Dynamically adjusting heater
AssigneeWilliams Furnace Company
InventorsTheodore J. Colburn, Liwaans Ajith Antonit Amuthan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for a gas furnace are disclosed. The gas furnace includes a variable combustion control which monitors the temperature of the burner and modifies one of the amount of combustion air supplied and the amount of gas fuel supplied to the mixing chamber. The described systems can dynamically accommodate differences in air quality and gas fuel supply to provide an optimum BTU output irrespective of differences in geographic location of usage. The gas furnace can include a dynamic response unit which predicts an optimum rate of heating to maintain a target room temperature, thereby preventing unnecessary shut down and costly re-ignition sequences, and maintaining the gas furnace at an optimum BTU output level.
Claims31
A heating apparatus for use with an HVAC system configured for heating a room, comprising:
- a combustion air supply;
- a gas fuel supply;
- a pressure sensor;
- a mixing chamber;
- a combustion chamber including an ignition module and a temperature sensor;
- a variable combustion controller configured to:
- receive a temperature input from the temperature sensor;
- receive a pressure input from the pressure sensor;
- determine a current BTU output;
- and
- modify one of the combustion air supply and the gas fuel supply to provide a target BTU output;
- and
- a Dynamic Response Unit configured to receive a target room temperature and an actual room temperature and determine a temperature delta, a heating slope, and a cooling slope for the room, and to determine the target BTU output.
A method for heating a room, comprising;
- providing a mixture of combustion air and gas fuel to an ignition module disposed within a combustion chamber;
- measuring a pressure of the gas fuel provided to the mixture;
- igniting the mixture at the ignition module;
- measuring a temperature inside the combustion chamber;
- selectively increasing or decreasing one of an amount of the combustion air, or an amount of the gas fuel, provided to the mixture, to change a BTU output;
- and
- utilizing a Dynamic Response Unit to receive a target room temperature and an actual room temperature, to determine a temperature delta, a heating slope, and a cooling slope for the room, and to determine a target BTU output.
A method for heating a room, comprising;
- receiving a target room temperature input;
- receiving an actual room temperature input;
- determining a temperature delta between the target room temperature input and the actual room temperature input;
- determining a predicted cooling rate for the room;
- determining a first predicted heating rate for the room;
- determining a required BTU output;
- providing a mixture of combustion air and gas fuel to an ignition module;
- igniting the mixture at the ignition module;
- measuring a temperature at the ignition module;
- and
- selectively increasing or decreasing one of an amount of combustion air or an amount of gas fuel, provided to the mixture to change a BTU output from the ignition module to the required BTU output.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.