GPS-Triggered HVAC Control for Flexible Home Arrival Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing HVAC control systems require preprogramming and may not efficiently adjust to changing user schedules, leading to unnecessary energy consumption when buildings are unoccupied.
Innovation Solution
A remote HVAC control system that uses a GPS device to track the user's location and estimate travel time to their home, automatically activating or deactivating the HVAC system based on a predetermined threshold, considering factors like distance, speed, historical locations, traffic, and weather.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If timers are used to activate and deactivate HVAC systems, then the systems can be controlled automatically, but they require preprogramming of return time and cannot adapt to changing schedules
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses GPS location data as feedback to determine when to activate or deactivate the HVAC system. Instead of following a preprogrammed timer schedule, the system continuously monitors the user's location and automatically adjusts HVAC operation based on real-time proximity information, enabling both automation and adaptability to changing schedules
Solution Approach 2:
The HVAC control system transitions from static timer-based scheduling to dynamic location-based control. The system's operation state changes dynamically based on the user's moving location, allowing the HVAC to activate or deactivate at varying times according to actual user presence rather than fixed predetermined schedules
2Reliability
If HVAC systems run continuously to ensure comfort, then user comfort is maintained, but energy consumption increases unnecessarily when buildings are unoccupied
Solution Approach 1:
The system activates the HVAC system in advance based on predicted user arrival time. By monitoring GPS location and calculating estimated time of arrival, the system pre-activates heating or cooling before the user returns home, ensuring comfort is ready when needed while avoiding continuous operation during extended absence periods
Solution Approach 2:
The HVAC system automatically adjusts its operation based on real-time location data without requiring manual user intervention. The system serves itself by detecting user proximity through GPS feedback and autonomously deciding when to activate or deactivate, optimizing both comfort and energy usage based on actual occupancy needs
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
An apparatus a GPS device that tracks a current location of a user relative to a home of the user and a cloud application that tracks the current location of the user via the GPS device, the cloud application estimates a time period required for the user to travel from the current location to the home and upon detecting that the time is less than a threshold value, automatically sends an activating signal to an HVAC unit in the home of the user to activate the unit.