, an electric heat pump, a geothermal heat pump, an electric heater, a fireplace, a floor heater, an air conditioning unit, a window air conditioning unit, a wall air conditioning unit, hydronic heating and/or cooling unit/components, a humidifier, a dehumidifier, an air exchanger, an air cleaner, a register vent, a damper, a register vent damper to change air flow characteristics of an associated register (e.g., one or more manually operated register vent dampers and/or one or more electronically controlled register vent dampers), a valve, a ventilation unit for bringing in outside air into the building and exhausting inside air from the building, UV lamps, air purification systems, air cleaning systems, and/or the like. 
     In some instances, one or more of the HVAC components  6  (e.g., hydronic heating, electric heating strips, etc.) may be utilized in a stage with one or more other HVAC components  6  (e.g., in a forced air heating system, etc.). In an example, electric heating strips may be a stage in a heat pump system, where the electric heating strips may supplement the heat pump system when outdoor temperatures become too cold. 
     In some cases, combinations of HVAC components  6  may be used to provide quicker response times in reaching a set point than if only a single HVAC component  6  or system is used. Faster response times may be particularly noticeable when manually changing the setpoint temperature or when recovering from a programmed setback temperature, particularly when using a hydronic or other heating system that has a slower response time. 
     It is contemplated that a building automation controller(s)  18  may be configured to activate, deactivate, and/or otherwise modulate the building automation sub-system(s)  12  (e.g., the HVAC system) or components of the building automation sub-system(s)  12  (e.g., HVAC components  6 ) of the building automation system  4  in a controlled manner (e.g., to control the comfort level in in one or more spaces of the structure or building  2  and/or otherwise operate electronic features of the building  2  and provide suggestions for manual configuration of manually adjustable devices). The building automation controller(s)  18  may be configured to control the devices of the building automation system  4  or building automation sub-systems  12  via a wired or wireless communication link  20 . 
     In some cases, the building automation controller(s)  18  may be or may include a thermostat, such as, for example, a wall mountable thermostat or intelligent power switch (e.g., for controlling appliances not equipped with communications capabilities and other appliances), but this is not required in all instances. An example thermostat may include (e.g. within the thermostat housing), or have access to, a temperature sensor for sensing an ambient temperature at, near, or spaced from the thermostat and/or other sensors for sensing other comfort level conditioning parameters (e.g., humidity, occupancy, sound, light, particle levels, etc.). In some instances, the building automation controller(s)  18  may be or may include an equipment interface module (EIM), a zone controller, or multiple EIMs or zone controllers each monitoring and/or controlling the comfort level within a particular zone or space (e.g., a comfort level conditioned space) in the building  2  or other structure. 
     In the illustrative building automation system  4  shown in  FIG. 1 , the HVAC component(s)  6  (e.g., components of or in communication with the building automation controller  18  or building automation sub-system  12 ) may provide heated air (and/or cooled air) via the ductwork  10 ,  14  throughout the building  2 . As illustrated, the HVAC component(s)  6  may be in fluid communication with every room and/or zone in the building  2  via the ductwork  10  and  14 , but this is not required. In operation, when a heat call or command signal is provided by the building automation controller(s)  18 , an HVAC component  6  (e.g. forced warm air from a furnace) may be activated to supply heated air to one or more rooms and/or zones within the building  2  via supply air ducts  10 . The heated air may be forced through the supply air duct  10  by a blower or fan  21 . In this example, the cooler air from each zone may be returned to the HVAC component  6  for heating via return air ducts  14 . Similarly, when a cool call or command signal is provided by the building automation controller(s)  18 , an HVAC component  6  (e.g. an air conditioning unit) may be activated to supply cooled air to one or more rooms and/or zones within the building  2  or other structure via supply air ducts  10 . The cooled air may be forced through the supply air duct  10  by the blower or fan  21 . In this example, the warmer air from each zone may be returned to the HVAC component  6  (e.g. air conditioning unit) for cooling via return air ducts  14 . In some cases, the wired or wireless communication link  20  of the building automation system  4  may include an internet gateway (e.g., a modem or other device facilitating a communication link) or other device that may allow one or more of the HVAC components  6 , as described herein, to communicate over a wide area network (WAN) such as, for example, the Internet, and/or a device (e.g., wired or wireless communication link  20 ) that may allow one or more HVAC components  6  to communicate over any other network. 
     In many instances, one or more air filters  23  may be used to remove dust and other pollutants from the air inside the building  2 . In the illustrative example shown in  FIG. 1 , the air filter(s)  23  are installed in the return air duct  14 , and may filter the air prior to the air entering the HVAC component  6 , but it is contemplated that any other suitable location for the air filter(s)  23  may be used. The presence of the air filter(s)  23  may not only improve the indoor air quality, but may also protect the HVAC components  6  from dust and other particulate matter that would otherwise be permitted to enter the HVAC component  6 . 
     In some cases, the system of vents or ductwork  10  and/or  14  may include one or more dampers  24  to regulate the flow of air through the vent, but this is not required. The dampers  24  may be positioned along the ductwork  10  and/or  14  at any location. One or more active dampers  24  may be coupled (e.g., in a wired or wireless manner) to one or more HVAC controller(s)  18 , EIMs, or zone controllers and may be coordinated with the operation of one or more HVAC components  6 . The one or more HVAC controller(s)  18  may actuate active dampers  24  to an opened position, a closed position, and/or to a position between the opened position and closed position (e.g., a partially opened position) to modulate the flow of air from the one or more HVAC components  6  to an appropriate room and/or zone in the building  2  or other structure. The dampers  24  may be particularly useful in zoned HVAC systems, and may be used to control which zone(s) receive(s) conditioned air from the HVAC component(s)  6 . 
     In some instances, register vents  26  may include one or more vent dampers  30  located at or adjacent a position which air or fluid exits the ductwork  10  and enters a conditioned space to control delivery of the conditioned air from the one or more supply air duct  10  into the building  2 . The register vents  26  may include one or more manually operated register vents  26  with manually operated vent damper  30   a  (see  FIG. 2 ) and/or one or more electronically controlled active register vents  26  with an electronically operated vent damper  30   b  (see  FIG. 3 ). In some cases, the register vents  26  may be manually operated and electronically operated. 
     Illustratively, the register vents  26  may be utilized in any manner to facilitate comfort level conditioning in one or more spaces. In some instances, the register vents  26  may be utilized to form one or more zones in a comfort level conditioned space. For example, the register vents  26  may be utilized to create one or more zones in the conditioned space even though, to that point, the HVAC system was not a zoned system. Alternatively, or in addition, register vents  26  may be utilized to create one or more further zones or one or more sub-zones in an HVAC system that is already configured to be at least partially zoned. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a building  2  may include a plurality of zones (e.g., zone  1 , zone  2 , and zone  3 , or any other number of zones) with at least one sensor (e.g., a sensor at or of a building automation controller  18 , a local sensor  34  (see below), or other sensor) in each zone. In some cases, each zone may include one or more electronically controllable register vent dampers  30   b , such that the building automation controller  18  or other controller may be able to control the first zone differently from the second zone. Although the HVAC system in  FIG. 1  for building  2  may be configured to include three zones, register vents  26  may be included in the HVAC system to provide additional or alternate control over the flow of fluid through the ductwork of the HVAC system and conditioned spaces of the building  2 . For example, when a room or zone has a plurality of registers (e.g., locations where fluid from ductwork  10  enters a room or zone), register vents  26  may be utilized to create subzones within a zone, such as zones  2 A,  2 B,  3 A, and  3 B, as shown separated by dotted lines in  FIG. 1 , by allowing a user and/or a controller (e.g., one or more building automation controller  18 , one or more controller at the register vents  26 , and/or other controller) to close and/or open vent dampers  30  at the register vents  26  (e.g., manually and/or electronically open and/or close vent dampers  30 ). 
