Remote energy-saving control method and device for fan coil of central air conditioner

Abstract

The invention discloses a remote energy-saving control method and device for a fan coil of a central air conditioner, and belongs to the technical field of building energy conservation and intelligent control. Aiming at the problems that an existing non-intelligent temperature control panel cannot be remotely controlled, so that energy is wasted, and a traditional transformation scheme is high in cost and complex in construction, the inherent characteristic that the non-intelligent temperature control panel is configured to automatically close a water valve in an initialization state after power failure and restart is creatively discovered and utilized. According to the method, a remote energy-saving control instruction is received, modules connected in a panel power supply loop in series are controlled to execute'power-off-delay-power-on 'operation, a panel is triggered to be restarted, and therefore reliable closing of the fan coil water valve is indirectly achieved. The corresponding device comprises a communication unit, a power supply control unit and a processing unit. According to the method, low-cost and non-intrusive energy-saving transformation of a stock non-intelligent system is realized, and the method has remarkable economic benefits and practical values.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of building energy conservation and intelligent control technology, specifically relating to a remote energy-saving control method and device for central air conditioning fan coil units. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing urgency of energy conservation and emission reduction, refined energy-saving control of central air conditioning systems, especially fan coil units widely used in offices and hotels, has become a crucial aspect of intelligent building management. Traditional fan coil units are typically controlled locally by non-intelligent temperature control panels. These panels are limited in function, lack network communication capabilities, and cannot receive remote commands. When people leave the area, the air conditioning often continues to run because it cannot be remotely shut off, resulting in significant energy waste. Currently, the mainstream solution for energy-saving retrofitting of such existing equipment is to replace it with intelligent temperature control panels that have communication capabilities. However, this solution is costly, requires rewiring and wall construction, is difficult and time-consuming to implement in already renovated buildings, and wastes resources by discarding the original equipment.

[0003] To reduce the difficulty of retrofitting, some solutions have emerged in the industry that remotely switch on / off the fan coil unit by controlling the power supply circuit. However, these solutions typically only control the fan's start and stop, and cannot shut off the water valves, the key components controlling the flow of hot and cold water. Even when the fan is off, if the water valves are not closed, the hot and cold media in the coils continue to circulate and exchange heat, failing to achieve true energy savings. Another approach is to install independent electric valves in the water system, but this requires cutting and modifying existing pipes, which is complex, costly, and carries the risk of leaks. Therefore, how to effectively remotely shut off the water valves of non-intelligent fan coil units without large-scale replacement of terminal equipment or damage to the original decoration and water system remains a long-standing and unresolved technical challenge.

[0004] Therefore, the present invention proposes a remote energy-saving control method and device for central air conditioning fan coil units to at least partially solve the above-mentioned problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems in the existing technology, this invention provides a remote energy-saving control method and device for central air conditioning fan coil units, solving the technical challenge of effectively and remotely shutting off the water valves of non-intelligent fan coil units without large-scale replacement of terminal equipment or damage to the original decoration and water system.

[0006] The objective of this invention can be achieved through the following technical solution: A remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units, applied to a system including a non-intelligent temperature control panel and fan coil units controlled by it, wherein the non-intelligent temperature control panel does not have the communication function to receive and respond to remote water valve shut-off commands, and is configured to automatically shut off the water valve in the initialization state after a restart; the method includes: In response to the energy-saving control command for the fan coil unit, a control module connected in series with the power supply line of the non-intelligent temperature control panel is controlled to perform a power-off operation. After a power outage lasts for a preset time, the control module is controlled to perform a power-on operation to restore power to the non-intelligent temperature control panel; The power-off and power-on operations trigger the non-intelligent temperature control panel to restart and enter its initialization state, thereby closing the fan coil water valve.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control module has a built-in thyristor, and the power-off operation and power-on operation are achieved by controlling the conduction and shutdown of the thyristor.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the preset time is set according to the minimum time period required for the non-intelligent temperature control panel to complete restart and enter the initialization state.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it further includes: Monitor environmental status information of the target area; Based on the environmental status information, determine whether the preset energy-saving triggering conditions are met; When the energy-saving triggering condition is met, an energy-saving control command for the fan coil unit is automatically generated in response to the energy-saving control command.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the environmental status information includes the presence of personnel in the area from radar sensors; the energy-saving trigger condition is that no personnel are detected within a preset time period.

