CONDENSER CLOGGING DETECTION METHOD AND SYSTEM

Abstract

A method for detecting condenser clogging for a cooling system may include determining a current state of the cooling system. The method may further include collecting a set of measurement data, where the set of measurement data may include at least one of pressure data, ambient air temperature data, condenser temperature data, humidity data, thermal image data, or normal camera image data. The method may further include analyzing the collected set of measurement data to detect whether a condenser of the cooling system is one of at least partially clogged or clean.

Claims

1. A method for detecting condenser clogging for a cooling system, the method comprising: determining a current state of the cooling system; collecting a set of measurement data, the set of measurement data including at least one of pressure data, ambient air temperature data, condenser temperature data, humidity data, thermal image data, or normal camera image data; and analyzing the collected set of measurement data to detect whether a condenser of the cooling system is at least partially clogged or clean.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: comparing the set of measurement data to a predetermined threshold; and upon determining the set of measurement data is greater than the predetermined threshold, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein generating the signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged comprises: generating an alarm.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the alarm comprises generating the alarm in different levels based on a current status associated with the predetermined threshold, wherein the alarm comprises at least one of an audio alarm, a visual alarm, or a haptic alarm.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: comparing the set of measurement data to a set of baseline data; and upon determining that the set of measurement data is greater than the set of baseline data, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the set of baseline data includes historical data corresponding to the cooling system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of measurement data collected includes the thermal image data, wherein the thermal image data is captured by a thermal camera.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: identifying a clogging region on the thermal image data; and upon identifying the clogging region on the thermal image data, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of measurement data collected includes the normal camera image data, wherein the normal camera image data is captured by a normal camera.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: determining a red/blue/green (RBG) value of the normal camera image data; comparing the determined RBG value to a predetermined RBG threshold; and upon determining the RBG value is greater than the predetermined RBG threshold, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

11. A cooling system comprising: a condenser; a condenser fan; an evaporator; an evaporator fan; one or more continuous monitoring sensors configured to continuously monitor a surface of the condenser; at least one of one or more temperature sensors, one or more pressure sensors, or one or more humidity sensors; and a controller communicatively coupled to at least the condenser, the one or more continuous monitoring sensors, and at least one of the one or more temperature sensors, the one or more pressure sensors, or the one or more humidity sensors, wherein the controller includes one or more processors including a set of program instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to: determine a current state of the cooling system; collect a set of measurement data, the set of measurement data including at least one of pressure data from the one or more pressure sensors, ambient air temperature data from the one or more temperature sensors, condenser temperature data, humidity data from the one or more humidity sensors, thermal image data from the one or more continuous monitoring sensors, or normal camera image data from the one or more continuous monitoring sensors; and analyze the collected set of measurement data to detect whether the condenser of the cooling system is one of at least partially clogged or clean.

12. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: comparing the set of measurement data to a predetermined threshold; and upon determining the set of measurement data is greater than the predetermined threshold, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

13. The cooling system of claim 12, wherein generating the signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged comprises: generating an alarm.

14. The cooling system of claim 13, wherein generating the alarm comprises generating the alarm in different levels based on a current status associated with the predetermined threshold, wherein the alarm comprises at least one of an audio alarm, a visual alarm, or a haptic alarm.

15. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: comparing the set of measurement data to a set of baseline data; and upon determining that the set of measurement data is greater than the set of baseline data, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

16. The cooling system of claim 15, wherein the set of baseline data includes historical data corresponding to the cooling system.

17. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein the one or more continuous monitoring sensors include a thermal camera, wherein the set of measurement data collected includes the thermal image data from the thermal camera.

18. The cooling system of claim 17, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: identifying a clogging region on the thermal image data; and upon identifying the clogging region on the thermal image data, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

19. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein the one or more continuous monitoring sensors include a normal camera, wherein the set of measurement data collected includes normal camera image data captured by the normal camera.

