Abstract A zone control apparatus for central heating and/or cooling systems having a central fluid heating and/or cooling plant and conduits for directing the heated or cooled fluid to the rooms in a house or other building being serviced by the system. The zone control apparatus comprises one or more flow control devices operatively associated with respective fluid conduits in the central heating and/or cooling system, and a cycle controller for cycling the flow control device or devices between high and low (or no) flow conditions at times strategically selected to correspond to periods of high and low use of the room or rooms with which the flow control devices are respectively associated. Accordingly, the apparatus operates automatically to eliminate unnecessary heating or cooling of individual rooms or zones during cyclical periods of low or no use whereby substantial energy savings and other benefits may be obtained with minimal compromise in comfort. In particular, the zone control apparatus may operate on the system to isolate or separate daytime and nighttime use areas or zones of the house for selective heating or cooling only during their respective daytime or nighttime use or anticipated use periods. Moreover, the zone control apparatus may be easily installed in existing systems as a retrofit or in new installations.
A method for controlling the flow of conditioned fluid from a central heating and/or cooling system through conduits normally directing the conditioned fluid to respective zones for conditioning the environment thereof by means of a zone control apparatus including a plurality of flow control devices operatively associated with respective conduits and a cycle controller for automatically cycling each flow control device between high and low flow conditions at preselected times, said method comprising the steps of strategically grouping the zones into a day activity group and a night activity group such that the flow control devices associated with the day and night activity groups respectively will be in their high and low flow conditions during the day and in their low and high flow conditions during the night, and then cycling the flow control devices associated with each group by means of the controller to their low flow conditions after the flow control devices associated with the other group are cycled to their high flow condition to provide an overlap in day and night service.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
175 words
A method for controlling the flow of conditioned fluid from a central heating and/or cooling system through conduits normally directing the conditioned fluid to respective zones for conditioning the environment thereof by means of a zone control apparatus including a plurality of flow control devices operatively associated with respective conduits and a cycle controller for automatically cycling each flow control device between high and low flow conditions at preselected times, said method comprising the steps of strategically grouping the zones into a day activity group and a night activity group such that the flow control devices associated with the day and night activity groups respectively will be in their high and low flow conditions during the day and in their low and high flow conditions during the night, and then cycling the flow control devices associated with each group by means of the controller to their low flow conditions after the flow control devices associated with the other group are cycled to their high flow condition to provide an overlap in day and night service.