Space conditioning control and monitoring method and system

A heat pump for control of efficiently conditioning of air in a space, the heat pump comprising:

• a refrigerant-to-liquid source heat exchanger;
• a source loop coupled to the refrigerant-to-liquid source heat exchanger and configured to convey a source liquid, the source loop comprising
• a pump driven by a first motor to circulate the source liquid, the first motor being in communication with a first voltage sensor and a first current sensor,
• a first temperature sensor disposed upstream of the refrigerant-to-liquid source heat exchanger to measure an inflow temperature of the source liquid,
• a second temperature sensor disposed downstream of the refrigerant-to-liquid source heat exchanger to measure an outflow temperature of the source liquid, and
• a flow meter to measure a flow rate of the source liquid in the source loop;
• a load loop to convey a refrigerant and coupled to a refrigerant-to-air load heat exchanger, the load loop comprising a compressor driven by a second motor to circulate the refrigerant, the second motor being in communication with a second voltage sensor and a second current sensor;
• and
• a control module in communication with the first and second voltage sensors, with the first and second current sensors, with the first and second temperature sensors, and with a flow sensor, the control module including a processor and memory, the control module being configured to wirelessly present in real time, via a user interface, a duration of a recovery period for the air in the space to reach a selected setpoint temperature from a selected setback temperature, and, to increase an efficiency of the conditioning of the air based on the recovery period, the control module being configured to
• determine a thermal energy exchange rate of the refrigerant-to-liquid source heat exchanger with the source liquid,
• determine a first electrical energy consumption rate of the first motor,
• determine a second electrical energy consumption rate of the second motor,
• determine a total electrical energy consumption rate based on the first and second electrical energy consumption rates, and
• in response to receiving an on-peak signal from a smart meter, adjust a start time of the recovery period based on (i) the duration of the recovery period, (ii) the thermal energy exchange rate, and (iii) the total electrical energy consumption rate to limit power consumption of at least one of the compressor, the first motor, and the second motor during an on-peak time.

A method for monitoring and controlling a heat pump system to efficiently condition air in a space, the heat pump system comprising a refrigerant-to-liquid source heat exchanger coupled to a source loop through which a source liquid is conveyed, and a load loop through which a refrigerant is conveyed, the method comprising:

• determining a duration of a recovery period for the air in the space to reach a selected setpoint temperature from a selected setback temperature;
• determining a thermal energy exchange rate of the source loop;
• determining a first electrical energy consumption rate of a first motor driving a pump operable to circulate the source liquid in the source loop;
• determining a second electrical energy consumption rate of a second motor driving a compressor operable to circulate the refrigerant in the load loop;
• determining a total electrical energy consumption rate based on the first and second electrical energy consumption rates;
• receiving an on-peak signal from a smart meter via a communication interface;
• and
• in response to receiving the on-peak signal, adjusting a start time of the recovery period based on (i) the duration of the recovery period, (ii) the thermal energy exchange rate, and (iii) the total electrical energy consumption rate to limit power consumption of at least one of the compressor, the first motor, and the second motor during an on-peak time.