     As mentioned, each zone of a building (e.g., building  2 ) may include at least one sensor. In some instances, a sensor (e.g., a local sensor  34 ) may be associated with each register vent  26 , but this is not required. In some cases, a sensor may be associated with two or more register vents  26  (such as two register vents located in the same zone). Alternatively, or in addition, a sensor may be associated with the building automation controller  18  and/or may be a remote sensor in communication with the building automation controller  18 . The sensors may be configured to sense one or more environmental parameters and may be in communication with a local controller or other mechanism for communicating the sensed parameter to a device configured to adjust and/or monitor comfort level conditioning settings of the building automation system  4  (e.g., the HVAC system of building  2 ). 
     Register vents  26  may include a vent  28  configured to receive fluid flow from a building automation sub-system  12  (e.g., fan  21 , a furnace, an air conditioner, etc. of an HVAC system) and a manually operated vent damper  30   a , as best shown in  FIG. 2 . The vent  28  may be in fluid communication with the ductwork  10  and the fluid traveling through the ductwork  10  may exit the ductwork through the vent  28 . Where the ductwork  10  has a proximal end at an end adjacent a comfort level conditioned space and a distal end at an HVAC component  6  of a building automation sub-system  12 , the manually operated vent damper  30   a  may be positioned proximal and/or distal of the vent  28 . In some cases, the manually operated vent damper  30   a  may be mechanically coupled to the vent  28  to form a register vent  26  and/or the manually operated vent damper  30   s.    
     In some instances, one or more register vents  26  of a plurality of register vents  26  of a conditioned space may be manually operated. Manually operated register vents  26  may be manually adjusted by a user by manually adjusting a mechanism to open and/or close a vent damper  30  with respect to an associated vent  28 . Alternatively, or in addition, adding a manually operated vent damper  30   a  to a vent  28  may form a manually adjustable register vent  26 . 
     In some cases, when a manually operable vent damper  30   a  is added to a vent  28 , the vent damper  30  may be a magnetic sheet that is mechanically and/or electrically connected to a proximal side or distal side of the vent  28  and/or other vent damper  30  mechanism that may be mechanically connected to the vent  28 . Manually operated register vents  26  refer to register vents  26  that include a manually operated vent damper  30   a  which may be manually adjusted by a user to control flow of fluid through an associated vent  28 . In some instances, the manually operated register vents  26  may include a local controller and/or a local sensor for sensing environmental parameters, but this is not required. 
     In some instances, but not all, electronically controlled register vents  26  may include one or more of a vent  28 , an electronically controlled vent damper  30   b , an actuator  31 , a local controller  32 , a communications port or block  33  having a wired or wireless interface for communicating with the HVAC control system and/or other register vents  26 , and/or a local sensor  34 . An electronically controlled register vent  26  may be a register vent  26  that is capable of being selectively and/or automatically controlled by a controller (e.g. a local controller  32 , a building automation controller  18 , a remote system  36  and/or other controller). 
     When a register vent  26  includes a local sensor  34  or other sensor, it may be considered a sensing device. The local controller  32  of the register vent may be in communication with a building automation controller  18  other controller of the HVAC control system via communications port or block  33  of the register vent  26  and/or or other communications port or block (e.g., communications port or block  42 ,  44 ) having a wired or wireless interface and may be electronically controlled from the building automation controller  18  or other device or system in communication with the building automation controller  18 . In instances when a plurality of electronically controlled register vents  26  are included in a building automation system  4 , positions (e.g., an opened position, a closed position, or positions therebetween) of the electronically controlled vent dampers  30   b  with respect to the vents  28  of the electronically controlled register vents  26  may be controlled by the building automation controller  18  and/or any other controller including, but not limited to, the local controllers  32  at the register vent  26 , and/or any device or system connected thereto. 
     Illustratively, the local sensor  34  of a register vent  26  associated with an electronically controlled register vent damper  30   b  may sense one or more local conditions in the building and the local controller  32  of the register vent  26  may communicate or issue one or more requests to the building automation controller  18  or other controller of the HVAC control system for conditioned air or other request of the HVAC system. In response to receiving the request, a controller of the HVAC control system may be configured to determine a setting (e.g., damper setting) for the electronically controlled register vent damper  30   b  and communicate the determined setting for the electronically controlled register vent damper  30   b  via the communications block of the HVAC control system to a user interface (e.g., user interface  46 ), to the local controller  32  of the register vent  26 , and/or to one or more other device of the HVAC system or HVAC control system. The controller of the HVAC control system may determine which HVAC component(s)  6  should be active, if any, and provide one or more control signals to that HVAC component  6  to activate or keep active that HVAC component  6 . 
     In some cases, the local controllers  32  may be in communication with one another to facilitate zone or sub-zone synchronization and/or optimization. In such instances, each local controller  32  may set a position of an associated vent damper  30  electronically in view of other set positions of other vent dampers  30  associated with other local controllers  32 . In some instances, the local controllers  32  and/or other controllers in communication with the vent dampers  30  may consider the state of manually operated register vents  26 , electronically operated register vents  26 , vents  28  without vent dampers  30 , and/or input from controllers (e.g., building automation controllers  18  or other controllers) of the building automation system  4  in addition to or other than the local controllers  32 . 
     The local controllers  32  may be configured to have one-way or two-way communication with the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or a remote system  36  via communications port or block  33 . In instances of one-way communication with the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or remote system  36 , the local controllers  32  may communicate positions of the vent dampers  30 , sensed parameters at or about the register vent  26 , and/or other information to the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or the remote system  36 . Alternatively, the local controllers  32  having one-way communication with the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or remote system  36  may receive positioning commands for the vent dampers  30  and/or other information from the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or the remote system  36 . In instances of two-way communication with the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or the remote system  36 , the local controllers  32  may communicate positions of the vent dampers  30 , sensed parameters at or about the register vents  26 , and/or other information to the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or the remote system  36 , and the local controllers  32  may receive positioning commands for the vent dampers  30  and/or other comfort level conditioning information/commands from the building automation controller(s)  18  and/or the remote system  36 . In one example of communication between the register vents  26  and the building automation controller  18 , the register vents  26  may be configured to call for conditioning (e.g., heating and/or cooling) of an associated space (e.g., a zone or sub-zone), call for fan  21  operation, call for humidification, call for dehumidification, call for air purification, and/or call for operation of one or more other pieces of equipment. 
