Patent ID: 8554376

Claim:
An intelligent controller that controls an environment, the intelligent controller comprising: a processor; a memory that stores a control schedule and operational characteristics of systems controlled by the intelligent controller; a current control schedule stored in the memory; one or more sensors that sense current values of an environmental parameter; instructions stored within the memory that, when executed by the processor, control the intelligent controller to receive information representative of a user-selectable auto-component-activation-level indicating a user preference in a range from increased energy efficiency to increased user comfort; assign a first value to a maximum response time when the auto-component-activation-level indicates a user preference for increased energy efficiency; assign a second value to the maximum response time when the auto-component-activation-level indicates a user preference for increased user comfort, the second value less, in magnitude, than the first value; determine, using the operational characteristics of systems controlled by the intelligent controller stored in memory, an initial set of one or more systems to activate following an immediate-control input or at a time near a time of a scheduled setpoint change in order to achieve a target environmental-parameter value within a maximum response time; activate the determined set of one or more systems; and during a response time following an immediate-control input or a scheduled setpoint change, at each of multiple points in time, determine, using the operational characteristics of systems controlled by the intelligent controller stored in memory, whether the target environmental-parameter will be obtained within the maximum response time, and when the target environmental-parameter will not be obtained within the maximum response time, select a next set of one or more systems to activate.