Monitoring and identifying changes to heating ventilation and air conditioning (hvac) conditions

Abstract

An application for monitoring heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) may include receiving, at a server, sensor signals from sensors disposed within a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, receiving, at the server, one or more HVAC control signals indicating one or more currently active control functions assigned by an HVAC controller, comparing a threshold value to one or more of the plurality of measured sensor values, determining, via the server, based on the one or more currently active control functions that a current condition level of the HVAC system is less than a threshold value, and generating, via the server, an alert to identify the current condition level as a potential failure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, at a server, a plurality of sensor signals from a plurality of sensors disposed within a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system;   receiving, at the server, one or more HVAC control signals indicating one or more currently active control functions assigned by an HVAC controller;   comparing a threshold value to one or more of the plurality of measured sensor values;   determining, via the server, based on the one or more currently active control functions that a current condition level of the HVAC system is less than a threshold value; and   generating, via the server, an alert to identify the current condition level as a potential failure.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensor signals comprises a respective plurality of sensor values measured a plurality of times over a defined time period. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, and wherein the first temperature sensor is disposed in an air flow duct between an air flow return side and a cooling coil, and wherein the second temperature sensor is disposed in an air flow duct between the cooling coil and an air flow supply side. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , comprising
 determining a difference in temperature between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor is below the threshold value.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising
 determining the HVAC system has been performing a cooling or heating operation for a predetermined period of time; and   performing the comparing of the threshold value to the one or more of the plurality of measured sensor values after the HVAC system has been performing the cooling or heating operation for the predetermined period of time.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising
 determining the threshold value to use for the comparison based on the one or more currently active control functions of the HVAC controller.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, and wherein the first temperature sensor is disposed on a liquid line inside a cooling coil and the second temperature sensor is disposed on a suction line of the cooling coil. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprise an electromagnetic sensor disposed on a power supply line of the HVAC system and a humidity sensor disposed adjacent to the HVAC system. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus comprising:
 a receiver configured to
 receive a plurality of sensor signals from a plurality of sensors disposed within a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system; 
 receive one or more HVAC control signals indicating one or more currently active control functions assigned by an HVAC controller; 
 a processor configured to compare a threshold value to one or more of the plurality of measured sensor values; 
 determine based on the one or more currently active control functions that a current condition level of the HVAC system is less than a threshold value; and 
 generate an alert to identify the current condition level as a potential failure. 
   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sensor signals comprise a respective plurality of sensor values measured a plurality of times over a defined time period. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, and wherein the first temperature sensor is disposed in an air flow duct between an air flow return side and a cooling coil, and wherein the second temperature sensor is disposed in an air flow duct between the cooling coil and an air flow supply side. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a difference in temperature between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor is below the threshold value. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the HVAC system has been performing a cooling or heating operation for a predetermined period of time, and perform the comparison of the threshold value to the one or more of the plurality of measured sensor values after the HVAC system has been performing the cooling or heating operation for the predetermined period of time. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the threshold value to use for the comparison based on the one or more currently active control functions of the HVAC controller. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, and wherein the first temperature sensor is disposed on a liquid line inside a cooling coil and the second temperature sensor is disposed on a suction line of the cooling coil. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprise an electromagnetic sensor disposed on a power supply line of the HVAC system and a humidity sensor disposed adjacent to the HVAC system. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform:
 receiving, at a server, a plurality of sensor signals from a plurality of sensors disposed within a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system;   receiving, at the server, one or more HVAC control signals indicating one or more currently active control functions assigned by an HVAC controller;   comparing a threshold value to one or more of the plurality of measured sensor values;   determining, via the server, based on the one or more currently active control functions that a current condition level of the HVAC system is less than a threshold value; and   generating, via the server, an alert to identify the current condition level as a potential failure.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of sensor signals comprises a respective plurality of sensor values measured a plurality of times over a defined time period. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprises a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, and wherein the first temperature sensor is disposed in an air flow duct between an air flow return side and a cooling coil, and wherein the second temperature sensor is disposed in an air flow duct between the cooling coil and an air flow supply side. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform determining a difference in temperature between the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor is below the threshold value.