Automatic switchover thermostat system based on apparent temperature and method for determining and automatically controlling the apparent temperature of a conditioned space

A climate control system configured to control a heating unit and a cooling unit, the climate control system comprising:

• a temperature sensor configured to measure a current dry bulb temperature;
• a humidity sensor configured to measure a current relative humidity;
• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium operably coupled to the processor, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having software instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• determine a current apparent temperature based on at least the current dry bulb temperature measured by the temperature sensor and the current relative humidity measured by the humidity sensor;
• receive a user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• activate the heating unit in a heating mode when the current apparent temperature is below a lower apparent temperature threshold based on the user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• and
• activate the cooling unit in a cooling mode when the current apparent temperature is above an upper apparent temperature threshold based on the user-selected desired apparent temperature,
• wherein the software instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to automatically switch between the heating mode and the cooling mode,
• wherein the software instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to calculate a target dry bulb temperature corresponding to the user-selected desired apparent temperature and the current relative humidity,
• wherein the software instructions comprise a polynomial equation, and wherein the software instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate the target dry bulb temperature from the polynomial equation,
• wherein the polynomial equation is −0.002227*AT2+1.06*AT+3.4902*RH2−3.6014*RH−0.33346*AT*RH+4.0937, where AT is the user-selected desired apparent temperature and RH is the current relative humidity.

A method of controlling the climate of a conditioned space, the method comprising:

• determining a current dry bulb temperature of the conditioned space;
• determining a current relative humidity of the conditioned space;
• calculating or determining a current apparent temperature of the conditioned space based on at least the current relative humidity and the current dry bulb temperature of the conditioned space;
• activating a heating unit in a heating mode when the current apparent temperature is below a lower apparent temperature threshold below a user-selected desired apparent temperature, wherein the lower apparent temperature threshold is a constant based on the user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• activating a cooling unit in a cooling mode when the current apparent temperature is above an upper apparent temperature threshold above the user-selected desired apparent temperature, wherein the upper apparent temperature threshold is a constant based on the user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• not activating either the cooling unit or the heating unit when the current apparent temperature is in a dead band between the lower apparent temperature threshold and the upper apparent temperature threshold;
• and
• automatically switching between the heating mode and the cooling mode,
• wherein each of the user-selected desired apparent temperature, the lower apparent temperature threshold, and the upper apparent temperature threshold is based on a combination of a respective dry bulb temperature and a corresponding relative humidity.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having software instructions stored therein, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• determine a current dry bulb temperature;
• determine a current relative humidity;
• determine a current apparent temperature based on the current dry bulb temperature and the current relative humidity;
• receive a user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• activate a heating unit in a heating mode when the current apparent temperature is below a lower apparent temperature threshold below the user-selected desired apparent temperature, wherein the lower apparent temperature threshold is a constant based on the user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• activate a cooling unit in a cooling mode when the current apparent temperature is above an upper apparent temperature threshold above the user-selected desired apparent temperature, wherein the upper apparent temperature threshold is a constant based on the user-selected desired apparent temperature;
• not activate either the cooling unit or the heating unit when the current apparent temperature is in a dead band between the lower apparent temperature threshold and the upper apparent temperature threshold;
• and
• automatically switch between the heating mode and the cooling mode,
• wherein each of the user-selected desired apparent temperature, the lower apparent temperature threshold, and the upper apparent temperature threshold is based on a combination of a respective dry bulb temperature and a corresponding relative humidity.