[0011] A remote energy-saving control device for central air conditioning fan coil units, comprising: The communication unit is used to receive control commands; The power control unit has a control interface for series connection to a power supply line of a non-intelligent temperature control panel. The processing unit is connected to both the communication unit and the power control unit, and is configured to: In response to an energy-saving control command received through the communication unit, the power control unit is controlled to perform a power-off operation; After a preset period of power failure, the power control unit is controlled to perform a power-on operation.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the power control unit includes a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), the controlled terminal of the SCR is connected to the processing unit, and its main circuit constitutes the control interface.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processing unit is configured such that the preset time is set according to the minimum time period required for the non-intelligent temperature control panel to complete restart and enter the initialization state.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device is configured as an independent module, suitable for installation in the mounting box of the non-intelligent temperature control panel.

[0015] As an optimized technical solution of the present invention, the communication unit is a power line carrier communication unit, which is used to receive instructions from the upper-level control host through the power supply line.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: By adding a control module to the power supply line connected in series with the non-intelligent temperature control panel, and utilizing the panel's automatic shut-off water valve feature upon restart initialization, remote energy-saving control of the water valve of the traditional non-intelligent fan coil unit is achieved through a power-on triggering method after a power outage. This not only overcomes the limitation that the original equipment cannot directly receive remote commands, significantly improving the intelligence level and energy-saving effect of the old system, but also uses mature components such as thyristors to achieve on / off control, resulting in high reliability and low cost. At the same time, by integrating environmental status monitoring and automatic judgment mechanisms, the intelligence and timeliness of energy-saving control are further enhanced. The modular design facilitates on-site installation and integration, and the support for power line carrier communication further reduces wiring complexity. Thus, without large-scale replacement of existing equipment, remote management and energy efficiency optimization of the central air conditioning system are achieved at a lower retrofit cost, demonstrating outstanding practical value and economic efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art, the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the central air conditioning terminal control circuit of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the intelligent control system architecture of the present invention.

[0020] Explanation of main component symbols In the diagram: 100, remote energy-saving control device; 200, non-intelligent temperature control panel; 300, water valve; 400, fan coil unit. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To further illustrate the technical means and effects of the present invention in achieving its intended purpose, the following detailed description of the specific implementation methods, structures, features, and effects of the present invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, is provided.

[0022] This invention provides a remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units. The method is applied to an existing central air conditioning system comprising a non-intelligent temperature control panel 200 and a fan coil unit 400 controlled by the panel. The non-intelligent temperature control panel 200 is typically characterized by lacking the communication function to receive and respond to remote commands to close the water valve 300. The core of this invention stems from a creative discovery: through in-depth analysis of the hardware logic of mainstream non-intelligent temperature control panels 200 on the market, the inventors revealed and confirmed that, based on their fixed hardware design or unchangeable initialization program, such panels, after a complete power outage and power-on, deterministically execute a restart initialization process and reset the water valve 300 control output to the closed state. This invention transforms this passive, inherent device characteristic into an active, remotely triggerable energy-saving control method.

[0023] Specifically, the method includes the following steps. First, in response to an energy-saving control command for a specific fan coil unit 400, the system controls a control module connected in series with the power supply line of a non-intelligent temperature control panel 200 corresponding to that fan coil unit 400 to perform a power-off operation. This energy-saving control command can be manually issued by a remote management platform according to a preset energy-saving strategy, or it can be generated by the system according to the automatic triggering mechanism described later.