20. The cooling system of claim 19, wherein the analyzing the collected set of measurement data comprises: determining a red/blue/green (RBG) value of the normal camera image data; comparing the determined RBG value to a predetermined RBG threshold; and upon determining the RBG value is greater than the predetermined RBG threshold, generating a signal associated with the condenser being at least partially clogged.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a simplified conceptual view of a cooling system.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a condenser foul detection system, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a method or process for condenser clogging detection, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a simplified conceptual view of a cooling system, in accordance with one or more embodiments of present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a plot of differential pressure in relation to condenser fan speed, in accordance with one or more embodiments of present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 6 is a plot of a condenser ambient temperature in relation to ambient air temperature, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 7 is a simplified conceptual view of a cooling system in an operation state, in accordance with one or more embodiments of present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 8A is a conceptual diagram of a continuous monitoring system including a normal camera, in accordance with one or more embodiments of present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 8B is a conceptual diagram of a continuous monitoring system including a normal camera, in accordance with one or more embodiments of present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting a method or process for condenser clogging detection based on a calculation-based method, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0020] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a condenser clogging detection system and method. For example, the condenser clogging detection system and method may be configured to automatically detect whether a cooling unit is working with a clean or partially clogged condenser. Depending upon the state of the cooling unit, the condenser clogging detection system may be configured to perform different levels of intervention. Further, upon detection of condenser clogging, the system and method may generate a warning/alarm/signal to prompt condenser cleaning.

[0021] As previously discussed herein, the goal of cooling units is to absorb the heat created by servers and transfer such heat outside of the physical location of the servers. Usually, the heat is collected in such a way that it is rejected to the environment. To have the ability to absorb heat, the cooling unit should have a device which circulates refrigerant. This refrigerant subsequently should be cooled down in a condenser, where the collected heat is dissipated to the surrounding environment.

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a cooling system 100 having a Direct Expansion (DX) cooling circuit with a pumped refrigerant economizer mode. FIG. 4 illustrates the cooling system 100. The system 100 includes an indoor unit 101 and an outdoor unit 103. The outdoor unit 103 includes, but is not limited to, a condenser 102, a condenser fan 104, and the like installed outside the building, e.g., rooftop, and the indoor unit 101 includes an evaporator 106, an evaporator fan 108, an expansion valve 111 (or expansion device), sensors 208, 210, a compressor 109, and a check valve 113 installed inside the building, e.g., data center. When the cooling system 100 is operating normally, as shown in FIG. 1, the condenser 102 is clean, such that the cooling system 100 has the highest heat dissipation capabilities. However, when the system 100, particularly the condenser 102 becomes clogged (or at least partially clogged), the system 100 is not operating properly, as shown in FIG. 4, the heat transfer becomes less effective and higher air circulation is required (e.g., higher condenser fan ramping). Since the energy consumption of the condenser fan 104 is a function of condenser fan ramping, even a small increase in condenser fan ramping could cause huge differences in the energy consumption.

[0023] The data center may include one or more cooling systems 100 installed. In some instances, each individual cooling system 100 may be interconnected. In this regard, the respective systems 100 share information and communicate, such that the respective systems are configured as a teamwork operation. Additionally, in some instances, the cooling system 100 may be configured in a N+1 configuration. For example, in a non-limiting example, the data center may require at least 10 cooling systems to be fully functional, such that 10+1 units are installed. In this regard, in the case of maintenance, the data center would still operate without any problems.

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a system 200 for detecting condenser clogging, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. It is contemplated herein that the system 200 can apply to any suitable type of condenser conventionally used in cooling systems, such as an air-cooled condenser or dry cooled condenser.

[0025] The one or more condensers 102 may be configured to provide cooled liquid (or air) to the cooling system 100. Further, the one or more condensers 102 may transfer heat from the return fluid (or return air) from the cooling system 100 to a cooler medium, such as outside ambient air.

