HVAC System Fault Root Cause Self-Determination

Abstract

A method for self-determining a root cause of a system fault in a heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) system includes receiving a fault message indicative of a fault condition in an operating characteristic of the HVAC system; determining a causal relationship between the fault condition and a predetermined list of root causes associated with the fault condition; receiving information indicative of operating conditions of the HVAC system; and eliminating at least one root cause that is unrelated to the fault condition in response to the receiving of the information.

1 . A method for self-determining a root cause of a system fault in a heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) system, comprising:
 receiving a fault message indicative of a fault condition in an operating characteristic of the HVAC system;   determining a causal relationship between the fault condition and a predetermined list of root causes associated with the fault condition;   receiving information indicative of operating conditions of the HVAC system; and   eliminating at least one root cause that is unrelated to the fault condition in response to the receiving of the information.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the information further comprises receiving sensor information substantially contemporaneous with a time of the fault condition. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the information further comprises receiving sensor information regarding historical information of the HVAC system preceding the fault condition. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the information further comprises receiving predetermined system parametric information for one of a temperature control, humidity control, and airflow control system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising operating the HVAC system in a diagnostic mode to generate additional operating information for the HVAC system, the operating information being related to the fault condition. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising presetting the HVAC system to predefined parameters to eliminate additional root causes from the predetermined list. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the predefined parameters are associated with the operating characteristic that generated the fault condition, 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving historical information about the HVAC system and eliminating additional root causes from the predetermined list responsive to the receiving of the historical information. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises one of a system controller associated with at least one environmental control zone or one or more unit controllers associated with respective temperature control, humidity control, and airflow control systems. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing to a user a related root cause in response to the eliminating of the at least one root cause that is unrelated . 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the providing of the at least one root cause further comprises displaying the at least one root cause on a touch screen display. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying a prioritized list of the root causes based on at least one of a predetermined historical information regarding the HVAC system, cost information regarding at least one component of the HVAC system, or a likelihood of the one or more of root causes based on a combination of the historical information and the cost information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising traversing a fault tree model to identify the predetermined list of root causes. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting to a remote server information regarding a plurality of root causes associated with the fault condition via a communication network, 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising eliminating additional root causes from the plurality of root causes responsive to the transmitting of the information regarding the plurality of root causes. 
     
     
         16 . A method for self-determining a root cause of a system fault in a heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) system, comprising:
 receiving a first list associated with a plurality of fault conditions in the HVAC system;   identifying a second list of root causes associated with a particular fault condition of the plurality of fault conditions;   receiving information indicative of operating conditions of the HVAC system; and   eliminating at least one root cause from the second list of root causes that is unrelated to the particular fault condition in response to the receiving of the information.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the identifying of the second list further comprises determining a causal relationship between the second list of root causes associated with the particular fault condition. 
     
     
         18 - 30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . A programmable control unit for self-determining a root cause in an HVAC system, comprising:
 a controller configured for receiving a fault message indicative of a fault condition in an operating characteristic of the HVAC system and for determining a causal relationship between the fault condition and a predetermined list of root causes associated with the fault condition;   wherein the controller receives information indicative of operating conditions of the HVAC system; and   wherein the controller eliminates at least one root cause in response to the receiving of the sensed information.   
     
     
         32 - 42 . (canceled) 
     
     
         43 . An environmental control system for an HVAC system, comprising:
 a programmable control unit configured for establishing user desired environmental control parameters for one or more control zones; and   at least one unit controller configured for storing information indicative of at least one system parameter for a control system, the at least one unit controller operatively coupled to the programmable control unit;   wherein the programmable control unit or the unit controller is configured for receiving a fault message indicative of a fault condition in an operating characteristic of the HVAC system, for determining a causal relationship between the fault condition and a predetermined list of root causes associated with the fault condition, for receiving information indicative of operating conditions of the HVAC system, and for eliminating at least one root cause in response to the receiving of the sensed information.   
     
     
         44 - 55 . (canceled)