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US 12,286,975 B2Granted
Smart fan for building diagnostic testing
AssigneeThe Energy Conservatory, Inc.
InventorsKris H. Koenig, Eric Mueller, Steven B. Rogers, Clay Hansen, Samuel Alan Englund
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Smart fans are described that can be used in any application in which a flow of a fluid, such as air, is required. In two specific applications, one or more of the fans can be used to conduct a blower door test or a duct leakage test. However, the smart fans described herein can be used in other applications.
Claims13
A smart fan, comprising:
- a fan housing defining a flow path;
- an electric drive motor;
- a propeller in engagement with and driven by the electric drive motor for generating a flow through the flow path;
- a display screen on the fan housing;
- a communication transceiver;
- a variable flow restrictor that restricts flow through the smart fan, and a variable flow restrictor detector;
- at least one pressure sensor positioned on the fan for measuring at least pressure of the flow through the smart fan;
- a data processor electrically connected to the display screen, the communication transceiver, the variable flow restrictor and the variable flow restrictor detector, the at least one pressure sensor, and the electric drive motor;
- and
- data storage in communication with the data processor,
- wherein the data processor is configured to determine the flow through the smart fan to test for air leakage in a building or duct work,
- wherein the variable flow restrictor comprises one or more flow restrictor rings that are each removably mountable on the smart fan, and wherein the variable flow restrictor detector is configured to detect which ones of the one or more flow restrictor rings are mounted on the smart fan.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.