Evaluation of heating liquid pressure drops in a hydronic heating system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10401039-B2
Application number	US-201715445849-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2017
Priority date	Feb 28, 2017
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

A hydronic heating system that may depend on pressure in the system for smooth operation. The pressure may be monitored. Pressure in the system may indicate health of the heating system. Certain pressures or variations of pressures may indicate one or more conditions in the system which may be good or adverse. An example of an adverse condition may be leakage of fluid from the system. Analyzes of pressures detected in the heating system may be performed by a computer programmed to indicate conditions of the system that are reflected by the detected pressures.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hydronic heating system comprising:
a fluid heating mechanism for a heating system;
one or more radiators having a fluid input connected to a fluid output of the fluid heating mechanism, and having a fluid output connected to a fluid input of the fluid heating mechanism;
a pump having a fluid connection in series between the fluid heating mechanism and the one or more radiators, wherein the pump is configured to circulate a heating fluid;
a pressure gauge connected at the fluid output of the fluid heating mechanism, and configured to output pressure signals indicative of detected pressures of the heating fluid at the fluid output of the fluid heating mechanism; and
a computer configured to:
receive the pressure signals;
store a time series of pressure data based on the pressure signals;
determine model parameters based on the pressure data;
determine a time at which a model indicative of future predicted pressure data intersects a critical value: and
generate a failure notification in response to a pressure drop based on a predicted time to a critical value.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pressure data is indicative of a health of the hydronic heating system.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a temperature sensor at the output of the fluid heating mechanism wherein the temperature sensor is configured to output, to the computer, a temperature signal indicative of a temperature at the output of the fluid heating mechanism.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein in a cold state, the fluid heating mechanism and the one or more radiators contain the heating fluid under a predetermined pressure.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to determine that a pressure decrease along a series of the detected pressures from old to new is indicative of a leakage in the heating system.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to at least one of:
automatically issue a warning in response to a pressure change of a first predetermined magnitude,
delay a notification indicating a second pressure change of a second predetermined magnitude indicates a leakage in the heating system in response to refilling the heating system, or
issue an immediate notification in response to a third pressure change of a third predetermined magnitude pressure below a critical value in the heating system.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the computer is configured to determine, based on the model parameters, one or more models of pressure loss or leakage; and
the computer performs, based on the one or more models, one or more actions comprising at least one of monitoring heating fluid pressure, processing the pressure signals, estimating a time to reach a critical pressure, providing notifications of a condition of the heating system, issuing a warning, or indicating appropriate times to refill the heating system.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein a time series of pressures is evaluated at one or more periodical times selected from a group consisting of minutely, hourly, daily, and weekly.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the periodical evaluations of pressures are added to a time series of past evaluations.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the failure notification comprises at least one of:
a first pressure drop comprising a sudden pressure drop below a critical level;
a second pressure drop comprising a fast pressure drop below a critical level, wherein a rate of the second pressure drop is greater than the first pressure drop; or
a third pressure drop, wherein a rate of the third pressure drop is greater than the second pressure drop.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the computer is configured to determine the model parameters based on a stored time series of pressure minima.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to evaluate pressures at each subsystems of a plurality of subsystems of the heating system and store evaluations in a database corresponding to the pressures.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the computer is configured to, in response to determining a time at which the model indicative of future predicted pressure data intersects the critical value, determine a predicted time of a critical fault.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to clear a previously generated failure notification in response to a predetermined duration after the pressure drop is restored.

15. A method for monitoring hydronic heating system, comprising:
pumping, by a pump, a heating fluid through a circulatory subsystem of a hydronic heating system;
heating, by a fluid heating mechanism, the heating fluid in the circulatory subsystem;
recording, by a computer, pressure data received from a pressure sensor coupled to the circulatory subsystem;
determining, by the computer, model parameters based on the pressure data; and
determining, by the computer, a time at which a model indicative of future predicted pressure data intersects a critical value and generating a failure notification in response to a pressure drop based on a predicted time to a critical value.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the circulatory subsystem comprises one or more heating radiators, wherein the fluid heating mechanism comprises an output connected to an input of the one or more heating radiators and an input connected to an output of the one or more heating radiators and wherein the pump is connected between the radiators and the fluid heating mechanism.

17. The method of claim 15 , comprising at least one of:
automatically issuing a warning in response to a pressure change of a first predetermined magnitude;
delaying a notification indicating a second pressure change of a second predetermined magnitude indicative of a leakage in the circulatory subsystem in response to refilling the heating system; and
issuing an immediate notification in response to a third pressure change of a third predetermined magnitude below a critical value.

18. A pressure monitoring device for a hydronic heating system, comprising:
a radiator assembly;
a heater connected to the radiator assembly;
a pump connected to the heater and the radiator assembly;
a pressure gauge connected to the radiator assembly; and
a pressure analyzer connected to the pressure gauge, wherein the pressure analyzer is configured to:
receive, from the pressure gauge, pressure signals
store a time series of pressure data based on the pressure signals,
determine model parameters based on the pressure data,
determine a time at which a model indicative of future predicted pressure data intersects a critical value, and
generate a failure notification in response to a pressure drop based on a predicted time to a critical value.

19. The device of claim 18 , wherein the pressure data is indicative of a health of the hydronic heating system.

20. The device of claim 19 , wherein:
the heating fluid is a liquid; and
the radiator assembly is configured to be situated in, below, above, or proximate to a space to be heated.

Assignees

• Ademco Inc

Inventors

• Schindler Zdenek
• Sikora Marek

Classifications

• G01M3/2815

  using pressure measurements · CPC title

• F24D3/00

  Hot-water central heating systems (district heating systems F24D10/00; central heating systems using heat accumulated in storage masses F24D11/00) · CPC title

• G01M3/3227

  for radiators · CPC title

• F24D2220/02

  Fluid distribution means · CPC title

• F24D19/02

  Arrangement of mountings or supports for radiators · CPC title