     Control of the register vents  26  may be centralized at the building automation controller  18 , at any other controller in the building  2  (e.g., including, but not limited to, one of the local controllers  32 ), and/or at the remote system  36 . When register vents  26  are centrally controlled, the building automation controller  18 , other controller, and/or the remote system  36  may be able to control comfort level conditioning in a calculated manner (e.g., keep at least 10%-70%, 20%-60%, 30%-50%, or other range of vent dampers  30  in an open position) due to the knowledge of how much fluid is passing to one or more locations and at what time that fluid is reaching one or more locations within a comfort level controlled space. Illustratively, a building automation controller  18  or other controller that centrally controls the register vents  26  may take into consideration vent damper  30  position settings of manually controlled register vents  26 , along with position settings of electronically controlled register vents  26 . Understanding the positioning of all of the vent dampers  30 , if any, associated with vents  28  in a comfort level conditioned space allows the building automation controller  18  or other central controller to apply comfort level conditioning settings for the building automation system  4  in view of an amount of fluid calculated to be reaching one or more locations of a space or zone. Keeping some minimum percentage of the vent dampers open may also help prevent excessive load on the fan  21  of the HVAC system servicing the building. 
     As discussed, and in some instances, a register vent  26  may include one or more local sensors  34 . The local sensors  34  may be configured to sense one or more parameters related to setting a comfort level in the conditioned space and store and/or communicate the sensed parameters via the local controller  32 . In one example, the local sensors  34  may be configured to sense one or more of a temperature, physical occupancy/presence, changes in temperature, humidity levels, changes in humidity level, air quality levels or conditions (e.g., particle count, light, volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration or levels, CO 2  concentration or levels, etc.), changes in air quality levels or conditions, sound through or around the register vents  26 , vibrations, voice patterns, pressure, flow, and/or any other suitable sensed parameters. In some instances, the local sensors  34  and the local controllers  32  may be separate components or may be part of a single component. 
     In response to sensing one or more parameters with a sensing device of the building automation system  4 , the local controllers  32 , the building automation controllers  18 , and/or the remote system  36  may take one or more actions to adjust a comfort level conditioning level within one or more particular spaces. In one example of using sensed parameters to adjust a comfort level within one or more particular spaces, a sensing device may provide a measurement of one or more sensed air quality conditions (e.g., particle count, light, volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration or levels, CO 2  concentration or levels, etc.) to a controller and the controller may determine settings for one or more air quality components (e.g., UV lamps, air purification systems, air cleaning systems, air exchangers, etc.) of the HVAC components  6  in the building automation system  4  based, at least in part, on the provided measurements of sensed air quality conditions. 
     As discussed in greater detail below, the HVAC control system may save or store values of sensed parameters in a remote system  36  (e.g., in a cloud server) and, in some cases, control one or more HVAC components  6  and/or register vent dampers  30  based, at least in part, on stored values of the sensed environmental parameters. Additionally, or alternatively, the HVAC control system may be configured to receive a request for data related to the sensed parameters and provide (e.g., to a user interface) a report for the data related to the sensed parameters based, at least in part, on the stored values of the sensed parameter. 
     The local controllers  32 , the building automation controllers  18 , and/or the remote system  36  may utilize outputs of a local sensor  34  as a primary sensed parameter for controlling comfort level conditioning of a space, as an averaged sensed parameter that is used in conjunction with other outputs of local sensors  34  and/or other sensors to control comfort level conditioning of a space, as a sensed zone parameter for controlling comfort level conditioning of a particular zoned or sub-zoned space, and/or as a sensed parameter for other comfort level conditioning. Such use of local sensors  34  at register vents  26  may facilitate dividing a comfort level conditioned space into zones (e.g., macro-zones) and/or sub-zones (e.g., micro-zones), identifying temperature gradients across a comfort level conditioned space and/or zones to optionally identify further zoning opportunities, improving an accuracy of a sensed parameter from a user comfort level perspective for a comfort level conditioned space by averaging a plurality of sensed parameters sensed by the local sensors  34 , and/or may facilitate providing other functions and/or benefits. 
     In some instances, the local sensors  34  or other sensors may sense when someone is present in a comfort level conditioned space and apply settings for the comfort level conditioned space associated with a “space occupied” profile or other profile. In other similar or different instances, the local sensors  34  may be configured to sense when a particular individual is present in a comfort level conditioned space and apply settings for the comfort level conditioned space associated with that particular individual&#39;s profile saved in a memory of one or more of the local controller  32 , the building automation controller  18 , and the remote system  36 . The local sensors  34  may identify particular individuals in any manner, including but not limited to, sensing an individual&#39;s biometrics, sensing an individual&#39;s voice, sensing vibrations caused by an individual advancing through a space, sensing an identification tag carried by the individual (e.g. RFID tag, cell phone, etc.), and/or other identifying techniques. Additionally, or alternatively, the local sensors  34  or other sensors may sense other parameters and/or apply one or more comfort level conditioning profiles as determined by a preset or predefined program of the HVAC system. 
     In some instances, a controller of or in communication with the HVAC system may be capable of identifying one or more local devices  56  (see  FIG. 5 ) in the building  2  via a communications block or port (e.g., wireless communications port or block  54  or other communications block or port). In one example, a building automation controller  18  may be configured to identify and/or detect one or more devices (e.g., local devices  56 ) local to a space of which the building automation controller  18  at least partially controls the comfort level conditioning. In some cases, the building automation controller  18  or other controller may be able to control one or more of the local devices  56 . A local device  56  may be, but is not limited to, controllable or uncontrollable non-HVAC components such as an appliance, an oven, a stove, a window, a window treatment, a refrigerator, a cooler, a freezer, an iron, a grill, a room fan, an air freshener, a portable dehumidifier, a portable humidifier, and/or other indoor devices or goods that may have an effect on comfort level conditioning of a space. In some instances, a local device  56  may be an auxiliary environmental parameter control device including, but not limited to, a window air conditioning unit, a wall air conditioning unit, a portable electric heater, an electric fireplace, a portable electric fan, a ceiling fan, an electric floor heater, and so on. 
     A building automation controller  18  (e.g., a thermostat or other controller), as depicted in  FIG. 5 , may include a processor  48  and memory  50 . In some cases, a device controller  52  (e.g., including memory and a processor—not shown) including or in communication with a wireless communications port or block  54  may be included in the building automation controller  18  as a sub-controller of the building automation controller  18  or other feature thereof. Additionally, or alternatively, the device controller  52  may be located exterior the building automation controller  18  and may be in communication with the building automation controller  18  via a wired or wireless connection. The device controller  52  of or in communication with the building automation controller  18  may be configured to automatically or upon request sense via a wired connection or through the wireless communication port or block  54  (e.g., over one or more wireless protocols, including, but not limited to, cellular communication, IEEE 802.11, ZigBee, REDLINK™, Bluetooth, WiFi, IrDA, dedicated short range communication (DSRC), EnOcean, and/or any other suitable common or proprietary wireless protocol, as desired) one or more local devices  56  and/or actions taken thereby. 