[0026] The cooling system 100 may include one or more refrigerant pumps 110 (or refrigerant units). The one or more refrigerant pumps 110 may provide refrigerant to the cooling system 100. In some instances, the cooling system 100 may be phase change refrigerant air conditioning systems having refrigerant compressors 109, such as a direct expansion (DX) system. The condenser 102 may be coupled to the refrigerant pump 110. For example, the refrigerant pump 110 may couple to a portion of the cabinet of the condenser 102. The phase change refrigerant may be circulated by a compressor 109 through the condenser 102, an expansion valve 111 (or expansion device), the coil (or evaporator 106), and back to the compressor 109 of the cooling system 100.

[0027] As previously discussed herein, the condenser 102 may be installed outside. For example, the condenser 102 may be installed on a rooftop or mezzanine on a rooftop. In this regard, the condenser 102 may transfer heat from the return fluid from the cooling system 100 to a cooler medium, such as the outside ambient air. The one or more components of the condenser 102 may be configured to be housed within one or more cabinets.

[0028] The condenser 102 may be in the form of one or more coils. In some instances, the condenser 102 may include a v-coil assembly (or V-condenser block) including one or more v-shaped coils. In other instances, the condenser 102 may include a slab coil assembly including one or more slab coils. It is contemplated herein that the condenser 102 may include any type of coil, therefore the above description and associated figures shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0029] The one or more fans 104 may be arranged proximate to the condenser 102, such that air may be drawn in via the one or more fans 104 (as shown by the arrows in FIG. 1).

[0030] The cooling system 100 may further include one or more controllers 202 including one or more processors 204 and memory 206. As will be discussed further herein, the one or more controllers 202 may be configured to automatically detect whether the cooling system 100 is working with a clean or partially clogged condenser 102. For example, the one or more controllers 202 may be configured to perform a level-based intervention method upon detection of a partially clogged condenser. For instance, upon detection of condenser clogging, the one or more controllers 202 may be configured to generate a warning/alarm/signal to prompt condenser cleaning. In this regard, the cooling system 100 is able to maintain the required cooling demand while also operating at the lower possible energy consumption, thus allowing a higher coefficient of performance (COP) operation.

[0031] The one or more controllers 202 may be configured to couple to various sensors 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, such as outdoor temperature sensors and pressure sensors.

[0032] For example, the condenser 102 may include (or be coupled to) one or more temperature sensors 208 configured to measure ambient air temperature and provide such measurements to the one or more processors 204.

[0033] By way of another example, the condenser 102 may further include (or be coupled to) one or more pressure sensors 210 configured to measure differential pressure and provide such measurements to the one or more processors 204.

[0034] By way of another example, the condenser 102 may include (or be coupled to) one or more humidity sensors 212 configured to measure ambient air temperature and provide such measurements to the one or more processors 204.

[0035] In some instances, the controller 202 may be coupled to one or more continuous monitoring sensors 214. For example, as will be discussed further herein, the continuous monitoring sensors 214 may include one or more thermal cameras 216 configured to capture thermal image data. By way of another example, as will be discussed further herein, the continuous monitoring sensors 214 may include one or more normal cameras 218 (or red/blue/green (RBG) cameras) configured to capture normal image data.

[0036] The one or more controllers 202 may be communicatively coupled to one or more user devices 220 including a display device 222 and one or more user input devices 224. The one or more user devices 220 may be integrated within the cooling system 100 or may be coupled to (or external) the cooling system 100. The one or more user devices 220 may be configured to receive one or more control signals from the one or more controllers 202 to generate an alarm based on a current status associated with a predetermined threshold. For example, the one or more user devices 220 may display a visual alarm on the display device 222. By way of another example, the one or more user devices 220 may sound an audible alarm on a speaker of the user device 220 (e.g., integrated speaker, remote speaker, or the like). By way of another example, the one or more user devices 220 may generate a haptic alarm on the user device 220.

[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified flowchart depicting a method or process 300 for performing condenser clogging detection, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] In step 302, a state of a cooling system may be determined. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to determine states of a series (or plurality) of the cooling systems when there is more than one cooling system or cooling unit, e.g., more than one condenser 102 is used. For instance, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to determine whether the cooling system 100 is turned off 302A, in forced operation 302B, or turned on 302C.

