System and method of single-zone duct control

1. A system for controlling airflow into a single room, comprising:

a duct having a controllable damper, fluidly connected to the room, the damper positioned in the duct outside the room, along an airflow path connected to the room;

a controller connected to the damper, configured to open and close the damper;

at least one sensor communicatively connected to the controller, positioned in the room and configured to measure a parameter in the room;

at least one portable computing device communicatively connected to the sensor and the controller; and

control logic stored as instructions on a non-transitory computer readable medium, the instructions configured to open and close the damper in response to a measurement received from the at least one sensor.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a sensor selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor and a motion sensor.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is disposed within an object selected from the group consisting of a light fixture, a smoke detector, a ceiling tile, and a wall plate cover.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the portable computing device is a smartphone.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium containing the control logic is disposed within the smartphone.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the control logic comprises an interface for manual control of the damper.

7. The system of claim 4 , wherein the smartphone is configured to pair with the at least one sensor when placed near the at least one sensor.

8. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises one sensor electrically connected to the smartphone.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one portable computing device comprises two portable computing devices.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor and the non-transitory computer-readable medium containing the control logic are disposed within a sensor assembly.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the sensor assembly further comprises at least one control element selected from the group consisting of a button, dial, switch, and touchscreen.

12. A method of controlling a damper in a duct fluidly connected to a room, comprising:

providing a damper in a duct, the damper positioned outside a room upstream from a vent positioned in the room;

measuring at least one parameter from at least one sensor positioned in the room;

communicating the measurement of the at least one parameter to a central controller;

determining a damper action with the central controller based on the at least one parameter;

communicating the damper action from the central controller to the damper; and

actuating the damper in accordance with the determined damper action.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of a sound sensor, a range sensor, and an RF sensor.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving an instruction from a user via a portable electronic device; and

modifying the damper action based on the instruction from the user.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the portable electronic device is a smartphone.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one sensor is electrically connected to the smartphone.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the instruction is an instruction to open or close the damper.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one sensor is a temperature sensor, the at least one parameter is a temperature measurement, and the method further comprises the step of comparing the temperature measurement to a temperature threshold.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is connected to a central controller executed in a cloud instance remote from the room.