[0024] Next, after a preset period of time following the power outage, the control module performs a power-on operation, restoring power to the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200. This complete "power outage-delay-power-on" process triggers a full restart of the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200. Since the panel enters its inherent initialization state after restarting, in which the water valve 300 is automatically closed, this method indirectly and reliably achieves the closure of the fan coil unit 400 water valve 300 by triggering the panel restart, thereby preventing the circulation of hot and cold media and achieving energy savings.

[0025] To ensure the accuracy and reliability of control, the aforementioned preset power-off time is set based on a key technical consideration: it must be equal to or slightly greater than the minimum time period required for the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200 to complete a full restart and stably enter the initialization state. This minimum period typically includes two parts: first, the power-off maintenance time required for the panel's internal energy storage components to fully discharge; and second, the power-on initialization time required for the panel's microprocessor to complete the initialization program from power-on reset. These parameters for a specific panel model can be obtained through experiments or technical manuals, thereby accurately setting the preset time to ensure that the restart operation is both effective and efficient.

[0026] To further enhance the automation and intelligence of energy-saving control, this method may also include an automatic triggering mechanism. This mechanism first continuously monitors the environmental status information of the target area, such as the presence of personnel. Then, based on the collected environmental status information, it determines whether preset energy-saving triggering conditions are met. When the determination result is yes, the system automatically generates an energy-saving control command for the fan coil unit 400 in that area and initiates the aforementioned power-off and power-on control process.

[0027] In more specific automated energy-saving scenarios, the environmental status information can preferably include the presence of people in the area from radar sensors. Correspondingly, the energy-saving trigger condition can be set to ensure that no human activity is detected in the target area for a preset period of time. Once this condition is met, the system will determine that the area is idle, thereby automatically triggering energy-saving control, shutting off the air conditioning water valve 300, avoiding energy waste, and achieving fully automated intelligent management of "turning on when people come and turning off when people leave."

[0028] Example 2 To achieve the above method, the present invention also provides a remote energy-saving control device for central air conditioning fan coil units. This device is labeled as remote energy-saving control device 100 in the accompanying drawings, which is the control module described in the method. Please refer to... Figure 1 This figure is a schematic diagram of the central air conditioning terminal control circuit of the present invention. The figure shows the connection relationship between the control module, the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200, the water valve 300, and the fan coil unit 400. The control module is designed as an independent hardware entity, and its core function is to receive remote commands and control the power supply of the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200.

[0029] The remote energy-saving control device 100 mainly comprises a communication unit, a power control unit, and a processing unit. The communication unit is responsible for establishing a communication link with the upper-level management system and receiving control commands. The power control unit has a control interface for connecting in series to the power supply line of the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200. The processing unit, as the control core, is coupled to both the communication unit and the power control unit. It internally embeds control logic and is configured to perform the following operations: when an energy-saving control command is received through the communication unit, it immediately controls the power control unit to perform a power-off operation; subsequently, it starts an internal timer, waiting for a preset delay time; this preset time is set based on the minimum time period required for the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200 to complete a restart and enter the initialization state; after the delay, it controls the power control unit to perform a power-on operation. This series of actions precisely executes the core steps of the aforementioned method, thereby triggering the panel to restart and close the water valve 300.

[0030] In a specific hardware implementation, the power control unit may include a thyristor as the core switching element. The controlled terminal of the thyristor is connected to the processing unit, and its main circuit is connected in series in the power supply line of the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200, forming the control interface. The processing unit can precisely control the conduction and cutoff of the thyristor by outputting control signals to its controlled terminal, thereby realizing the on / off control of the load current. The use of solid-state switching devices such as thyristors gives the device advantages such as no mechanical contacts, long lifespan, fast response, and quiet operation.

[0031] To facilitate non-intrusive retrofitting and deployment in existing buildings, the remote energy-saving control device 100 of this invention is specially designed as a compact, independent module. Its physical dimensions are suitable for direct installation within a standard 86-type wall-mounted junction box behind the non-intelligent temperature control panel 200. This design eliminates the need for rewiring or wall damage during retrofitting, significantly reducing construction difficulty and retrofitting costs.

