System and method for wireless environmental zone control with positioning feedback

A damper for an HVAC system, comprising:

• a damper blade assembly operably coupled to a damper actuator, the damper blade assembly configured to regulate a flow of air passing through an air duct;
• a drive motor comprising a drive gear;
• a rod having a first rod end and a second rod end, the rod being rotatably coupled to the damper blade at the first rod end;
• a crank shaft, wherein the crank gear and the crank shaft are connected to each other such that the crank gear and the crank shaft rotate together;
• a crank gear fixed on the crankshaft such that the crank gear and the crank shaft rotate in unison, the crank gear operatively coupled to both the second rod end of the rod and the drive motor, wherein actuation of the drive motor rotates the crank gear in a first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, wherein rotation of the crank gear positions the damper blade assembly into a fully open position, a fully closed position, or at least one partially opened position that is between the fully open position and the fully closed position relative to the air duct;
• a feedback system that includes a crank gear magnet disposed on the crank shaft, the feedback system configured to determine a current position of the damper blade, wherein the crank shaft comprises a recess formed in the crank shaft and the crank gear magnet is disposed in the recess;
• and
• a microcontroller operably coupled to the damper actuator, the microcontroller configured to instruct the damper actuator to open or close the damper blade assembly based on a wireless control signal received by the microcontroller from a remote controller.