Systems and methods for analyzing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems including remote monitoring of technicians

Abstract

A system for analyzing a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes: a processor; a display device controlled by the processor; a wireless communication module configured to receive a plurality of measurements from a plurality of different HVAC test instruments arranged to take measurements from the HVAC system, each of the HVAC test instruments providing one or more of the measurements; and a memory having instructions stored thereon where, when the instructions are executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive the measurements from the different HVAC test instruments via the wireless communication module; convert the measurements to a common format; store the measurements in the common format in the memory; and display the measurements on the display device.

1 . A system for analyzing a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 a processor;   a display device controlled by the processor;   a wireless communication module configured to receive a plurality of measurements from a plurality of different HVAC test instruments arranged to take measurements from the HVAC system, each of the HVAC test instruments providing one or more of the measurements; and   a memory having instructions stored thereon where, when the instructions are executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 receive the measurements from the different HVAC test instruments via the wireless communication module; 
 convert the measurements to a common format; 
 store the measurements in the common format in the memory; 
 compute one or more metrics based on the measurements, the one or more metrics comprising a superheat calculation relating to a refrigerant charge; and 
 display the computed one or more metrics including the superheat calculation relating to the refrigerant charge on the display device. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of different HVAC test instruments comprise at least two HVAC test instruments selected from:
 a temperature sensor;   a velometer;   a balometer;   a manometer;   a pressure sensor; or   a multimeter.   
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 retrieve a plurality of previously stored measurements from the memory; and   display a plurality of line graphs of the previously stored measurements over time.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 compute one or more metrics over time based on the previously stored measurements; and   display one or more line graphs of the one or metrics computed based on the previously stored measurements.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a network adapter,
 wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:   transmit the measurements to a computer server via the network adapter;   receive one or more metrics from the computer server via the network adapter; and   display the one or more metrics on the display device.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a network adapter,
 wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:   transmit the measurements to a computer server via the network adapter;   establish a communication channel with a remote computer, the remote computer comprising a remote display device displaying the measurements; and   transmit audio and video via the communication channel.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 receive audio via the communication channel.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 receive, via the communication channel, an annotation corresponding to a measurement displayed on the display device; and   display the annotation on the display device.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 compare the measurements to one or more standards stored in the memory to compute a comparison; and   compute compliance with the one or more standards based on the comparison.   
     
     
         11 . A method for analyzing a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at a site, comprising:
 receiving, by an on-site computing system, a plurality of measurements from a plurality of different HVAC test instruments arranged to take measurements from the HVAC system, each of the HVAC test instruments providing one or more of the measurements via a wireless communication module;   converting, by the on-site computing system, the measurements to a common format;   storing, by the on-site computing system, the measurements in the common format in a memory of the on-site computing system;   computing one or more metrics based on the measurements, the one or more metrics comprising a superheat calculation relating to a refrigerant charge; and   displaying, on a display device of the on-site computing system, the computed one or more metrics including the superheat calculation relating to the refrigerant charge.   
     
     
         12 . The method  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of different HVAC test instruments comprise at least two HVAC test instruments selected from:
 a temperature sensor;   a velometer;   a balometer;   a manometer;   a pressure sensor; or   a multimeter.   
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 retrieving a plurality of previously stored measurements from the memory; and   displaying a plurality of line graphs of the previously stored measurements over time.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 computing one or more metrics over time based on the previously stored measurements; and   displaying one or more line graphs of the one or metrics computed based on the previously stored measurements.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transmitting the measurements to a computer server via a network adapter;   receiving one or more metrics from the computer server via the network adapter; and   displaying the one or more metrics on the display device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transmitting the measurements to a computer server via a network adapter;   establishing a communication channel with a remote computer, the remote computer comprising a remote display device displaying the measurements;   transmitting audio and video captured by the on-site computing device to the remote computer via the communication channel; and   receiving audio via the communication channel.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 receiving, via the communication channel, an annotation corresponding to a measurement displayed on the display device; and   displaying the annotation on the display device.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 comparing the measurements to one or more standards stored in the memory to compute a comparison; and   computing compliance with the one or more standards based on the comparison.