Diagnostics of outdoor unit of HVAC system based on sound signatures

A method comprising:

• sending a first instruction to a thermostat to shut down a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
• instructing a user to minimize background noise;
• instructing the user to go to an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;
• instructing the user to capture an image of a nameplate of the outdoor unit;
• analyzing the image to determine a distance of the user from the outdoor unit;
• comparing the distance to a distance range;
• in response to determining that the distance is within the distance range, capturing baseline sound data for a first time period;
• sending a second instruction to the thermostat to turn on the HVAC system;
• determining a value of a room temperature;
• sending a third instruction to the thermostat to set a temperature setpoint below or above the value of the room temperature;
• capturing first outdoor unit sound data for a second time period;
• subtracting the baseline sound data from the first outdoor unit sound data to determine first normalized outdoor unit sound data;
• analyzing the first normalized outdoor unit sound data to determine first sound signatures;
• identifying expected first sound signatures of the outdoor unit;
• comparing the first normalized outdoor unit sound data to the expected first sound signatures;
• in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a compressor is missing from the first normalized outdoor unit sound data, determining that the compressor has failed;
• and
• sending a first notification to the user device that the compressor has failed.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

• send a first instruction to a thermostat to shut down a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
• instruct a user to minimize background noise;
• instruct the user to go to an outdoor unit of the HVAC system;
• instruct the user to capture an image of a nameplate of the outdoor unit;
• analyze the image to determine a distance of the user from the outdoor unit;
• compare the distance to a distance range;
• in response to determining that the distance is within the distance range, capture baseline sound data for a first time period;
• send a second instruction to the thermostat to turn on the HVAC system;
• determine a value of a room temperature;
• send a third instruction to the thermostat to set a temperature setpoint below or above the value of the room temperature;
• capture first outdoor unit sound data for a second time period;
• subtract the baseline sound data from the first outdoor unit sound data to determine first normalized outdoor unit sound data;
• analyze the first normalized outdoor unit sound data to determine first sound signatures;
• identify expected first sound signatures of the outdoor unit;
• compare the first normalized outdoor unit sound data to the expected first sound signatures;
• in response to determining that an expected sound signature for a compressor is missing from the first normalized outdoor unit sound data, determine that the compressor has failed;
• and
• send a first notification to the user device that the compressor has failed.