Patent ID: 8744632

Claim:
An air conditioning system for cooling an enclosure, the air conditioning system comprising: an air conditioner having a refrigeration system comprising an evaporator coil, a condenser coil, and a compressor, said air conditioner being operable in a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigeration system is turned on and in an economizer cycle in which the refrigeration system is turned off, wherein the air conditioner is operable to introduce outside air into the enclosure during the refrigeration cycle and the economizer cycle; and a controller for controlling operation of the air conditioner, the controller operable to— monitor an electrical load of equipment in the enclosure; calculate a maximum acceptable outdoor temperature at which the economizer cycle of the air conditioner may be operated to introduce outside air into the enclosure, with the maximum acceptable outdoor temperature being calculated as a function of the monitored electrical load; receive data representative of an actual outdoor temperature; initiate the economizer cycle of the air conditioner if the actual outdoor temperature is equal to or below the calculated maximum acceptable outdoor temperature; and initiate the refrigeration cycle of the air conditioner if the actual outdoor temperature is above the calculated maximum acceptable outdoor temperature.