HVAC SYSTEM WITH THERMOSTAT GATEWAY
A thermostat gateway device includes one or more circuits configured to receive a control input from a user device or from a sensor device via a first frequency band of a local wireless network, generate a control signal for the HVAC equipment using the control input, and provide the control signal to the HVAC equipment via a second frequency band of the local wireless network to affect operation of the HVAC equipment.
1 . A method of operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system, the method comprising:
receiving, at a thermostat gateway device, a control input from a user device or from a sensor device via a first frequency band of a local wireless network;
generating, by the thermostat gateway device, a control signal for HVAC equipment using the control input; and
providing, by the thermostat gateway device, the control signal to the HVAC equipment via a second frequency band of the local wireless network to affect operation of the HVAC equipment.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermostat gateway device is structured without a display.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermostat gateway device is structured without any mechanism for manually receiving control inputs from a user.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
connecting, by the thermostat gateway device, to the local wireless network automatically upon power up using network configuration data stored in a memory of the thermostat gateway device.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the control input from the user device comprises a setpoint selected by a user via the user device, and wherein the control input from the sensor device comprises environmental data measured by the sensor device.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first frequency band of the local wireless network comprises a 5 GHz frequency band or a 2.4 GHz frequency band, and wherein the second frequency band of the local wireless network comprises a 900 MHz frequency band.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing, by the thermostat gateway device, the control signal to the HVAC equipment via the second frequency band of the local wireless network comprises providing, by the thermostat gateway device, the control signal to an adapter unit via the second frequency band of the local wireless network, wherein a wired connection is formed between the adapter unit and the HVAC equipment.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the HVAC equipment comprises an indoor unit located inside of a building or an outdoor unit located outside of the building.
9 . A device in a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system, the device comprising:
one or more circuits configured to:
receive a control input from a user device or from a sensor device via a first frequency band of a local wireless network;
generate a control signal for the HVAC equipment using the control input; and
provide the control signal to the HVAC equipment via a second frequency band of the local wireless network to affect operation of the HVAC equipment.
10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the device comprises a thermostat gateway device that is structured without a display and without any mechanism for manually receiving control inputs from a user.
11 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more circuits are further configured to:
connect to the local wireless network automatically upon power up using network configuration data stored in a memory of the device.
12 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the control input from the user device comprises a setpoint selected by a user via the user device, and wherein the control input from the sensor device comprises environmental data measured by the sensor device.
13 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the first frequency band of the local wireless network comprises a 5 GHz frequency band or a 2.4 GHz frequency band, and wherein the second frequency band of the local wireless network comprises a 900 MHz frequency band.
14 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more circuits are configured to provide the control signal to the HVAC equipment via the second frequency band of the local wireless network by providing the control signal to an adapter unit via the second frequency band of the local wireless network, wherein a wired connection is formed between the adapter unit and the HVAC equipment.
15 . A device in a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system, the device comprising:
one or more circuits configured to:
receive a control input from a user device or from a sensor device via a first wireless network protocol;
generate a control signal for the HVAC equipment using the control input; and
provide the control signal to the HVAC equipment via a second wireless network protocol to affect operation of the HVAC equipment.
16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the device comprises a thermostat gateway device that is structured without a display and without any mechanism for manually receiving control inputs from a user.
17 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the one or more circuit are further configured to:
connect to a local wireless network automatically upon power up using network configuration data stored in a memory of the device.
18 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the control input from the user device comprises a setpoint selected by a user via the user device, and wherein the control input from the sensor device comprises environmental data measured by the sensor device.
19 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the first wireless network protocol comprises a first frequency band of the local wireless network, the first frequency band comprising a 5 GHz frequency band or a 2.4 GHz frequency band, and wherein the second wireless network protocol comprises a second frequency band of the local wireless network, the second frequency band comprising a 900 MHz frequency band.
20 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the first wireless network protocol comprises a Wi-Fi protocol, and wherein the second wireless network protocol comprises at least one of a Bluetooth protocol, a ZigBee protocol, a BACnet protocol, a Modbus protocol, or a Z-Wave protocol.