[0039] In step 304, upon determining that at least one cooling unit (or system) among the series of the cooling units is turned off (302A), a condenser fan speed may be adjusted. It is contemplated herein that since the cooling unit 100 is not working, as shown in FIG. 4, the refrigerant circulation device for the specific ones may also not be operating, thus there is no need for the condenser to run. However, in this case, the condenser fan speed may be overridden. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more signals configured to adjust the fan speed of the condenser fan. For instance, the one or more signals may be configured to cause the condenser fan to operate at a predetermined frequency for a predetermined period of time. In a non-limiting example, the fan speed may be adjusted every 30 seconds.

[0040] In step 306, upon adjusting the fan speed, one or more measurements may be recorded during the predetermined period of time. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to receive one or more measurements over the predetermined period of time for which the fan speed is adjusted.

[0041] The one or more measurements may include differential pressure, fan speed, ambient air temperature, humidity, or the like may be recorded. For example, the condenser may include one or more differential pressure sensors configured to measure the differential pressure of the condenser and provide such measurements to the one or more processors 204. For example, the condenser may include (or be coupled to) one or more temperature sensors configured to measure ambient air temperature and provide such measurements to the one or more processors 204.

[0042] In step 308, the measurements from step 306 may be stored in memory as a baseline for future reference.

[0043] In step 310, the steps 304 and 306 may be repeated to obtain actual measurement data (e.g., a set of measurement data), and in step 312 may be analyzed to compare to the stored baseline data from the step 308. For example, a difference between the actual measurement data and baseline may be used to detect condenser fouling.

[0044] FIG. 5 illustrates a plot 500 depicting condenser fan speed and differential pressure to detect clogging, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] If the actual measurement data is higher than the baseline (or increased above a predefined threshold), condenser clogging may be detected (in step 314). For example, as shown in plot 500 of FIG. 5, if the differential pressure as a function of condenser fan speed is greater than the baseline, condenser clogging may be detected. Upon detection of condenser clogging, in step 316, one or more signals may be generated to inform about possible condenser fouling. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more warnings to warn about possible condenser fouling. For instance, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more control signals configured to cause a display device (or other user device) to display a warning notification (or pop-up) warning about possible condenser fouling. By way of another example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more alarms to alert a user about possible condenser fouling. For instance, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more control signals configured to cause a display device (or other user device) to generate an alarm (e.g., audible alarm, vibration notification, or the like) to alert a user about possible condenser fouling. By way of another example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more control signals configured to cause a cleaning sub-system to perform condenser cleaning.

[0046] If the actual measurement data is less than or equal to the baseline (or a predefined threshold), condenser clogging may not be detected (in step 318). For example, as shown in plot 500 of FIG. 5, if the differential pressure as a function of condenser fan speed is less than the baseline, condenser clogging may not be detected (e.g., a clean condenser may be detected).

[0047] In step 320, upon determining a series of cooling units (e.g., there are N+1 cooling units) are working in a teamwork mode where the deliverable cooling capacity can be chased among each other (302B), at least one unit among the series of cooling units may be selected to be excluded. For example, in a non-limiting example, there may be 5 units and each unit may have a specific identifier (ID) (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). In this example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to identify the lowest ID and the time of last check. Upon identifying the lowest ID and time of last check, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to exclude from the teamwork the first unit (e.g., 1), such that units 2, 3, 4, 5 will work in teamwork mode and provide precision cooling and unit 1 will perform the operation. When it is finished, unit 1 will be reintroduced to the teamwork mode and unit 2 will be excluded. Continuing with this example, unit 2 is then examined and units 1, 3, 4, 5 provide precision cooling, and so on for each of the respective units, etc. In this regard, the remaining units would adjust their operation according to the current heat load to provide the target cooling capacity.

[0048] In step 322, a compressor speed of the excluded unit may be adjusted to cause the compressor speed to be fixed. It is contemplated herein that the fixed speed of the compressor may be at any predetermined frequency. For example, the compressor speed may be fixed at 80%. By way of another example, the compressor speed may be fixed at 100%.

