System for minimizing indoor infection risk and maximizing energy savings

A system for providing control strategy for a heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system of a building, comprising:

• a controller having an input for receiving a first signal comprising data representing ambient weather information, a second signal comprising data representing an occupancy level in a location, a third signal comprising data representing a temperature of the location, and a fourth signal comprising data representing an amount of outdoor air intake into the location, and fifth signal comprising data representing a quality of ambient air in the location and an output for sending a plurality of control signals governing operation of a plurality of HVAC system components that may be connected to the controller;
• a database associated with the controller and configured to record the data representing ambient weather information, the data representing the occupancy level, the data representing the temperature, and the data representing the amount of outdoor air intake over time;
• a processor associated with the controller and programmed to generate a prediction of occupancy level over a predetermined upcoming period of time, to generate an estimation of carbon dioxide levels in the location based on the data representing occupancy level over time and data representing the amount of outdoor air intake over time, and to generate a forecast of ambient air quality based on the data representing ambient weather information over time and the data representing the quality of ambient air in the location over time;
• wherein the processor is programmed to dynamically estimate an amount of risk of infection in the location based on the prediction of occupancy level and the forecast of ambient air quality;
• wherein the processor is programmed to determine an amount of energy required to operate the HVAC system components connected to the controller;
• wherein the processor is programmed to determine how to operate the plurality of HVAC system components to minimize the amount of energy required to operate the HVAC system components while maximizing indoor air quality;
• and
• wherein the processor is programmed to cause the controller to send the plurality of control signals governing operation of the plurality of HVAC system components based on the determination of how to operate the plurality of HVAC system components to minimize the amount of energy required to operate the HVAC system components while maximizing indoor air quality.