Process and apparatus for monitoring and/or controlling an air conditioning and/or heating plant

A device for controlling a plant for air conditioning or heating, said plant comprising a delivery line, a return line, a predetermined number of service lines hydraulically interposed between the delivery line and the return line, and a central thermal treatment group connected to the delivery line, each service line comprising at least one thermal exchange unit,

• said device comprising:
• a flow rate regulator configured for controlling the flow rate of carrier fluid traversing the thermal exchange unit,
• a first thermal sensor configured for detecting the temperature of the carrier fluid at a first section of the service line upstream of the thermal exchange unit and a second thermal sensor for detecting the temperature of the carrier fluid at a second section of the same service line downstream of the thermal exchange unit,
• a hydraulic sensor configured for determining the flow rate (φ) of carrier fluid,
• a control unit connected or connectable with:
• the flow rate regulator or the central group or both the flow regulator and the central group,
• the first and the second thermal sensors, and
• the hydraulic sensor,
• wherein said control unit is configured for executing a process comprising:
• causing circulation of a carrier fluid through at least one service line of the service lines so that a carrier fluid particle traversing a first section of the service line upstream of the thermal exchange unit subsequently traverses a second section of the same service line placed downstream of the thermal exchange unit, with a hydraulic delay (dt) given by a time necessary for the carrier fluid particle to pass from the first to the second section;
• receiving at least one desired value of an operating parameter comprising at least one of:
• thermal power (dQ/dt) exchanged by the carrier fluid in the passage through each thermal exchange unit;
• heat exchanged by the carrier fluid in a predetermined time interval in the passage through each thermal exchange unit;
• temperature difference (ΔT) between temperature (Tt1) of the carrier fluid, at the first section, detected at a first instant (t1), and temperature (Tt2) of the carrier fluid, at the second section, detected at a second instant (t2);
• determining, for each thermal exchange unit, an actual value of said operating parameter;
• comparing said desired value of the operating parameter with said actual value of the same operating parameter and determining if the actual value differs from the desired value by more than a predetermined threshold;
• in response to the determination that the actual value differs from the desired value by more than a predetermined threshold performing a control step comprising at least one of:
• driving the central thermal treatment group to regulate at least one general parameter selected from among:
• flow rate set for the carrier fluid, hydraulic head set for the carrier fluid traversing the central group, heating set for the carrier fluid traversing the central group, cooling set for the carrier fluid traversing the central group,
• driving the flow rate regulator present on the channel of the thermal exchange unit,
• driving a thermal exchange modulator associated with the thermal exchange unit.

A device for controlling a plant for air conditioning or heating, said plant comprising a delivery line, a return line, a predetermined number of service lines hydraulically interposed between the delivery line and the return line, and a central thermal treatment group connected to the delivery line, each service line comprising at least one thermal exchange unit,

• said device comprising:
• a flow rate regulator configured for controlling the flow rate of carrier fluid traversing the thermal exchange unit,
• a first thermal sensor configured for detecting the temperature of the carrier fluid at a first section of the service line upstream of the thermal exchange unit and a second thermal sensor for detecting the temperature of the carrier fluid at a second section of the same service line downstream of the thermal exchange unit,
• a hydraulic sensor configured for determining the flow rate (φ) of carrier fluid,
• a control unit connected or connectable with:
• the flow rate regulator or the central group or both the flow regulator and the central group,
• the first and the second thermal sensors, and
• the hydraulic sensor,
• wherein said control unit is configured for executing a process comprising:
• causing circulation of a carrier fluid through at least one service line of the service lines so that a carrier fluid particle traversing a first section of the service line upstream of the thermal exchange unit subsequently traverses a second section of the same service line placed downstream of the thermal exchange unit, with a hydraulic delay (dt) given by a time necessary for the carrier fluid particle to pass from the first to the second section,
• determining at least one value of the temperature difference (ΔT) between:
• a temperature (Tt1) of the carrier fluid, at the first section, detected at a first instant (t1), and
• a temperature (Tt2) of the carrier fluid, at the second section, detected at a second instant (t2), wherein the second instant is subsequent to the first instant (t1) by said hydraulic delay (dt),
• driving at least one of:
• the central thermal treatment group,
• the flow rate regulator, and
• a thermal exchange modulator associated with the thermal exchange unit,
• as a function of:
• the temperature difference as measured above, or of an actual value of an operating parameter in turn being a function of the above-measured temperature difference, and
• a desired value of the temperature difference or of the operating parameter.