[0032] To clearly demonstrate the application of this invention, Figure 2 A preferred embodiment of an intelligent control system architecture is provided. In this embodiment, to further reduce wiring complexity, the communication unit is preferably a power line carrier (PLC) communication unit. For example, the control host in the area can transmit control commands modulated onto the power supply cable via a power line network. The PLC communication unit within the control module can demodulate these commands from the power line. This approach reuses existing power lines without requiring additional communication cabling, reflecting the low-cost and easy-to-modify design concept of this invention.

[0033] It should be noted that, Figure 2The specific system architecture and networking method described in this section are merely a specific application example of the remote energy-saving control method of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims and should not be limited by the system architecture details described in this specific embodiment.

[0034] The energy-saving benefits of this invention are significant and direct. Traditional solutions that only cut off the fan power supply cannot prevent energy exchange on the water valve 300 side. However, this invention, by reliably closing the water valve 300, fundamentally blocks the circulation of chilled or hot water in the coil, eliminating ineffective heat and cold transfer. For office buildings, hotels, and other similar locations, applying this invention can achieve substantial energy savings. Furthermore, its extremely low retrofit cost and convenient installation method make it possible to universally retrofit a large number of existing non-intelligent air conditioning systems, resulting in significant economic and environmental benefits.

[0035] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units, applied to a system including a non-intelligent temperature control panel and the fan coil units controlled by it, characterized in that, The non-intelligent temperature control panel lacks the communication function to receive and respond to remote water valve shut-off commands, and is configured to automatically shut off the water valve in the initialization state after a restart; the method includes: In response to the energy-saving control command for the fan coil unit, a control module connected in series with the power supply line of the non-intelligent temperature control panel is controlled to perform a power-off operation. After a power outage lasts for a preset time, the control module is controlled to perform a power-on operation to restore power to the non-intelligent temperature control panel; The power-off and power-on operations trigger the non-intelligent temperature control panel to restart and enter its initialization state, thereby closing the fan coil water valve.

2. The remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control module has a built-in thyristor, and the power-off and power-on operations are achieved by controlling the conduction and shutdown of the thyristor.

3. The remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 2, characterized in that, The preset time is set based on the minimum time period required for the non-intelligent temperature control panel to complete restart and enter the initialization state.

4. The remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Monitor environmental status information of the target area; Based on the environmental status information, determine whether the preset energy-saving triggering conditions are met; When the energy-saving triggering condition is met, an energy-saving control command for the fan coil unit is automatically generated in response to the energy-saving control command.

5. A remote energy-saving control method for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 4, characterized in that, The environmental status information includes the presence of people in the area from radar sensors; the energy-saving trigger condition is that no people are detected within a preset time period.

6. A remote energy-saving control device for central air conditioning fan coil units, characterized in that, include: The communication unit is used to receive control commands; The power control unit has a control interface for series connection to a power supply line of a non-intelligent temperature control panel. The processing unit is connected to both the communication unit and the power control unit, and is configured to: In response to an energy-saving control command received through the communication unit, the power control unit is controlled to perform a power-off operation; After a preset period of power failure, the power control unit is controlled to perform a power-on operation.

7. A remote energy-saving control device for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 6, characterized in that, The power control unit includes a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), the controlled terminal of which is connected to the processing unit, and its main circuit constitutes the control interface.

8. A remote energy-saving control device for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 6, characterized in that, The processing unit is configured such that the preset time is set based on the minimum time period required for the non-intelligent temperature control panel to complete restart and enter the initialization state.

9. A remote energy-saving control device for central air conditioning fan coil units according to claim 6, characterized in that, The device is configured as an independent module, suitable for installation in the mounting box of the non-intelligent temperature control panel.

10. A remote energy-saving control device for a central air conditioning fan coil unit according to claim 6, characterized in that, The communication unit is a power line carrier communication unit, used to receive instructions from the upper-level control host through the power supply line.

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