Patent ID: 8199005

Claim:
A controller for controlling an HVAC system, comprising: an HVAC controller configured to selectively activate and deactivate one or more HVAC components of an HVAC system to control the comfort level of at least a portion of a building, the HVAC controller having a remote sensor input, wherein the HVAC controller is configured to expect the remote sensor input to be connected to a remote sensor having an expected sensor output characteristic; a wireless sensor device including a wireless transmitter and at least one remote sensor for sensing one or more parameters remote from the HVAC controller and for wirelessly transmitting a sensor signal that is representative of the one or more sensed parameters, wherein the wirelessly transmitted sensor signal does not have the expected sensor output characteristic; and a decoder connected to the remote sensor input of the HVAC controller, the decoder including: a wireless receiver configured to receive the wirelessly transmitted sensor signal; a user interface that allows a user to select a preset output characteristic from two or more different preset output characteristics of the decoder, resulting in a selected preset output characteristic; and wherein the decoder is configured to convert the received wirelessly transmitted sensor signal into an output signal that has the selected preset output characteristic so as to convey a value that is representative of the one or more sensed parameters and is compatible with the expected sensor characteristic of the remote sensor input of the HVAC controller.