[0049] In step 324, an evaporator fan speed of the excluded unit may be adjusted to control at least one of the suction pressure or temperature. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more control signals configured to cause the fan 108 to be adjusted.

[0050] In step 326, a condenser fan speed of the excluded unit may be adjusted. For example, the condenser fan speed may be adjusted such that the fan speed is at 100%. For instance, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more control signals configured to cause a fan 104 of the condenser 102 to be adjusted to 100% (or any other predetermined frequency level).

[0051] In step 328, measurement data may be collected. For example, compressor speed, condenser speed, suction pressure/temperature, ambient air temperature, condensing pressure/temperature, or the like may be collected. For instance, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to receive one or more measurements from respective sensors (or monitoring devices) associated with compressor speed, condenser speed, suction pressure/temperature, ambient air temperature, condensing pressure/temperature, or the like and store in memory.

[0052] In step 330, a difference between the actual measurement data and baseline may be used to detect condenser fouling. For example, in a non-limiting example, a series of ambient temperatures may be selected, e.g., low, medium, and high. In this example, the one or more controllers 202 may be configured to monitor the ambient air temperature. If the ambient air temperature is within in a given temperature range, for example the value of low ambient air temperature1K, the cooling system 100 may be allowed to perform the forced operation mode (302B). Then the measurement is compared to the refence baseline.

[0053] FIG. 6 illustrates a plot 600 depicting ambient air temperature and change in condensing ambient temperature to detect clogging, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0054] If the actual measurement data is higher than the baseline (or greater than a predefined threshold), condenser clogging may be detected (in step 332). For example, as shown in plot 600 of FIG. 6, if the change in temperature as a function of ambient air temperature is greater than the baseline, condenser clogging may be detected. In this regard, a higher difference between condensing temperature and ambient air temperature would represent that the condenser is in worse condition (e.g., clogged, or fans are not working properly).

[0055] Upon detection of condenser clogging, in step 334, one or more signals may be generated to inform about possible condenser fouling. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more warnings to warn about possible condenser fouling. By way of another example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more alarms to alert a user about possible condenser fouling. By way of another example, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to generate one or more control signals configured to cause a cleaning sub-system to perform condenser cleaning. In a non-limiting example, if there is greater difference than defined thresholds, the one or more controllers 202 may be configured to raise a message informing about possible condenser clogging.

[0056] It is contemplated herein that the alarm may include any suitable type of alarm such as, but not limited to, an audio alarm, a visual alarm, a haptic alarm (e.g., vibration), or the like.

[0057] If the actual measurement data is less than or equal to the baseline (or lower than the baseline increased by a predefined threshold), condenser clogging may not be detected (in step 336). For example, as shown in plot 600 of FIG. 6, if the change in temperature as a function of ambient air temperature is less than the baseline, condenser clogging may not be detected (e.g., a clean condenser may be detected).

[0058] It is contemplated herein that a minimum requested ambient air temperature may be used to ensure that the high condenser fan speed would not lower the condensing pressure too much, which would yield out of envelope operation which is an unwanted scenario. The minimum requested ambient air temperature may be supplied/provided by a user, customer, manufacturer, or the like.

[0059] In step 338, upon determining that the cooling unit(s) is in operation (302C) (e.g., not turned off and not in a teamwork mode), a continuous monitoring method may be performed, as discussed with respect to FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, and 9.

[0060] Referring generally to FIGS. 7, 8A, and 8B, the continuous monitoring method may utilize the one or more condenser monitoring sensors 214.

[0061] For example, the one or more condenser monitoring sensors 214 may include a thermal camera 216 configured to detect whether the cooling system 100 is working with a clean or partially clogged condenser 102.

[0062] The thermal camera 216 may be configured to monitor the temperature of the condenser coil. For example, the images may be evaluated online or sent to a supervisory system which performs the evaluation. Referring to FIG. 7, if the condenser has one or more clogging regions (e.g., bright/dark spots) as indicated in the image 700, condenser clogging may be detected. It is contemplated that checking the temperature may not be sufficient for condenser clogging detection, thus one or more additional parameters may be used in determining whether one or more condensers are clogged. For example, ambient air temperature data and/or humidity data may be used in conjunction with temperature to detect condenser clogging. Additionally, wind direction, speed and sunlight intensity, further local heat sources like ventilation may also be used as inputs.