     The device controller  52  may be configured to automatically or upon request sense a local device  56 , sense an action taken thereby through detecting one or more changes in environmental parameters, and/or send a control signal to the local device  56 . In such instances, the device controller  52  may be in communication with the local sensors  34  or other sensors of the HVAC system to receive environment parameter data. Through analyses of changes in the received environmental parameter data, the device controller  52  may identify the presence of a local device  56  and/or an action taken thereby. In some cases, the device controller  52  may detect a presence of a local device  56  via a wired or wireless communication and the device controller  52  may identify an action taken by a local device  56  via analysis of environmental parameter data. In one example, the device controller  52  may analyze data received from a local sensor  34  adjacent a stove and may determine when the data from the local sensor  34  is indicating a rise in temperature. From the identification of the rise in temperature, the device controller  52  may identify the stove has taken a heating action and indicate that action taken to the processor  48  of the building automation controller  18 . In response, the building automation controller  18  may set a vent damper  30  of a register vent  26  adjacent the space in which the stove is located to an opened position to cool the space and/or take other actions to compensate for the identified action taken by the stove. 
     When the device controller  52  detects that a local device  56  has taken an action or has been caused to make an action, the device controller  52  may provide a signal to the processor  48  of the building automation controller  18 . In response to receiving a signal from the device controller  52  indicating a local device is taking or has made an action, the building automation controller  18  may, via a user interface  46  (e.g., the user interface  46  may be, but is not limited to one or more of, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a thermostat screen, a voice control system, and other interfaces), suggest an adjustment to, or may automatically adjust, an environmental parameter set point of one or more HVAC components  6  conditioning a particular space or particular zone. In one instance, the building automation controller  18  may be configured to adjust a position setting of a vent damper  30  of one or more register vents  26  adjacent the space in which the local device  56  is located in response to the device controller  52  detecting one or more of a local device  56  and an action taken or made by the detected local device  56 . 
     In some cases, the device controller  52  may be configured to detect one or more auxiliary environmental parameter control devices (e.g., a portable heater, a window air conditioner, or space conditioning device not directly controlled by the building automation controller  18 ). In response to detection of one or more of the auxiliary environmental parameter control devices and communication of the detection to the processor  48  of the building automation controller  18 , the building automation controller  18  may be configured to adjust a position setting of a vent damper  30  of one or more register vents  26  and/or adjust one or more other settings. In some instances, the device controller  52  may receive a status signal from the auxiliary environmental parameter control device indicating a setting thereof (e.g., on/off, hi/low, level 1 or 2 or 3, etc.), and the building automation controller  18  may adjust a position of vent damper  30  of one or more register vents  26  and/or other settings to account for the setting of the auxiliary environmental parameter control device and maintain proper comfort level conditioning in a space. In some cases, the device controller  52  may change a setting of the auxiliary environmental parameter control device, such as turn on or off the auxiliary environmental parameter control device. 
     In some cases, the local sensors  34  and/or other sensors of the building automation system  4  that may be configured to sense one or more parameters of a comfort level conditioned space and may communicate the sensed parameters to the remote system  36  via one or more operably coupled local controllers  32  and/or the building automation controller  18  through the use of an operably coupled local communications port or block  44 , as best shown in  FIG. 4 . Illustratively, the remote system  36  and/or the building automation controller  18  may include a memory  38  and a processor  40 , where the memory  38  or other memory may store data obtained from the sensors of the building automation system  4 , other data from users, and/or instructions executable by the processor  40  to analyze and/or configure the data obtained from the sensors of the building automation system  4  and/or configure other data obtained from a user. The memory  38  and/or other memory discussed herein may be non-transitory computer readable media. In one instance, the processor  40  may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory  38  or other memory to perform thermodynamic analyses, model development, HVAC configuration development, and/or other analyses using the data and/or information received from the building automation system  4  and additionally or alternatively configure the data and/or results of the analyses for communication to a user interface  46  of or in communication with the building automation system  4 . 
     The user interface  46  may be configured to communicate with controllers (e.g., the remote system  36  (e.g., cloud server), the local controller  32 , the building automation controller  18 , and/or other controllers) of or in communication with the HVAC system to obtain and/or receive analyses from one or more of the controllers based on data received from the local sensors  34  and/or other data. The obtained and/or received analyses may be of data specific to one or more particular zones or sub-zones and/or to any portion of or an entirety of the space that is conditioned with the building automation system  4 . Illustratively, the controllers of the HVAC system of a building  2  may monitor the thermodynamics of different areas of the building  2 . Such monitoring may include tracking heat gain and/or loss of each zone independently of other zones, which may allow the controllers to send to the user interface  46  suggested position settings for vent dampers  30  that may impact a rate of heating or cooling of a particular conditioned space of a building  2 . The positioning of vent dampers  30  according to suggested position settings may facilitate establishing more even temperatures throughout a building because different spaces/zones/sub-zones throughout a building  2  may reach a set temperature at a more similar time, rather than at different times, which is often the case when all of the vent dampers  30  are set to the fully open position. 
     In addition, or as an alternative, to obtained and/or received analyses of data from local sensors  34 , the obtained and/or received analyses at a user interface  46  may take into account data for area conditioning parameters of a plurality of HVAC systems, sizes of the vents  28  of the register vents  26 , and/or sizes of the vent dampers  30  of the register vents  26 . In some cases, the plurality of HVAC systems may be located in a single building or in one or more buildings about or around a subject building  2  (e.g., buildings in a neighborhood, on a same city block, etc.). In one example, the remote system  36  may be configured to monitor homes (e.g., buildings  2 ) in a community and track the impact of suggested changes to positions of vent dampers  30  and/or suggested changes to other HVAC components  6  on the operation of HVAC systems or thermodynamics in those homes. The remote system  36  may then compare the suggested changes of similar type, sized, geographically positioned, and/or geographically oriented homes to one another to determine successful changes. The successful changes may then be tracked over time and suggested to other users of the remote system  36  in response to environmental season changes, solar strength changes, humidity level changes, and/or other changes. 
     In some cases, analyses obtained and/or received by the user interface  46 , may include recommendations for configuring one or more HVAC components  6  of an HVAC system. Illustratively, the recommendations may include one or more zoning recommendations, register vent  26  setting recommendations, temperature set point (or temperature program schedule) recommendations, etc., from the remote system  36 , the local controllers  32 , the building automation controllers  18 , and/or other controllers. 
     The one or more zoning recommendations may, as discussed in further detail below, be developed based at least partially on sensed conditioning parameters of an area to be comfort level conditioned and/or data for sensed conditioning parameters of areas to be comfort level conditioned by one or more other HVAC systems (e.g., HVAC systems in buildings other than a subject building  2 ) received through a communications port or block (e.g., communications port or block  42  and/or communications port or block  44 ). Zoning recommendations may include general instructions or suggestions on how to zone a building  2 , how to manually set zones, how to modify an existing zone to create sub-zones, when to modify an existing zone, how to set vent dampers  30  of register vents, and/or other instructions. 
