Distance measurement for wireless building automation devices

A method for determining a distance for a building automation device, the method comprising:

• (a) transmitting a first acoustic signal from a first speaker of a first building automation device within a building;
• (b) receiving the first acoustic signal with a first microphone of a second building automation device within the building;
• and
• (c) determining a distance from the first speaker to the first microphone as a function of the acoustic signal.

A building automation device for determining distance after placement within a building, the building automation device comprising:

• a sensor, an actuator or combinations thereof operable for control of an environment of the building;
• an acoustic transceiver;
• a radio frequency transceiver;
• and
• a processor operable to control the acoustic transceiver for distance determination operation in response to control signals from the radio frequency transceiver, the processor operable to process data of the sensor, actuator or combinations thereof.

A system for determining distances in a wireless building automation network, the system comprising:

• a plurality of spaced apart building automation devices;
• and
• a controller operable to wirelessly communication with the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices;
• wherein the controller is operable to cause a first one of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices transmit a test ranging signal, assign one or more of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices to the first one of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices as a function of reception by the one or more of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices of the test ranging signal, and cause distances from the first one to the assigned one or more of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices to be determined.