[0063] By way of another example, the one or more condenser monitoring sensors 214 may include a normal camera 218 (or RBG camera) configured to detect whether the cooling system 100 is working with a clean or partially clogged condenser 102. In this regard, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the normal camera 218 may be configured to detect objects 802 having various sizes on a condenser 804. In one instance, as shown in FIG. 8A, the camera 218 along with a light source 800 may be used to detect larger objects/debris such as, but not limited to, leaves, sticks, cardboard, cotton wool, or the like. In another instance, as shown in FIG. 8B, the camera 218 along with the light source 800 may be used to detect finer objects/debris 806 on a surface of the condenser 804 such as, but not limited to, dust, fluff, or the like.

[0064] It is contemplated that the monitoring of the larger objects, as shown in FIG. 8A, may be performed either during the day or nighttime. For example, the camera 218 may be configured to continuously check if the condenser 102 if blocked by any bigger debris (e.g., leaves, cardboard, sticks, or the like), where general principles of object detection from image processing approaches may be used by the one or more controllers 202.

[0065] It is contemplated that the monitoring of the finer objects, as shown in FIG. 8B, may be performed during nighttime rather than daytime, such that daytime light pollution is decreased to allow for accurate color estimation of the given object/surface. For example, the camera 218 may be configured to continuously monitor a RGB (red/green/blue) value difference of at least part of the condenser 102 surface. In such example, if there is a black condenser, the dirt would change its color to a greyish spectrum.

[0066] Similarly, it is contemplated herein that light reflection during nighttime may be monitored. For example, a clean condenser may have better reflection compared to the clogged one, such that poor light reflect may indicate condenser clogging.

[0067] It is contemplated herein that in the case of normal camera usage as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, each of the previously discussed approaches could be used separately or together to detect possible condenser fouling.

[0068] Referring again to FIG. 6, the continuous monitoring method may utilize the one or more pressure sensors 210. For example, as previously discussed herein, baseline data may be collected after condenser cleaning or unit installation and compared to continuous monitoring data. It is contemplated herein that during continuous monitoring the cooling system 100 may be working in steady state for a given time frame. For example, the condenser fan speed and ambient air temperature may not have changed more than 2% and 1 K in the last 5 minutes. If 10 consecutive evaluations would return that the current differential pressure compared to the base line increased, a signal to raise warning about condenser fouling would be active. The threshold could be a constant value but also a function of condenser fan speed. As such, during lower rpm operation it would have lower value while during the higher rpm operation it would acquire higher value.

[0069] Referring to FIG. 9, the continuous monitoring method may include performing a calculation-based detection method 900 based on a mathematical model/algorithm to detect whether the cooling system 100 is working with a clean or partially clogged condenser 102. In a non-limiting example, the mathematical model/algorithm may be of the compressor, condenser, and fan.

[0070] In step 902, it is determined whether the cooling system 100 is operating in a steady state operation.

[0071] In step 904, a cooling capacity/heat to remove heat is calculated. For example, a cooling/heat capacity may be calculated. For instance, the one or more processors 204 may be configured to use the mathematical model to calculate a cooling/heating capacity, e.g., how much heat/air should the condenser dissipate into the environment.

[0072] In step 906, an ambient air temperature may be measured.

[0073] In step 908, a fan speed ramping speed may be determined based on the measured ambient air temperature. For example, since we know the mathematical model of the condenser coil and fan and we have a measurement about the ambient condition, the expected condenser fan speed may be determined for the given heat load and ambient conditions.

[0074] In step 910, a current fan speed may be measured.