     In one example of a building automation system  4  obtaining instructions, the remote system  36 , local controller  32 , the building automation controller  18 , and/or other controller may provide an instruction to one or more register vents  26  (e.g., an electronically controlled register vent) to adjust a vent damper  30  for the purpose of improving the efficiency of establishing a desired comfort level conditioning setting or for other building conditioning-related purposes in response to obtaining or receiving the analyses from a controller of the HVAC system based, at least in part, on sensed data from local sensors  34  or other sensors. In some cases, the instruction to one or more register vents  26  may be provided to improve uniformity of temperature between spaced sensor locations, between spaced register vent locations, register dampers locations and/or generally within a space, to allow at least a minimum air flow from the HVAC system to help protect the HVAC system from damage, to maintain at least a minimum number of register vent dampers  30  in an open state, and/or for one or more other purposes. An indication of the provided instruction may be sent to the user interface  46  to alert a user of the instruction. In some cases, the controller of the HVAC system may be optionally and/or selectively set to automatically provide an instruction to one or more register vents  26  to adjust its vent damper  30  in response to a received recommendation and/or the controller may be optionally or selectively set to require a confirmation from a user at the user interface  46  before sending an instruction to one or more register vents  26  to adjust its vent damper  30 . In some cases, an instruction may be sent to one or more register vents  26  for execution, and nothing may be sent to the user interface. 
     The user interface  46  or other user interface may be configured to indicate and/or display one or more suggestions or recommendations from a controller of the HVAC control system for manually setting positions of vent dampers  30  (e.g., a manually adjustable register vent dampers  30   a ) of one or more register vents  26  based, at least in part, on sensed data received from local sensors  34  or other sensors. The one or more suggestions may be obtained from one or more controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system of a building  2  (e.g., the controllers may include one or more of the remote system  36 , the local controller  32 , the building automation controller  18 , and/or other controller). The controllers of the HVAC system of the building  2  may base the suggestions for manually setting positions of the vent dampers  30   a  at least partially on either or both of area conditioning parameters sensed by a sensor of the HVAC system and data related to conditioning parameters of one or more HVAC systems in a similar geographic region as a subject HVAC system. 
     As referred to above, the HVAC system of building  2  may include a plurality of register vents  26 , where all of the plurality of register vents  26  are electronically controlled, all of the plurality of register vents  26  are manually controlled, and/or a portion of the plurality of register vents  26  are electronically controlled and a portion of the register vents  26  are manually controlled. In instances where the plurality of register vents  26  include one or more manually controlled register vents  26 , a controller of or in communication with the HVAC system may suggest to the user a setting for a manually operated register vent  26  (e.g., a position setting for a manually operated vent damper  30   a ) to improve uniformity of temperature between spaced sensor locations, between spaced register vent locations, register dampers locations and/or generally within a space, to allow at least a minimum air flow from the HVAC system to help protect the HVAC system from damage, to maintain at least a minimum number of register vent dampers  30  in an open state, and/or for one or more other purposes. In instances where the plurality of register vents  26  include one or more electronically controlled register vents  26 , a controller of or in communication with the HVAC system may suggest a setting for an electronically operated register vent  26  (e.g., a position setting for an electronically controllable vent damper  30   b ). In instances where the plurality of register vents  26  include both manually controlled register vents and electronically controlled register vents  26 , a controller of or in communication with the HVAC system may suggest a setting for a manually operable register vent  26  and may request authorization to automatically set the position of the electronically operable register vents  26 . 
     In response to receiving a suggestion at the user interface  46  for position settings of vent dampers  30  of the register vents  26 , a user may, in some cases, be presented with an option to accept the suggestion, reject the suggestion, or modify the suggestion via the user interface  46 . When the register vents  26  include both electronically controlled and manually controlled vent dampers  30   a , the user interface  46  may provide or display options to accept the suggestion, reject the suggestion, or modify the suggestion with respect to the electronically operable vent dampers  30   b , the manually operable vent dampers  30   a , or both. 
     When the register vents  26  have manually operable vent dampers  30   a , a user may accept, reject, or modify the position setting suggestion for the manually operable vent dampers  30   a  and then either manually adjust the manually operable vent dampers  30   a  according to the suggestion or the modified suggestion, or do nothing in the event the suggestion was rejected. After the user has made a selection or confirmation at the user interface  46  with respect to acceptance, rejection, or modification of the suggested position setting for the vent dampers  30 , one or more controllers of the HVAC system may monitor heat gain and/or loss, or other parameter, to determine whether the user positioned the vent dampers  30  consistent with accepting, rejecting, or modifying the suggested position setting of the vent dampers  30 . If no change in heat gain and/or loss, or other parameter, is realized by the controller of or in communication with the HVAC system, the controller may determine no changes were made (which may be consistent with rejecting a suggested vent damper  30  position setting) or that the changes made had no impact. Identification by the controller of or in communication with the HVAC system of either situation may prompt the controller to recommend the changes again or recommend new changes to the system to try and impact the comfort level conditioning in a space in a desirable manner. Alternatively, the controller may recognize that a user is not interested in obtaining instructions, and refrain from providing further suggestions of position settings for vent dampers  30  for a selected or default period of time. 
     When the register vents  26  have electronically operable vent dampers  30   b , a user may accept, reject, or modify the position setting suggestion for the electronically operable vent dampers  30   b  and then, in response, the controller(s) of or in communication with the HVAC system may automatically effect the position settings of the vent dampers  30 . Alternatively, the controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may automatically effect any suggestion and provide a confirmation to the user interface  46  of such changes to the position settings of the vent dampers  30 . After a suggestion has been implemented/accepted, rejected, or modified, one or more controllers of the HVAC system may monitor heat gain and/or loss, or other parameter, as discussed above, to determine the effect of the modification of the vent damper position setting on sensed comfort level parameters in the conditioned space. The controller(s) of or in communication with the HVAC system may learn from the monitoring which vent damper  30  position settings may be effective and which are not as effective for improving the operation of the HVAC system over time. 
     When either or both electronically operable vent dampers  30   b  and manually operable vent dampers  30   a  are included in a building automation system  4 , the controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may take into consideration whether a user accepted, rejected, or modified one or more of the suggested position settings for either or both of the manually operable vent dampers  30   a  and the electronically operable vent dampers  30   b . For example, if the suggested position settings for the manually operable vent dampers  30   a  are rejected and the position settings for the electronically operable vent dampers  30   b  are accepted, the controller(s) of or in communication with the HVAC system may modify the suggested position settings taking into account the lack of desire on the part of a user to change the position settings of the manually operable vent dampers  30   a.    
     The HVAC system may store an indicator of vent damper settings or positions of one or more of the vent dampers  30  in memory  38  or other memory. Additionally or alternatively, the HVAC system may store data sensed by the local sensors  34  or other sensors, sensor locations of the local sensors  34  or other sensors within the building  2 , an indicator of register vent  26  locations within the building  2 , an indicator of register vent damper  30  locations within the building  2 , thermodynamic properties of the building  2 , historical sensed data, and/or other building automation system  4  information. The building automation controller  18  or other controller may determine recommended settings for devices of or related to the HVAC system (e.g., one or more manually adjustable register vent dampers  30   a , etc.) and/or may control device of or related to the HVAC system (e.g., one or more electronically controllable register vent dampers  30   b , etc.) based, at least in part, on the received sensed data, the stored indicators of the sensor locations, the stored indicators of register vent  26  locations within the building  2 , the stored indicators of register vent damper  30  locations within the building  2 , analyses of thermodynamic properties of the building  2 , historical sensed data, other building automation system  4  information, and/or similar or dissimilar HVAC related data from each of a plurality of HVAC systems. 
