Hvac system configuration and zone management

Abstract

Systems and methods for HVAC system design and zone group management are disclosed. A floor plan of a building is received, and an HVAC system configuration is selected from among a set of template HVAC configurations. HVAC components are selected from set of template HVAC components to customize the configuration. As components are selected, candidate positions for the HVAC component within the HVAC system configuration are determined and presented to a user to ensure compliance with engineering requirements. The floor plan includes a mapping of an HVAC system configuration to an HVAC zone group. If a change is made to the HVAC system configuration of a zone associated with a zone group, it is determined if another zone group shares the same properties as the changed HVAC configuration. If one exists, the changes zone is moved to the new zone group. If not, a new zone group is created and the changes zone is moved to the new zone group.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for constructing an HVAC system for a structure having distinct thermal zones, comprising:
 a processor;   a relational database operatively coupled to the processor and configured to store templates that define characteristics of respective HVAC components;   a memory operatively coupled to the processor and storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
 receive a floor plan of a building, wherein the floor plan comprises a mapping of an HVAC system configuration to a first HVAC zone group comprising distinct zones; 
 select a first zone of the first HVAC zone group; 
 select an HVAC component to be added to the first HVAC zone group; 
 retrieve a template from the relational data base that corresponds to the selected HVAC component; 
 using the retrieved template to determine whether the selected HVAC component can be added to the first HVAC zone; 
 adding the selected HVAC template to the first HVAC zone in response to a determination that the selected HVAC component can be added to the first HVAC zone; 
 modify membership of the first HVAC zone group by removing the first HVAC zone from the first HVAC zone group after the selected HVAC component is added to the first HVAC zone; and 
 modify a second HVAC zone group by adding the first HVAC zone after the selected HVAC component is added to the first HVAC zone. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to define one or more HVAC components included in the structure. 
     
     
         3 . The device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to define an interconnection between one or more HVAC components included in the structure. 
     
     
         4 . The device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to
 generate a diagram of the structure in which the first zone group is represented using a distinct visual characteristic; and   cause a display device to present the diagram.   
     
     
         5 . The device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the templates comprise pre-defined characteristics of respective HVAC components, wherein the predefined characteristics comprise a configuration rule and a simulation rule. 
     
     
         6 . The device in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to
 insert a representation of a distinct thermal zone into a zone tree; and   join the selected HVAC component to at least one other HVAC component in the representation of the distinct thermal zone based upon the pre-defined characteristics of the respective HVAC components being joined.   
     
     
         7 . The device in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein each set of pre-defined characteristics is expressed in a markup language. 
     
     
         8 . The device in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to store the configuration rule and the simulation rule in third normal form. 
     
     
         9 . The device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
 define interconnections between two or more HVAC components;   identify a further HVAC component to be inserted into the structure; and   identify a candidate interconnection into which the further HVAC component may be inserted.   
     
     
         10 . The device in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the memory further stores instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
 apply a rules-based engine to determine possible locations at which the selected HVAC component may be placed within the HVAC topology; and   cause a display device to present the possible locations at which the selected HVAC component may be placed within the HVAC topology.   
     
     
         11 . A computer-readable storage medium for constructing an HVAC system for a structure having distinct thermal zones, the computer-readable storage medium being non-transitory and having instructions stored therein, which, when executed by a processor, cause a device to:
 receive a floor plan of a building, wherein the floor plan comprises a mapping of an HVAC system configuration to a first HVAC zone group comprising distinct zones;   select a first zone of the first HVAC zone group;   select an HVAC component to be added to the first HVAC zone group;   retrieve a template from a relational data base that corresponds to the selected HVAC component;   using the retrieved template to determine whether the selected HVAC component can be added to the first HVAC zone;   adding the selected HVAC template to the first HVAC zone in response to a determination that the selected HVAC component can be added to the first HVAC zone;   modify membership of the first HVAC zone group by removing the first HVAC zone from the first HVAC zone group after the selected HVAC component is added to the first HVAC zone; and   modify a second HVAC zone group by adding the first HVAC zone after the selected HVAC component is added to the first HVAC zone.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to define one or more HVAC components included in the structure. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to define an interconnection between one or more HVAC components included in the structure. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to
 generate a diagram of the structure in which the first zone group is represented using a distinct visual characteristic; and   cause a display device to present the diagram.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the templates comprise pre-defined characteristics of respective HVAC components, wherein the predefined characteristics comprise a configuration rule and a simulation rule. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to
 insert a representation of a distinct thermal zone into a zone tree; and   join the selected HVAC component to at least one other HVAC component in the representation of the distinct thermal zone based upon the pre-defined characteristics of the respective HVAC components being joined.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein each set of pre-defined characteristics is expressed in a markup language. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 15  store the configuration rule and the simulation rule in third normal form. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
 define interconnections between two or more HVAC components;   identify a further HVAC component to be inserted into the structure; and   identify a candidate interconnection into which the further HVAC component may be inserted.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium in accordance with  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable storage medium has further instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
 apply a rules-based engine to determine possible locations at which the selected HVAC component may be placed within the HVAC topology; and   cause a display device to present the possible locations at which the selected HVAC component may be placed within the HVAC topology.