Outdoor enclosure cooling system operating at off-peak hours
AssigneeCommScope, Inc. of North Carolina
InventorsJoseph YEH, Walter HENDRIX
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cooling system and method for an outdoor electronics enclosure includes an air conditioner controlled to operate during off-peak hours, so as to pre-cool batteries. The cooled batteries keep the enclosure cool during peak hours so that it is not necessary to run the air conditioner when electricity prices are at their peak. A clock or light sensor determines the time of day. A controller has stored data indicating the peak hours when electricity costs more.
Claims20
A cooling system for an enclosure containing a thermal mass, comprising:
- a cooling device;
- a controller for controlling said cooling device;
- a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the thermal mass, wherein said temperature sensor is connected to said controller;
- and
- a time of day sensor connected to said controller;
- wherein said controller controls said cooling device to cool the thermal mass to as desired temperature during off-peak hours in order to reduce the cost of operating said cooling system.
An outdoors enclosure for electronics, comprising:
- an enclosure;
- electronics contained within said enclosure;
- batteries contained within said enclosure to provide power to said electronics;
- a cooling device for cooling said enclosure;
- a controller for controlling said cooling device;
- a time of day sensor connected to said controller;
- and
- a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of said batteries wherein said temperature sensor is connected to said controller;
- wherein said controller controls said cooling device to cool said batteries to a desired temperature during off-peak hours in order to reduce the cost of cooling said enclosure.
A method of operating a cooling system for an outdoor electronics enclosure, comprising:
- determining the time of day;
- measuring a temperature inside the enclosure;
- controlling the cooling system to cool the enclosure during off-peak hours to a temperature below a typical operating temperature so as to use the thermal capacitance of the enclosure and/or the enclosure's content to cool the enclosure during peak hours.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.