Pressure Controller for a Mechanical Draft System

Abstract

Systems and method for controlling the flow of air through a mechanical draft system are disclosed herein. A pressure controller for controlling air pressure comprises an appliance controller configured to control the operation of a plurality of appliances, an intake fan controller configured to control the speed of an intake fan, and an exhaust fan controller configured to control the speed of an exhaust fan. The pressure controller also includes a processor configured to receive a differential pressure signal and to control the operation of the appliances, the speed of the intake fan, and the speed of the exhaust fan in response to the differential pressure signal.

1 . At least the following is claimed: 1. A mechanical draft system comprising: 
 a pressure controller including a wireless interface for communicating to at least one pressure sensor, a plurality of exhaust producing appliances, and an exhaust fan, the pressure controller configured to: 
 control the speed of the exhaust fan to draw air from an exhaust duct of each of the appliances in response to a pressure reading provided by the at least one pressure sensor;  
 control the operation of each of the plurality of appliances, the operation providing programmable sequenced operation; and  
   an auxiliary computing device in communication with the pressure controller.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary computing device is further configured to: 
 receive operational data transmitted from the pressure controller;    indicate a system condition by comparing the operational data to a predefined threshold; and    provide remote access to the pressure controller.    
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary computing device transmits remote configuration settings of the pressure controller over the communication interface.  
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary computing device is configured to receive operational data transmitted from the pressure controller and indicate an alarm condition by comparing the operational data to a predefined threshold.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure controller is configured to transmit operational data to the auxiliary computing device.  
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operational data is at least one of an alarm, a fan speed, or the pressure reading.  
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary computer is configured to provide remote access to the pressure controller.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless interface comprises at least one wireless transceiver.  
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the programmable sequenced operation includes specifying a quantity of the plurality of appliances to be operational based on predetermined conditions.  
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the programmable sequenced operation includes selectively identifying the appliances to be activated or deactivated.  
     
     
         11 . A mechanical draft system comprising: 
 a pressure controller for controlling the flow of air through an exhaust duct, the pressure controller comprising: 
 a processor configured to control the operation of a plurality of appliances, the speed of an intake fan, and the speed of an exhaust fan in response to a differential pressure signal.  
   
     
     
         12 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 11 , wherein the pressure controller further comprises a communication interface for communication with an auxiliary computing device.  
     
     
         13 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 11  further comprising: 
 a first pressure sensor located inside an enclosed area configured to wirelessly transmit a first pressure reading of the enclosed area; and    a second pressure sensor located outside of the enclosed area configured to wirelessly transmit a second pressure reading;    wherein the pressure controller is configured to wirelessly receive the first and second pressure readings and the processor determines the differential pressure signal from the first and second pressure readings.    
     
     
         14 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 11  further comprising: 
 an intake fan configured to wirelessly receive a first fan rotation setting transmitted from the pressure controller; and    an exhaust fan configured to wirelessly receive a second fan rotation setting transmitted from the pressure controller.    
     
     
         15 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to provide programmable sequenced operation by selectively identifying the appliances to be activated or deactivated based on programmable conditions.  
     
     
         16 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 11 , further comprising an auxiliary computing device in communication with the pressure controller, the auxiliary computing device configured to receive operational data transmitted from the pressure controller.  
     
     
         17 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 15 , wherein the auxiliary computing device is further configured to indicate a system condition by comparing the operational data to a predefined threshold.  
     
     
         18 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 11 , further comprising: 
 an auxiliary computing device in communication with the pressure controller, the auxiliary computing device configured to remotely transmit pressure controller configuration settings to the pressure controller.    
     
     
         19 . A method for controlling the operation of a plurality of combustion appliances, the combustion appliances capable of being independently operated to meet an exhaust system objective: 
 receiving a signal from a remote device;    determining that less than each of the plurality of combustion appliances are required to meet the system objective based on the signal;    identifying at least one of the plurality of combustion appliances to be operated to meet the system objective;    activating the identified at least one combustion appliance;    adjusting the flow of exhaust drawn from ducts connected to each of the activated appliances by controlling the rotational speed of an exhaust fan.    
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of selecting the plurality of appliances comprises: 
 selectively identifying the appliances to be activated or deactivated based on a programmed setting, appliance specifications, or historical appliance operational data.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of receiving a signal from the remote device includes: 
 receiving the signal from a sensor; or    receiving the signal from a building management computer.    
     
     
         22 . A mechanical draft system comprising: 
 a controller for controlling the flow of air through an exhaust duct, the controller comprising: 
 a processor configured to control the operation of a plurality of appliances and to control the flow of air through the exhaust duct in response to a measurement of the amount of oxygen in the air in the exhaust duct.  
   
     
     
         23 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 22 , wherein the controller is configured to modulate at least one of a damper position and a fan speed to control the flow of air through the exhaust duct based on the measurement of the amount of oxygen in the air in the exhaust duct.  
     
     
         24 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 23 , wherein the amount of oxygen is measured by an oxygen sensor located in a respective exhaust duct of each of a plurality of appliances.  
     
     
         25 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 24 , further comprising a damper in the exhaust duct of each of the plurality of appliances.  
     
     
         26 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 25 , wherein the processor modulates a damper position of each of the dampers in response to a measurement of the amount of oxygen in the air of each of the exhaust ducts of the plurality of appliances.  
     
     
         27 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 22 , wherein the amount of oxygen is measured by an oxygen sensor located in an exhaust duct common to each of a plurality of appliances.  
     
     
         28 . The mechanical draft system of  claim 22 , wherein the amount of oxygen is measured by an oxygen sensor located in a respective exhaust duct of each of a plurality of appliances.