     The building automation controller  18  or other controller (e.g., a controller of the remote system  36 ) may use stored or other building information (e.g., as discussed above) to make and/or implement recommendations including setting changes to the building automation system  4  and display those recommendations via a user interface. In one example, operation of an HVAC control system may include collecting environmental sensor data via two or more sensing devices located at two or more identified locations within a building. Then, analyzing the collected environmental sensor data in conjunction with the two or more identified locations of the sensors providing the data to determine recommended HVAC component  6  setting changes, if any, based at least partially on the sensed and/or stored data (e.g., collected data) and displaying the recommended setting changes to a user via a user interface that may be associated with the HVAC control system. If no changes are recommended, an indication that no changes were identified may be displayed on the user interface. 
     In one case, recommended setting changes and/or setting changes based on the sensed and/or stored data may include a manual adjustment to one or more manually adjustable register dampers, an adjustment to one or more electronically controllable register dampers, a suggestion to incorporate an electronically controllable register damper in the building at a particular location, an adjustment to a fan setting of the HVAC system (e.g., changing a mode of the fan between an on mode (e.g., the fan is always running when in this mode), an off mode (e.g., the fan is never runs while in this mode), an auto mode (e.g., when in this mode, the fan runs while the furnace, air conditioner, or other forced air HVAC component is running), a circulate mode (e.g., when in this mode, the fan runs according to a set schedule or a set percentage of the time in addition to running when the furnace, air conditioner, or other forced air HVAC component is running), and/or other modes) and/or other HVAC related recommendations. Such recommended setting changes and/or setting changes may facilitate optimizing a flow of air through a building to adjust a comfort level in the building and/or a specified zone, sub-zone, or area of the building. 
     In one example of using stored building automation system  4  information, the building automation controller  18  or other controller may be configured to make macro-zone and/or micro-zone adjustments and/or recommendations. When a building is zoned by floors, for example, the building automation controller  18  may be configured to maintain a first comfort level in a first macro zone of a first floor and a second comfort level in a second macro zone of a second floor. By using stored building automation system  4  information (e.g., settings or positions of register vent dampers  30  or other building automation system  4  information) or other information, the building automation controller  18  or other controller may adjust or provide a recommendation to adjust one or more settings (e.g., to adjust a register vent damper  30  setting, change a fan setting of the HVAC system to one of an on mode, an off mode, an auto mode, and a circulation mode, change a position of a window treatment) for a sub-zone or micro-zone within one or more of the first macro-zone and the second macro-zone that may be considered to be more effective than another option based on the stored building automation system  4  information. In some instances, a micro-zone may be established to compensate for a hot spot or cool spot within the macro-zone and/or to allow a user to adjust a comfort level of only a portion of a larger zone. 
     As discussed, the building automation controller  18  or other controllers may adjust or provide instructions or recommendations for adjusting individual register vent dampers in one or more zones of a building  2 . In one example, the building automation controller  18  may be configured to adjust and/or determine a first recommended setting for one or more register vent dampers  30  (e.g., manually adjustable and/or electronically controllable register vent dampers) that service a first zone of the building  2  and a second recommended setting for one or more register vent dampers  30  (e.g., manually adjustable and/or electronically controllable register vent dampers) that service a second zone of the building  2  based, at least in part, on stored building automation system  4  information and/or other information. 
     The controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may continually monitor the impact of suggested and/or implemented adjustments on a performance of the HVAC system (e.g., vent dampers  30  settings, fan  21  settings, etc.). In response to the monitoring of the HVAC system, the controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may (optionally) automatically adjust settings of the HVAC components  6  and/or recommend or suggest changes to settings of the HVAC components  6 . In some cases, the controllers of the HVAC system may learn from the monitoring of the HVAC system settings and the effect of those settings on a conditioned space, such that the controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may provide improved suggestions over time. 
     In one example of controllers of or in communication with an HVAC system that monitor adjustments to the settings of HVAC components and the associated effect on a comfort level of a conditioned space, if any, the controllers may suggest through the user interface  46  that a user closes all vent dampers  30  in a basement, the user set all of the vent dampers  30  on a middle level to a 50% open position, and leave all vent dampers  30  on the upper level fully open. The user then may indicate through the user interface  46  that such suggested changes were made. In the example, the controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may notice the user changed a sleeping temperature when the HVAC system was in a cooling mode to a higher setting. The controllers of or in communication with the HVAC system may then conclude that the suggested changes and/or changes made were successful and potentially resulted in energy savings due to the allowed higher temperature when the system was in a cooling mode. The controllers (e.g., via the remote system  36 ) may then push the suggested HVAC component  6  settings (e.g., settings of vent dampers  30 ) to other buildings (e.g., homes) in a community around the monitored building. Additionally, or alternatively, the controllers may store the suggested HVAC component  6  settings for similar situations (e.g., situations taking into account past, current, and expected future thermodynamics of a building  2 , conditions outdoors, etc.) in the future. In some cases, these settings may be automatically applied when similar environmental situations are identified in the future. 
     In some instances, the remote system  36  may include a remote communications port or block  42 , where the remote communications port or block  42  may be in communication with the processor  40  and the memory  38  of the remote system  36 , along with a local communications port or block  44  of one or more building automation systems  4 . The local communications port or block  44  may be in communication with the local controllers  32  and/or local sensors  34  of the register vents  26 , the building automation controllers  18 , and/or a user interface  46  of the building automation system  4 . The local communications port or block  44  may be a part of or may be a separate device from one or more of the local controllers  32  of the register vents  30 , the building automation controllers  18 , the user interface  46 , and/or other device or feature of the building automation system  4 . 
     The remote system  36  may be a cloud based (e.g., internet connected) system that is configured to connect and/or monitor one or more HVAC systems of one or more related or unrelated buildings. In one instance, the remote system  36  may be configured to monitor the number of register dampers in a building  2  and ensures a requisite amount of air is delivered to one or more conditioned spaces of the building  2 . In an example and similar to as discussed above regarding centralized control, the remote system  36  may attempt to ensure 10%-70%, 20%-60%, 30%-50%, or other appropriate percentage range of the number of register vents  26  in the building are open and fluid is flowing form an HVAC component  6  through the vents  28 . Such monitoring is helpful in preventing and/or mitigating static pressure build up in ductwork of an HVAC system of the building  2  and protecting HVAC components  6  of the HVAC system. 
