Patent ID: 7740184

Claim:
A method of providing dehumidification control within an interior living space of a building or room while the building or room is unoccupied for a period of time, the method comprising the steps of: providing a controller having a normal mode of operation and an away mode of operation, the away mode of operation providing dehumidification within the interior living space while the building or room is unoccupied for a period of time; configuring a number of away mode settings within the controller for controlling the environment within the interior living space during the away mode of operation, the away mode settings including an away cooling temperature setting, an away cooling low temperature limit setting, and an away dehumidification setting; providing one or more system components for controlling the humidity and temperature within the interior living space, said one or more system components including an air conditioner in communication with the controller; initiating the away mode of operation within the controller; and determining whether the indoor dewpoint temperature plus an offset is greater than the away cooling low temperature limit setting; and while in the away mode of operation, operating the air conditioner to cool and dehumidify the interior living space if the indoor dewpoint temperature plus said offset temperature is greater than the away cooling low temperature limit setting.