Resilient operation of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system

A resilient heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:

• a first control unit communicatively coupled to one or more HVAC units, wherein the first control unit, comprising a processor, is configured to connect to a sibling control unit using a Wi-Fi direct protocol to create an HVAC control network, wherein the first control unit comprises a first control unit directory comprising network configuration data for the sibling control unit and the sibling control unit comprises a sibling control unit directory comprising network configuration data for the first control unit;
• the first control unit configured to detect and connect to a Wi-Fi network, wherein upon connecting to the Wi-Fi network the control unit is configured to automatically designate the Wi-Fi network as a primary communications network, the primary communications network used by the first control unit to communicate with a user device, the Wi-Fi network comprising a wireless access point;
• the first control unit is further configured to detect the user device over the Wi-Fi network, receive a first command from the user device over the Wi-Fi network, determine that the first command is associated with a zone associated with the sibling control unit, and communicate the first command to the sibling control unit over the Wi-Fi network;
• and the first control unit further configured to:
• detect a communication failure in the Wi-Fi network;
• connect to the user device over the separate HVAC control network using the Wi-Fi direct protocol, wherein the first control unit is configured to designate the HVAC control network as the primary communications network;
• receive a second command from the user device over the HVAC control network using the Wi-Fi direct protocol;
• and transmit the second command to the one or more HVAC units.

A first control unit for operating a resilient heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:

• an interface configured to facilitate communications with a first plurality of HVAC units;
• a Wi-Fi module configured to connect to a sibling control unit using a Wi-Fi direct protocol to create an HVAC control network, the sibling control unit communicatively coupled to a second plurality of HVAC units, wherein the first control unit comprises a first control unit directory comprising network configuration data for the sibling control unit and the sibling control unit comprises a sibling control unit directory comprising network configuration data for the first control unit, and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the Wi-Fi module, the processor configured to:
• join, using the Wi-Fi module, a Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi network comprising a wireless access point, wherein the Wi-Fi network and the HVAC control network are separate communication networks, the first control unit configured to automatically designate the Wi-Fi network as a primary communications network, the primary communications network used to communicate with a user device;
• receive a first command from the user device over the Wi-Fi network;
• determine that the first command is associated with a zone corresponding to the second plurality of HVAC units;
• communicate the first command to the sibling control unit over the Wi-Fi network;
• detect a communication failure in the Wi-Fi network;
• in response to detecting the communication failure, designate the HVAC control network as the primary communications network;
• communicate with the user device over the HVAC control network using the Wi-Fi direct protocol;
• receive a second command from the user device over the HVAC control network using the Wi-Fi direct protocol;
• and communicate the second command to the sibling control unit over the HVAC control network.

A method for operating a resilient heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:

• establishing, between a first control unit and a second control unit, an HVAC control network, wherein the HVAC control network is established using a Wi-Fi direct protocol to facilitate communications between the first and second control units;
• establishing a first control unit directory comprising network configuration data for the second control unit and storing the first control unit directory in a memory of the first control unit;
• establishing a second control unit directory comprising network configuration data for the first control unit and storing the second control unit directory in a memory of the second control unit;
• connecting the first and second control units to a Wi-Fi network, the Wi-Fi network comprising a wireless access point, wherein the first and second control units are configured to communicate concurrently over the HVAC control network and the Wi-Fi network and the Wi-Fi network and the HVAC control network are separate communication networks;
• following connecting the Wi-Fi network, automatically designating the Wi-Fi network as a primary network, the primary network used to communicate with a user device;
• receiving, using the first control unit, a first command from the user device over the Wi-Fi network;
• determining that the first command is associated with a zone corresponding to one or more HVAC units communicatively coupled to the second control unit;
• transmitting the first command, from the first control unit to the second control unit over the Wi-Fi network, wherein the first command is configured to control the one or more HVAC units communicatively coupled to the second control unit;
• detecting, using the first control unit, a communication failure in the Wi-Fi network;
• in response to detecting the communication failure, designating, using the first control unit, the HVAC control network as the primary communications network;
• receiving, using the first control unit, a second command from the user device over the HVAC control network using a Wi-Fi direct protocol;
• transmitting the second command, from the first control unit to the second control unit over the HVAC control network, wherein the second command is configured to control the one or more HVAC units communicatively coupled to the second control unit.