Response slope based hydronic control system and method

A method for setting a water temperature of a heating system, comprising:

• receiving, from one or more thermostats, real-time temperature data of one or more conditioned zones during a time period in which heated water of the heating system is circulated to the one or more conditioned zone at a first set temperature;
• determining, using the received temperature data, a real-time temperature change rate of a selected conditioned zone of the one or more conditioned zones responsive to the heated water circulated at the first set temperature;
• setting a desired temperature change rate based on a deviation between a measured temperature of the selected conditioned zone and a desired temperature of the selected conditioned zone, by setting the desired temperature change rate based on a first slope if the measured temperature of the selected conditioned zone is within a temperature span based on the desired temperature of the selected conditioned zone, and setting the desired temperature change rate based on a second slope larger than the first slope if the measured temperature is outside the temperature span;
• adaptively adjusting an output temperature of the water heating device from the first set temperature, based on a deviation between the determined temperature change rate and the desired temperature change rate, to optimize a speed of response for controlling the selected conditioned zone at the desired temperature.

A hydronic heating control system that eliminates the need for modeling heat loss or ideal response curves in order to set an ideal set point temperature of a water heating device and/or the recording of previous response curves, comprising:

• a controller;
• one or more system thermostats in a conditioned space comprising one or more conditioned zones, the one or more system thermostats having accurate high resolution temperature sensors which send real time, temperature data for one or more conditioned zones to the controller,
• wherein the controller is configured to:
• monitor and analyze a real time rate of temperature change in the one or more conditioned zones;
• set a desired temperature change rate based on a deviation between a measured temperature of a selected conditioned zone of the one or more conditioned zones and a desired temperature of the selected conditioned zone, wherein the desired temperature change rate is set based on a first slope if the measured temperature of the selected conditioned zone is within a temperature span based on the desired temperature of the selected conditioned zone, and based on a second slope larger than the first slope if the measured temperature is outside the temperature span;
• automatically modulate an output temperature of the water heating device based on a deviation between the real time rate of temperature change and the desired temperature change rate to ensure that when a change in temperature of the selected conditioned zone is required based on the programming of the one or more thermostats, speed of response is optimized so as to have the selected conditioned zone accurately controlled at a desired temperature range, whether in steady state operation or when dynamic change in temperature is required by rapidly changing conditions both externally and internally in the conditioned space that affect the heating load of the selected conditioned zone and/or specific programming of the thermostat in said zone.