Granted Patent B2

US 12,298,015 · App. 18/212,321 · Granted May 13, 2025

Inventors: Jeff Norton (Madison, WI); Tom Friederick (Madison, WI); Scott Grefsheim (Madison, WI)

Assignee: Research Products Corporation

F24F11/30F24F7/10F24F13/0236F24F13/10F24F13/1486F24F1/0038F24F7/06F24F2011/0002F24F2013/221F24F2110/12F24F2110/20F24F2110/22F24F2110/40Y10T137/87467

Abstract

Claims (58)

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a relative humidity set point and a relative humidity of conditioned air within a building;

controlling a dehumidifier assembly to modify the relative humidity of conditioned air based on the relative humidity set point to satisfy a space dehumidification demand;

determining a dew point of the conditioned air after the space dehumidification demand is satisfied;

updating a dew point set point based on the dew point of the conditioned air; and

controlling the dehumidifier assembly to modify a dew point of ventilation air entering the building to satisfy the dew point set point.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the dehumidifier assembly to modify the relative humidity of conditioned air comprises moving a connecting member of a damper assembly having a first damper and a second damper that are both coupled to the connecting member to reposition the first damper in a closed position and to reposition the second damper in an open position, wherein the first damper is fluidly coupled to a vent line that is fluidly coupled to an external environment surrounding the building, and wherein the second damper is fluidly coupled to a return line that is fluidly coupled to a space within the building.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the dehumidifier assembly to modify the relative humidity of conditioned air comprises receiving relative humidity data from a relative humidity sensor disposed within the building, and selectively activating a dehumidifier of the dehumidifier assembly until the relative humidity data is within a threshold range of the relative humidity set point.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the dew point of the conditioned air after the space dehumidification demand is satisfied comprises:

receiving relative humidity data from a relative humidity sensor disposed within the building;

receiving indoor air temperature data from a temperature sensor disposed within the building; and

calculating the dew point based on the relative humidity data and the indoor air temperature data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the dehumidifier assembly to modify the dew point of ventilation air entering the building comprises moving a connecting member of a damper assembly having a first damper and a second damper that are both coupled to the connecting member to reposition the second damper in a closed position and the first damper in an open position, wherein the first damper is fluidly coupled to a vent line that is fluidly coupled to an external environment surrounding the building, and wherein the second damper is fluidly coupled to a return line that is fluidly coupled to an internal environment within the building.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the dehumidifier assembly to modify the dew point of ventilation air entering the building comprises:

receiving dew point data indicative of the dew point of ventilation air passing through the dehumidifier assembly substantially independently from the conditioned air; and

selectively activating a dehumidifier of the dehumidifier assembly until the dew point data is within a threshold range of the dew point set point.

7. A humidity control system comprising,

a dehumidifier;

a damper assembly configured to selectively switch a flow of air between ventilation air from an external environment surrounding a building and conditioned air from a space within the building; and

a humidity controller communicably coupled to the dehumidifier and the damper assembly, the humidity controller configured to:

receive a relative humidity of the conditioned air within the building;

control the dehumidifier to modify the relative humidity based on a relative humidity set point to satisfy a space dehumidification demand;

determine a dew point of the conditioned air and a dew point of the ventilation air after the space dehumidification demand is satisfied;

update a dew point set point based on the dew point of the conditioned air; and

control the dehumidifier to modify the dew point of the ventilation air entering the building to satisfy the dew point set point.

8. The humidity control system of claim 7 , further comprising one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors transmit at least one of relative humidity data, air temperature data, or dew point data to the humidity controller.

9. The humidity control system of claim 7 , wherein, to control the dehumidifier to modify the relative humidity, the humidity controller is further configured to cause operation of a connecting member of the damper assembly having a first damper and a second damper that are both coupled to the connecting member to position the first damper in a closed position and the second damper in an open position, wherein the first damper is fluidly coupled to a vent line that is fluidly coupled to the external environment surrounding the building, and wherein the second damper is fluidly coupled to a return line that is fluidly coupled to the space within the building.