     In some instances, the remote system  36  may monitor previous, current, and/or anticipated outdoor conditions. Such monitoring may include, but is not limited to, monitoring temperature, humidity, solar strength, solar position, and/or other outdoor conditions. In response, at least in part, to analyses performed on the outdoor conditions, the remote system  36  may suggest adjusting a position of one or more vent dampers  30  to ensure proper conditioning of all areas of a conditioned space (e.g., a house). In one example, the remote system  36  may determine an expected sun pattern will heat up a south facing side of a building faster than a north facing side at a particular time and thus, the remote system  36  may suggest maintaining vent dampers  30  on the south side of the building  2  in an open position longer during the summer months to cool the conditioned space adjacent the south side of the building  2  and compensate for the predicted solar load. Alternatively, or in addition, to monitoring and/or configuring a position of the vent dampers  30 , the remote system  36  may be configured to adjust one or more HVAC related accessories and/or other accessories in the building that may be able to impact comfort level conditioning in a building or space in an efficient manner. For example, the remote system  36  may suggest that a user opens or closes shades and/or opens or closes windows in response to monitoring an outdoor condition. In instances where a building automation controller  18  is connected to or in communication with building accessories (e.g., window coverings, windows, etc.), the remote system  36  may communicate directly to the connected building accessories to position one or more of those building accessories at a particular setting to more efficiently operate the HVAC system in an economical manner while maintaining comfort for users in the building  2 . In some cases, the remote system  36  may suggest turning on an auxiliary environmental parameter control device (e.g. a window air conditioning unit, a wall air conditioning unit, a portable electric heater, an electric fireplace, a portable electric fan, a ceiling fan, an electric floor heater) to maintain comfort if appropriate. When one or more auxiliary environmental parameter control devices can be controlled by the remote system  36 , the remote system  36  may automatically active/deactivate such auxiliary environmental parameter control devices as appropriate. 
     The remote system  36  may be configured to monitor past, current, and/or future utility rates and/or usage of gas, electric, water, etc. for and/or at the building  2 . From the information obtained by monitoring utility rates and/or utility usage, the remote system  36  may communicate with the building automation controller(s)  18  to facilitate operating the HVAC system at an energy efficient level while maintaining comfort for users occupying the conditioned space. In one example, the remote system  36  may suggest the HVAC system utilize a lower cost HVAC component  6  (e.g., electric heaters) when the cost of using an associated type of energy (electricity) is less than the cost of using a different type of energy (e.g., gas) for a different HVAC component (e.g., a gas furnace) that performs a similar conditioning function. The remote system  36  may, in some cases, automatically instruct the HVAC system to utilize a lower cost HVAC component  6  (e.g., electric heaters) when the cost of using an associated type of energy (electricity) is less than the cost of using a different type of energy (e.g., gas) for a different HVAC component (e.g., a gas furnace) that performs a similar conditioning function. 
     In some cases, the remote system  36 , the building automation controller  18 , and/or other systems or controllers may monitor an occupancy of the building  2 . In one example of monitoring occupancy of the building  2 , the remote system  36 , the building automation controller  18 , and/or other systems or controllers may utilize geofencing, an occupancy sensor, and/or one or more other mechanisms providing occupancy related information and/or data to monitor and/or determine occupancy of the building  2 . Through monitoring occupancy of a building  2 , such as through geofencing, the remote system  36  may suggest position settings for vent dampers  30  and/or other settings for HVAC components  6  to assist in limiting or minimizing cycling and/or run time of HVAC components  6 . Cycling and/or run times may be limited or minimized by running heating and/or cooling operations of the HVAC system at a lower frequency when the building  2  or a space thereof is determined to be unoccupied. Such limiting or minimizing of cycling and/or run time of the HVAC components  6  may reduce the energy usage of the HVAC system, extend the life of one or more of the HVAC components  6 , and/or allow zones of a zoned system to sync and operate similar to a non-zoned system. Geofencing may be particularly useful when HVAC components  6  that may be slower to condition a space to a set point (e.g., hydronics) are utilized for conditioning a space because the crossing of a geofence can be utilized to turn the HVAC component  6  on in sufficient time, or use additional HVAC components  6  to assist in reaching the desired set point before the space is expected to be occupied. 
     Geofencing is a term used to refer to sensing locations of an individual or device (e.g. via a location aware device) with respect to a geographically defined fence that is established a particular distance from the building. When an individual or device leaves the building and advances to a position outside of the particular distance from the building, the location aware device may detect that the user has crossed the geofence and is leaving for some time. Once a user exits the geofence, the building automation controller  18  may be configured to modify the operation of one or more HVAC components  6  (e.g., to a no occupancy profile). When an individual or device is returning to the building and advances to a position inside of the particular distance from the building, the location aware device may detect that the user has crossed the geofence and is returning home. Once a user enters the geofence, the building automation controller  18  may be configured to modify the operation of one or more HVAC components  6  (e.g., to an occupied profile). 
     In some instances, a system of the building automation system  4  (e.g., remote system  36  or other system) may be configured to create a model of one or more spaces of a building  2  to be controlled with a developed HVAC system configuration created by the remote system  36 . Illustratively, a processing module (e.g., the processor  40  of the remote system  36  or processor of a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop computer, or other computing device) may be configured to execute one or more sets of instructions stored in memory (e.g., the memory  38 ) to develop an HVAC system configuration for the modeled space(s) of the building  2 . Through a user interacting with the remote system  36  via a web portal or other user interface accessible via the user interface  46  (e.g., a user interface of a thermostat, a mobile application, a web site, a PC application, thermostat screen, etc. accessible on a mobile phone, a tablet, laptop computer, or other computing device) of the building automation system  4 , an HVAC system configuration for controlling one or more environmental parameters of the one or more spaces of a building  2  may be developed by the processor  40  of the remote system  36 . As an alternative to or in addition to using the remote system  36  to create a model of one or more spaces of a building  2  to be controlled with a developed HVAC system configuration, a building automation controller  18  or other electronic device with appropriate software or applications executable thereon may be configured to develop a model for one or more spaces of a building  2  and one or more HVAC system configurations for those spaces. The user interface  46  may be configured to display the developed model for the one or more spaces of the building  2  and/or the one or more HVAC system configurations. 
     A model of a space and an HVAC system configuration for that space may be developed by the remote system  36  or other system based on building information that at least partially defines an exterior and/or inner structure of at least part of the building including a space to be conditioned and/or controlled, at least in part, by the developed HVAC system configuration, which may be received via a user interface (e.g., the user interface  46 ) and a communications port or block (e.g., the communications port or block  42 ). For example, a user may upload or otherwise provide building information (e.g., selection of one of two or more building type options presented via the user interface, photographs of the interior and/or exterior of the building, a 2-dimensional floorplan or layout of at least part of the building, a 3-dimensional model or layout of at least part of the building, building dimensions, current HVAC system confirmation information for the HVAC system of the building (e.g., including, but not limited to, current locations of one or more register vents within the building), non-HVAC device configurations, etc.) to the remote system  36  through the user interface  46  and/or the remote system  36  may obtain the building information from the user&#39;s accounts (e.g., social media or photo sharing/storing databases, etc.) and/or publicly available sources. Additionally, or alternatively, controllers of an existing HVAC control system of the building may automatically detect existing sensors, vent dampers, and/or HVAC or non-HVAC devices of the building and use this information in developing a model of the space and HVAC system. Once the building information is received, a processing module (e.g., processor  40 ) operatively coupled to the user interface  46  may be configured to create a model of the one or more spaces to be conditioned or controlled by a suggested or developed HVAC system configuration, where the model is developed, at least in part, from the received building information. 
