An air-conditioning system includes an air-conditioning unit for supplying conditioned aft to an activity space defined by a compartment and having an air-conditioning duct for guiding the conditioned aft to the activity space, and at least one auxiliary air duct mechanism including an auxiliary air duct communicatingly connected to the air-conditioning duct for communicating the activity space with the outside, and a fan mounted in the auxiliary air duct. The auxiliary air duct has an auxiliary air inlet for guiding therein the outside air, an inner air inlet opening for guiding therein the conditioned air, and an auxiliary air outlet for discharging the outside air and the conditioned air into the activity space.

A cooling system includes a cooling device having a first cooling coil and a second cooling coil, a first heat transfer fluid in fluid communication with the first cooling coil, a second heat transfer fluid in fluid communication with the second cooling coil, a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with the first heat transfer fluid and the second heat transfer fluid, a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with the second heat transfer fluid and a source of external air, a system of fluid control devices in fluid communication with the second heat transfer fluid and configured to minimize a change in a total pressure drop of the second heat transfer fluid when the cooling system switches between operating modes, and a controller configured to selectively control the cooling device and the system of fluid control devices to operate the cooling system in each of the operating modes.

A hydronic economizer module configured for use in a chiller system having a vapor compression cycle including a housing having at least a first air inlet. A heat exchanger assembly located within said housing. The heat exchanger includes at least one heat exchanger coil. A fan assembly includes at least one fan generally aligned with the at least one heat exchanger coil. At least one valve is movable between a plurality of positions to control a flow of fluid into said heat exchanger assembly. When said at least one valve is in a first position the economizer module is arranged in parallel with a component of the vapor compression cycle. When said at least one valve is in a second position the economizer module is arranged in series with said component of the vapor compression cycle.

Apparatus and method for ventilating a building structure, such as a residence. In some embodiments, a ventilation system includes a damper assembly which extends through an interior substrate (e.g., an interior wall) of the structure and an exhaust assembly which extends through an exterior substrate (e.g., an exterior wall of the structure and which is in communication with the damper assembly via a control circuit. The interior wall separates a conditioned space and an unconditioned space. The exhaust assembly is initially activated to vent exhaust air from the unconditioned space while a door of the damper assembly remains closed. The door is subsequently opened responsive to a measured environmental parameter, such as a differential pressure between the conditioned and unconditioned spaces, to generate a combined airflow that passes from the conditioned space to the unconditioned space and then to the exterior of the structure.

An air-conditioning method suitable for reducing energy consumption is selected. A comparison unit 105 compares first operating efficiency, which is operating efficiency when only first air conditioning is performed, with second operating efficiency, which is operating efficiency when only second air conditioning is performed. The first air conditioning is air conditioning in an air-conditioning target space by an air conditioner, and the second air conditioning is air conditioning in the air-conditioning target space by supplying outdoor air without adjusting a temperature of the outdoor air to the air-conditioning target space. A decision unit 106 decides whether to perform the first air conditioning and whether to perform the second air conditioning, based on a result of comparison between the first operating efficiency and the second operating efficiency by the comparison unit 105.

A multifunction adaptive whole house fan system can include a whole house fan to pull large volume of air through a building structure. The whole house fan can pull air from a motorized window or damper into the building structure and expel air through an attic. The system can monitor the environment to operate the whole house fan when desired conditions are present in coordination with other systems of the building structure to reduce overall energy consumption.

Described herein is an air handling unit that includes canopies for compressor fans and exhaust fans located on a top thereof, which canopies provide for noise abatement and a canopy to assist in keeping precipitation out. The canopies further include louvers that can be controlled to provide for even further noise abatement and precipitation control.

A damper controller may be configured to send damper control commands to open and close an outdoor air damper to provide free cooling as necessary to satisfy a temperature setpoint inside the building. In some cases, the damper controller may initiate a damper fault test to determine if a damper fault is present. The damper fault test may be based, at least in part, on an outdoor air temperature input, a discharge air temperature input, a commanded damper position, and a damper fault temperature threshold. If a damper fault is determined, the damper controller may send an alert indicative of a detected damper fault. In some cases, the damper fault test results may be weighted to reduce the false positives alerts.

A plurality of independent air conditioners, a first air conditioner (AC) (9a), a second AC (9b), and a third AC (9c), are disposed in an air conditioning room. Individual target temperatures of each habitable room that are acquired from an input/output terminal (19) and an outdoor temperature that is acquired by an outdoor temperature sensor (7) are input to a mode setter (32). Based on the individual target temperatures and the outdoor temperature, the mode setter (32) sets a cooling mode and a cooling setpoint temperature for operation in the cooling mode, or a heating mode and a heating setpoint temperature for operation in the heating mode, for each of the first AC (9a), the second AC (9b), and the third AC (9c).

The invention relates to a method for controlling a passive-ventilation system of a building, comprising: determining an outdoor air temperature of air in an environment of the building; determining an indoor air temperature of at least one zone inside the building; calculating a temperature difference by subtracting the determined outside air temperature from the determined indoor air temperature; and, if the calculated temperature difference is greater than zero, controlling a state of at least one passive-ventilation device of the passive-ventilation system to be in any of a closed state, an open state, and one of one or more intermediate states between closed and open state. Each of the states corresponds to one value of an opening fraction value of the at least one zone inside the building varying between 0 and 1.