10. The humidity control system of claim 7 , wherein, to control the dehumidifier to modify the relative humidity, the humidity controller is further configured to:

receive relative humidity data from a relative humidity sensor disposed within the building; and

selectively activate the dehumidifier until the relative humidity data is within a threshold range of the relative humidity set point.

11. The humidity control system of claim 7 , wherein to determine the dew point of the conditioned air after the space dehumidification demand is satisfied, the humidity controller is further configured to:

receive humidity data from a humidity sensor disposed within the building;

receive indoor air temperature data from a temperature sensor disposed within the building; and

calculate the dew point of the conditioned air based on the humidity data and the indoor air temperature data.

12. The humidity control system of claim 7 , wherein to determine the dew point of the ventilation air, the humidity controller is further configured:

receive humidity data from a humidity sensor disposed at an inlet of the dehumidifier;

receive air temperature data from a temperature sensor disposed at the inlet of the dehumidifier; and

calculate the dew point of the ventilation air based on the humidity data and the air temperature data.

13. The humidity control system of claim 7 , wherein, to control the dehumidifier to modify the dew point of the ventilation air entering the building, the humidity controller is further configured to cause operation of a connecting member of the damper assembly having a first damper and a second damper that are both coupled to the connecting member to position the first damper in an open position and the second damper in a closed position, wherein the first damper is fluidly coupled to a vent line that is fluidly coupled to the external environment surrounding the building, and wherein the second damper is fluidly coupled to a return line that is fluidly coupled to the space within the building.

14. The humidity control system of claim 7 , wherein, to control the dehumidifier to modify the dew point of the ventilation air entering the building, the humidity controller is further configured to:

receive dew point data indicative of the dew point of the ventilation air substantially independently from the conditioned air; and

selectively activate the dehumidifier until the dew point of the ventilation air is within a threshold range of the dew point set point.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instruction stored thereon that when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to:

receive a relative humidity set point and a relative humidity of conditioned air within a building;

control a dehumidifier assembly to modify the relative humidity of conditioned air based on the relative humidity set point to satisfy a space dehumidification demand;

determine a dew point of the conditioned air after the space dehumidification demand is satisfied;

update a dew point set point based on the dew point of the conditioned air; and

control the dehumidifier assembly to modify a dew point of ventilation air entering the building to satisfy the dew point set point.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein to control the dehumidifier assembly to modify the relative humidity of conditioned air, the at least one processor further executes computer-readable instructions to operate a connecting member of a damper assembly having a first damper and a second damper that are both coupled to the connecting member to reposition the first damper in a closed position and to reposition the second damper in an open position, wherein the first damper is fluidly coupled to a vent line that is fluidly coupled to an external environment surrounding the building, and wherein the second damper is fluidly coupled to a return line that is fluidly coupled to a space within the building.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein to control the dehumidifier assembly to modify the relative humidity of conditioned air, the at least one processor further executes computer-readable instructions to receive relative humidity data from a relative humidity sensor disposed within the building, and selectively activate a dehumidifier of the dehumidifier assembly until the relative humidity data is within a threshold range of the relative humidity set point.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein to determine the dew point of the conditioned air after the space dehumidification demand is satisfied, the at least one processor further executes computer-readable instructions to:

receive relative humidity data from a relative humidity sensor disposed within the building;

receive indoor air temperature data from a temperature sensor disposed within the building; and

calculate the dew point based on the relative humidity data and the indoor air temperature data.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein to control the dehumidifier assembly to modify the dew point of ventilation air entering the building, the at least one processor further executes computer-readable instructions to operate a connecting member of a damper assembly having a first damper and a second damper that are both coupled to the connecting member to position the second damper in a closed position and the first damper in an open position, wherein the first damper is fluidly coupled to a vent line that is fluidly coupled to an external environment surrounding the building, and wherein the second damper is fluidly coupled to a return line that is fluidly coupled to a internal environment within the building.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein to control the dehumidifier assembly to modify the dew point of ventilation air entering the building, the at least one processor further executes computer-readable instruction to:

receive dew point data indicative of the dew point of ventilation air passing through the dehumidifier assembly substantially independently from the conditioned air; and

selectively activate a dehumidifier of the dehumidifier assembly until the dew point data is within a threshold range of the dew point set point.

Assignments (5)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (14)