     Additionally, or alternatively, to developing the model based on building information received via the user interface  46 , the processor may be configured to develop the model of the one or more spaces to be controlled and/or conditioned by the developed HVAC system based, at least in part, on information obtained by the processor  40  of the remote system  36 . In some cases, a user may enter instructions at the user interface  46  for the remote system  36  to obtain publicly accessible information and/or information stored in the remote system  36  that relates to the building  2  in which the space to be controlled and/or conditioned is located (e.g., building type information, building dimension, or other information). In some instances, the processor  40  of the remote system  36  may obtain the information from a publicly available database, such as an online mapping database, online real estate databases, online tax records, online municipality records, and the like. 
     In some cases, the remote system  36  may be configured to communicate with the building automation controller  18 , if the building  2  includes one, to determine what, if any, HVAC component  6  or other local devices  56  are located in the building  2 . If the remote system  36  detects the building includes one or more HVAC components  6 , the processor  40  of the remote system  36  may develop an HVAC configuration for the one or more spaces of the building  2  that may incorporate one or more of the detected HVAC components  6  and/or takes into account one or more of the detected local devices  56 . One example of taking a detection of a local device  56  into account, is to develop an HVAC system configuration that provides a register vent  26  in a room with a stove, but does not place the register vent behind the stove, where the local device  56  is the stove. 
     The HVAC system configuration developed by the remote system  36  may be displayed on the user interface and may include a two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional model of the building  2  and/or the spaces of the building  2  to be conditioned and/or controlled, an HVAC system layout, and suggested HVAC system products for implementing a suggested HVAC system configuration. Additionally, or alternatively, the developed HVAC system configuration may include one or more devices having environmental parameter sensors (e.g., local sensors  34  or other sensors) and one or more register vents  26  (e.g., register vents with vent dampers), among other HVAC components  6 , where the developed HVAC system configuration may include suggestions to replace specific HVAC system elements (e.g., a suggestion to replace a manually operated vent damper with an electronically controllable register vent). The HVAC system layout developed by the processor  40  may include suggested zone configurations and/or positions of register vents  26  for the one or more spaces to be controlled and/or conditioned. The user interface may be configured to accept selection of a suggested HVAC system configuration and or purchases of suggested HVAC system products of implementing a suggested HVAC system configuration. 
     The HVAC system configuration for the building  2  developed by the remote system  36  may include one or more HVAC system configuration options. In some cases, the remote system  36  may provide an HVAC system configuration utilizing HVAC components  6  existing in a modeled space of the building  2  and/or a basic HVAC system configuration. In addition, or as an alternative, the remote system  36  may provide one or more advanced level HVAC system configurations that may increase in cost and/or complexity to implement. In some examples, the advanced level HVAC system configurations may include cost estimates and/or time estimates to implement the proposed advanced level HVAC system configuration in the modeled space, along with estimated benefits of the advanced level HVAC system configurations including, but not limited to, energy conservation, increased comfort, and/or potential utility cost savings. In some instances, the HVAC system configuration for the building  2  that is developed by the remote system  36  may include an ability to order one or more HVAC components  6  of the developed HVAC system via the user interface  46 . 
     In operation, a method of developing an HVAC system configuration for an HVAC system of a building may include accepting building information via a user interface of a computing device, where the accepted information at least partially defines or provides access to information defining an inner structure of at least part of the building. Such information may include current HVAC system configuration information for the HVAC system of the building. In one instance, the current HVAC system configuration information may include, among other information, a current location of one or more register vents within the building. Based, at least in part, on the accepted building information, a processor may determine one or more suggested HVAC system configuration for the building and the suggested one or more HVAC system configurations may be displayed via the user interface. In some cases, a suggested HVAC system configuration may be accepted or rejected and products for implementing an accepted suggested HVAC system configuration may be purchased via the user interface. 
       FIG. 6  depicts example features that may be included in various levels of HVAC configurations that the remote system  36  or other device may develop for a modeled spaced. For example, LEVEL 1 may include a typical thermostat (e.g., a building automation controller  18 ) that may allow for control of temperature, fan operation, humidity, and/or ventilation of an HVAC system. LEVEL 2 may include an internet connected thermostat (e.g., a thermostat that may be able to access the remote system  36  and/or wired or wirelessly connected local devices  56 ), all of the features of LEVEL 1, remote control of the thermostat from a computing device (e.g., mobile phone, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, etc.), alerts to the thermostat and/or a computing device (e.g., remote alerts), where the alerts may include, but are not limited to, temperature alerts if temperature in a space increases above or decreases below one or more threshold levels, humidity alerts if humidity in a space increases above or decreases below one or more threshold levels, connection lost alerts if the thermostat loses internet connection, and/or replacement alerts if an HVAC component  6  needs replacement (e.g., filter replacement alerts, etc.). LEVEL 3 may include an internet connected thermostat, remote control of the thermostat from a computing device, wired or wireless space/zone sensors, all of the features of LEVEL 2, along with the ability for the thermostat (or a remote system  36  connected to the thermostat) to perform thermodynamics by one or more rooms and/or spaces of a building  2 . The thermodynamics analyses may analyze, among other parameter data, temperature data, humidity data, air quality data, etc., and provide recommendations for HVAC component  6  settings, including, but not limited to manually implemented settings for fans, dampers  24  (e.g., duct-line dampers and/or vent dampers  30 ), window treatments, and/or various other devices that may affect comfort level conditioning in the monitored zones or spaces and may be manually adjustable. LEVEL 4 may include an internet connected thermostat, remote control of the thermostat from a computing device, wired or wireless space/zone sensors, vent dampers  30 , all of the features of LEVEL 3, along with automated comfort control of fan operation, temperature, humidity, air quality, and/or other comfort level conditioning affecting parameters. With LEVEL 4 the thermodynamics analyses may be utilized to selectively and/or automatically establish set points and/or control over the fan operation, temperature set points, humidity set points, air quality control components, and/or other components configured to affect comfort level conditions of the zones or spaces. LEVEL 5 may include an internet connected thermostat, remote control of the thermostat from a computing device, wired or wireless space/zone sensors, vent dampers  30 , automation of one or more local devices  56  (e.g., window treatments, windows, portable heating/cooling components, locks, lights, sound, water faucets, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, etc.), and all of the features of LEVEL 4. The thermodynamics analyses in a LEVEL 5 system may be utilized to selectively and/or automatically establish set points and/or control over local devices  56  including, but not limited to, window treatments, windows, portable heating/cooling components, locks, lights, sound, water faucets, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, etc. 
     Although examples of five levels of HVAC system configuration components are described above, other components may be included or excluded at any of the levels of HVAC system configurations in view of a modeled space to be comfort level conditioned and/or in view of other considerations. For example, if a space is already conditioned based on components of a LEVEL 3 configuration described above, a level 3 configuration may be a baseline configuration and one or more levels (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, and so on) of HVAC system configuration components may be provided to a user that may be used to incrementally decrease energy consumption. Illustratively, if a space is already conditioned with an HVAC system configuration that is substantially completely automated, a suggested next level of HVAC system configuration componentry may include suggesting a user utilize renewable energy to reduce energy consumption by the HVAC system configuration through incorporating one or more of solar panels, geothermal heating/cooling, etc. into the HVAC system configuration of the comfort level conditioned space. In some cases, a plurality of HVAC system configuration options are provided, sorted by the expected cost/benefit for each option. 
     Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. Numerous advantages of the disclosure covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respect, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure&#39;s scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.