Diagnostics of indoor unit of HVAC system based on sound signatures

Abstract

A method for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system diagnostics includes sending a first instruction to a thermostat to shut down an HVAC system. A user is instructed to minimize background noise. A second instruction is sent to the thermostat to turn on the HVAC system. A third instruction is sent to the thermostat to set a temperature setpoint below or above a value of a room temperature. Indoor unit sound data is captured for a second time period. The baseline sound data is subtracted from the indoor unit sound data to determine normalized indoor unit sound data. Expected sound signatures of the indoor unit are identified. The normalized indoor unit sound data is compared to the expected sound signatures. In response to determining that an expected sound signature for a blower is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data, it is determined that the blower has failed.

1 . A system comprising:
 a thermostat communicatively coupled to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system;   a user device communicatively coupled to the thermostat, wherein the user device comprises a first processor configured to:
 send a first instruction to the thermostat to shut down the HVAC system; 
 instruct a user to minimize background noise; 
 instruct the user to go to an indoor unit of the HVAC system; 
 instruct the user to capture an image of a nameplate of the indoor unit; 
 analyze the image to determine a distance of the user from the indoor unit; 
 compare the distance to a distance range; 
 in response to determining that the distance is within the distance range, capture baseline sound data for a first time period; 
 send a second instruction to the thermostat to turn on the HVAC system; 
 determine a value of a room temperature; 
 send a third instruction to the thermostat to set a temperature setpoint below or above the value of the room temperature; 
 capture indoor unit sound data for a second time period; and 
 send the indoor unit sound data and the baseline sound data to a computing system; and 
   the computing system communicatively coupled to the user device, wherein the computing system comprises a second processor configured to:
 subtract the baseline sound data from the indoor unit sound data to determine normalized indoor unit sound data; 
 analyze the normalized indoor unit sound data to determine sound signatures; 
 identify expected sound signatures of the indoor unit; 
 compare the normalized indoor unit sound data to the expected sound signatures; 
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a blower is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data, determine that the blower has failed; and 
 send a first notification to the user device that the blower has failed. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the blower is malfunctioning; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that blower is malfunctioning. 
 
   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the temperature setpoint is set below the value of the room temperature;   the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the indoor unit operates properly in a cooling mode; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the indoor unit operates properly in the cooling mode; and 
 
 
   the first processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the indoor unit operates properly in the cooling mode, perform diagnostics of an outdoor unit of the HVAC system. 
   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn off a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature;   the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the indoor unit operates properly in a heat pump heating mode; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the indoor unit operates properly in the heat pump heating mode; and 
 
 
   the first processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the indoor unit operates properly in the heat pump heating mode, perform diagnostics of an outdoor unit of the HVAC system. 
   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for the supplemental heat relay is not different from a respective sound signature of the supplemental heat relay determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data: 
 determine that a supplemental heating element has failed; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heating element has failed. 
 
   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a supplemental heat relay is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the supplemental heat relay has failed; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heat relay has failed. 
 
 
   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for the supplemental heat relay is different from a respective sound signature of the supplemental heat relay determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the supplemental heat relay is malfunctioning; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heat relay is malfunctioning. 
 
 
   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 sending a first instruction to a thermostat to shut down a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system;   instructing a user to minimize background noise;   instructing the user to go to an indoor unit of the HVAC system;   instructing the user to capture an image of a nameplate of the indoor unit;   analyzing the image to determine a distance of the user from the indoor unit;   comparing the distance to a distance range;   in response to determining that the distance is within the distance range, capturing baseline sound data for a first time period;   sending a second instruction to the thermostat to turn on the HVAC system;   determining a value of a room temperature;   sending a third instruction to the thermostat to set a temperature setpoint below or above the value of the room temperature;   capturing indoor unit sound data for a second time period;   subtracting the baseline sound data from the indoor unit sound data to determine normalized indoor unit sound data;   analyzing the normalized indoor unit sound data to determine sound signatures;   identifying expected sound signatures of the indoor unit;   comparing the normalized indoor unit sound data to the expected sound signatures;   in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a blower is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data, determining that the blower has failed; and   sending a first notification to the user device that the blower has failed.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determining that the blower is malfunctioning; and 
 sending a second notification to the user device that blower is malfunctioning. 
 
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the temperature setpoint is set below the value of the room temperature; and   the method further comprises:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determining that the indoor unit operates properly in a cooling mode; and 
 sending a second notification to the user device that the indoor unit operates properly in the cooling mode; and 
 
 
 in response to determining that the indoor unit operates properly in the cooling mode, performing diagnostics of an outdoor unit of the HVAC system. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn off a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the method further comprises:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determining that the indoor unit operates properly in a heat pump heating mode; and 
 sending a second notification to the user device that the indoor unit operates properly in the heat pump heating mode; and 
 
 
 in response to determining that the indoor unit operates properly in the heat pump heating mode, performing diagnostics of an outdoor unit of the HVAC system. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the method further comprises:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for the supplemental heat relay is not different from a respective sound signature of the supplemental heat relay determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data: 
 determining that a supplemental heating element has failed; and 
 sending a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heating element has failed. 
 
   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the method further comprises:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a supplemental heat relay is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determining that the supplemental heat relay has failed; and 
 sending a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heat relay has failed. 
 
 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the second processor is further configured to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for the supplemental heat relay is different from a respective sound signature of the supplemental heat relay determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determining that the supplemental heat relay is malfunctioning; and 
 sending a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heat relay is malfunctioning. 
 
 
   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 send a first instruction to a thermostat to shut down a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system;   instruct a user to minimize background noise;   instruct the user to go to an indoor unit of the HVAC system;   instruct the user to capture an image of a nameplate of the indoor unit;   analyze the image to determine a distance of the user from the indoor unit;   compare the distance to a distance range;   in response to determining that the distance is within the distance range, capture baseline sound data for a first time period;   send a second instruction to the thermostat to turn on the HVAC system;   determine a value of a room temperature;   send a third instruction to the thermostat to set a temperature setpoint below or above the value of the room temperature;   capture indoor unit sound data for a second time period;   subtract the baseline sound data from the indoor unit sound data to determine normalized indoor unit sound data;   analyze the normalized indoor unit sound data to determine sound signatures;   identify expected sound signatures of the indoor unit;   compare the normalized indoor unit sound data to the expected sound signatures;   in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a blower is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data, determine that the blower has failed; and   send a first notification to the user device that the blower has failed.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the blower is malfunctioning; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that blower is malfunctioning. 
 
   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the temperature setpoint is set below the value of the room temperature; and   the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the indoor unit operates properly in a cooling mode; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the indoor unit operates properly in the cooling mode; and 
 
 
 in response to determining that the indoor unit operates properly in the cooling mode, perform diagnostics of an outdoor unit of the HVAC system. 
   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn off a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the indoor unit operates properly in a heat pump heating mode; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the indoor unit operates properly in the heat pump heating mode; and 
 
 
 in response to determining that the indoor unit operates properly in the heat pump heating mode, perform diagnostics of an outdoor unit of the HVAC system. 
   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for the supplemental heat relay is not different from a respective sound signature of the supplemental heat relay determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that a supplemental heating element has failed; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heating element has failed. 
 
 
   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the second instruction further instructs the thermostat to turn on a supplemental heating unit of the HVAC system and turn off an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;   the temperature setpoint is set above the value of the room temperature; and   the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
 in response to determining that the expected sound signature for the blower is not different from a respective sound signature of the blower determined from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a supplemental heat relay is missing from the normalized indoor unit sound data:
 determine that the supplemental heat relay has failed; and 
 send a second notification to the user device that the supplemental heat relay has failed.