Geo-fencing with advanced intelligent recovery

An HVAC control system for controlling operation of HVAC equipment within a building, the HVAC control system configured to be in operative communication with a mobile device running an executable program providing geo-fence functionality, the HVAC control system comprising:

• an input for receiving inbound crossing information indicating when the mobile device crosses into a geo-fence that is defined for the building;
• a memory for storing the inbound crossing information over time resulting in historical inbound geo-fence crossing data that indicates when the mobile device has crossed into the geo-fence;
• a controller operatively coupled to the input and the memory, the controller configured to control the HVAC equipment and allow a building temperature in the building to deviate from a comfort temperature set point to an energy saving temperature when the mobile device is outside the geo-fence;
• the controller is further configured to determine, for a particular day of a week, a probability function of a next inbound geo-fence crossing for the mobile device and for the particular day of the week based on the stored historical inbound geo-fence crossing data for only one or more specific days of the week associated with the particular day of the week, wherein the probability function indicates, for the mobile device and for each time of a time range of the particular day of the week, a probability that the mobile device will cross into the geo-fence, the time range having a starting time and an ending time;
• and
• the controller is further configured to control the HVAC equipment to drive the building temperature to an intermediate temperature at the starting time of the time range, wherein the intermediate temperature is between the energy saving temperature and the comfort temperature set point.

An HVAC controller configured to operate HVAC equipment within a building, a user of the building having a mobile device with location services, the HVAC controller comprising:

• a memory for storing at least two targets, one of the at least two targets including a starting time point and an intermediate temperature set point, and another of the at least two targets including an ending time point and a comfort temperature set point;
• a communications module for receiving the at least two targets from a remote server, the starting time point and the ending time point based at least in part on a probability of an expected return time of the user to the building, wherein the at least two targets received from the remote server are calculated by the remote server based, at least in part, upon a probability function of a next inbound geo-fence crossing for the user and for a particular day of a week and that references, for the particular day of the week, historical inbound geo-fence crossing data for only one or more specific days of the week associated with the particular day of the week, wherein the probability function indicates, for the user and for each time of a time range of the particular day of the week, a probability that the user will cross into the geo-fence;
• an equipment interface for providing control signals to the HVAC equipment;
• a controller operably coupled to the memory, the communications module and the equipment interface;
• the controller configured to operate the HVAC equipment, via the equipment interface, in accordance with at least two targets received via the communications module and stored in the memory;
• and
• the controller further configured to calculate one or more heating or cooling ramps based upon the at least two targets such that the building will attain the intermediate temperature set point at a time corresponding to the starting time point where the starting time point is earlier than an average or mean expected return time, and the building will attain the comfort temperature set point at or before the ending time point.