HVAC Enthalpy Measurement System for Efficiency Issue Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
HVAC systems face inefficiencies due to the inability to accurately measure and manage enthalpy, leading to uncomfortable conditions and energy waste, as existing technologies fail to effectively track and quantify sources of inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a monitoring system that uses temperature and humidity sensors at source and return vents to calculate enthalpy delta, providing real-time data for processing and analysis to identify efficiency issues and optimize heating/cooling operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If traditional HVAC systems operate without enthalpy measurement, then the system structure remains simple, but system efficiency cannot be accurately tracked and energy waste occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by continuously measuring enthalpy at source and return vents using temperature and humidity sensors, then using this feedback to calculate system efficiency and identify performance degradation. The system monitors enthalpy delta to provide real-time feedback on HVAC performance, enabling timely maintenance actions to prevent energy waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical measurement systems with electronic sensors and computational methods. Instead of using complex mechanical devices to directly measure enthalpy, the system uses temperature and humidity sensors combined with enthalpy calculation algorithms to achieve accurate enthalpy measurement, thereby reducing mechanical complexity while improving measurement capability.
2Measurement precision
If enthalpy measurement systems are implemented, then system efficiency can be accurately tracked, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses temperature and humidity sensors as intermediary devices to indirectly measure enthalpy. Instead of directly measuring enthalpy with complex instruments, the system measures temperature and humidity separately, then calculates enthalpy using these intermediate measurements, simplifying the overall measurement system while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the temperature and humidity sensors serve multiple functions: they measure temperature for comfort monitoring, measure humidity for moisture control, and together they enable enthalpy calculation for efficiency tracking. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated enthalpy sensors, thereby reducing device complexity.
3Reliability
If continuous monitoring is performed to identify inefficiency sources, then system reliability improves, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial monitoring by focusing measurements only on critical parameters (temperature and humidity at source and return vents) that are sufficient to calculate enthalpy and detect efficiency issues. This selective partial monitoring provides reliable efficiency tracking without the excessive energy consumption of comprehensive continuous monitoring of all system parameters.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively tracks HVAC health, identifies inefficiency sources, and develops optimized schemes, reducing energy waste and improving comfort by calculating enthalpy delta and relative efficiency scores based on sensor data.
Implementation Method 1
obtaining, from one or more sensors associated with a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, (i) temperature data including a source vent temperature measurement and a return vent temperature of the HVAC system
Implementation Method 2
humidity data including a source vent humidity measurement and a return vent humidity measurement of the HVAC system
Implementation Method 3
computing, based at least on the obtained temperature data and the humidity data, an enthalpy measurement associated with operation of the HVAC system
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for tracking computing enthalpy measurements indicating abnormalities associated with operation of a heating, ventilating, and cooling (HVAC) system. In some implementations, a computer-implemented method includes: obtaining, from one or more sensors associated with the HVAC system, (i) temperature data including a source vent temperature measurement and a return vent temperature of the HVAC system, and (ii) humidity data including a source vent humidity measurement and a return vent humidity measurement of the HVAC system; computing an enthalpy measurement associated with operation of the HVAC system; determining that the computed enthalpy measurement indicates an efficiency issue associated with operation of the HVAC system; and in response to determining that the computed enthalpy measurement indicates the efficiency issue associated with operation of the HVAC system, taking action related to the HVAC system.