[0075] In step 912a, if the current fan speed in steady state operation is higher than a first threshold, a message may be raised. In step 912b, if the current fan speed is higher than a second threshold, a warning may be raised. The second threshold may be higher than the first threshold. Then, the method 900 further checks whether the current fan speed is higher than a third threshold, which is higher than the second threshold, in step 912c. If yes in step 912c, an alarm may be raised. Here, the message/warning/alarm for each step (e.g., step 912a through 912c) may be different to differentiate between the respective signals. The alarm generated based on the decision made in step 912c may be greater (e.g., louder, brighter, etc.) than the warning generated based on the decision made in step 912b and/or the message generated based on the decision made in step 912a. For example, in a non-limiting example, the message generated by step 912a may indicate the lightest fouling, the warning generated by step 912b may indicate a moderate level of fouling, and the alarm generated by step 912c may indicate a high level of fouling that prevents normal operation. In this regard, the message may provide information about fouling, the warning may suggest cleaning, and the alarm may indicate the unit is not operating normally.

[0076] In step 914, if the current fan speed in steady state operation is less than a given threshold, condenser fouling may not be detected (e.g., everything is okay).

[0077] Similarly, as in case of continuous pressure differential checking, in order to not introduce too much burden on the computation hardware the differential pressure checking may be performed at one or more predetermined internals (e.g., for example every 1 minute). Further, it is contemplated herein that for proper evaluation, the cooling unit must work in steady state. To check the steady state, we can check if during the past 5 minutes the ramping of the compressor and condenser has not fluctuated more than 2% and the ambient change is within a 1 K range. Further parameters to consider in the steady state evaluation could be suction pressure/temperature and condensing pressure/temperature.

[0078] It is contemplated herein that a similar approach could be used also in case of dry cooler, the only difference is the mathematical model, since compressor energy consumption and capacity are not relevant, rather only temperature difference of the entering and exiting medium and its mass flow is relevant to the mathematical model.

[0079] Referring to FIG. 9, the continuous monitoring method may include performing history-based detection based on historical data to detect whether the cooling unit is working with a clean or partially clogged condenser.

[0080] For example, during the lifetime of the cooling system 100 data may be collected and stored in memory. In a non-limiting example, the data may include, but is not limited to, heat dissipation, ambient air temperature and humidity, pressure differential, fan speed, images from thermal camera, images from a normal camera, red/blue/green (RBG) values, or the like. Such data may be stored as a baseline and used to evaluate the cleanness of the condenser. It is contemplated herein that the accumulated data may be used to compare data from the same/similar/different units. Further, the accumulated data may be used to compare units in same/similar/different geographical locations and/or within same/similar/different climates.

[0081] It is contemplated herein that any combination of condenser detection methods may be used herein, unless otherwise noted herein.

[0082] Referring back to FIG. 2, it is noted herein that the one or more components of system 200 may be communicatively coupled to the various other components of system 200 in any manner known in the art. For example, the one or more processors 204 may be communicatively coupled to each other and other components via a wireline (e.g., copper wire, fiber optic cable, and the like) or wireless connection (e.g., RF coupling, IR coupling, WiMax, Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5G, and the like). By way of another example, the controller 202 may be communicatively coupled to one or more components of system 200 via any wireline or wireless connection known in the art.

[0083] The one or more processors 204 may include any one or more processing elements known in the art. In this sense, the one or more processors may include any microprocessor device configured to execute algorithms and/or program instructions. In general, the term processor may be broadly defined to encompass any device having one or more processing elements, which execute a set of program instructions from a non-transitory memory medium (e.g., the memory), where the one or more sets of program instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to carry out any of one or more process steps.

[0084] The memory 206 may include any storage medium known in the art suitable for storing the one or more sets of program instructions executable by the associated one or more processors. For example, the memory may include a non-transitory memory medium. For instance, the memory may include, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic or optical memory device (e.g., disk), a magnetic tape, a solid state drive, and the like. The memory may be configured to provide display information to the user device. In addition, the memory may be configured to store user input information from one or more user input devices. The memory may be housed in a common controller housing with the one or more processors. The memory may, alternatively or in addition, be located remotely with respect to the spatial location of the processors and/or the one or more controllers. For instance, the one or more processors, the one or more controllers may access a remote database, accessible through a network (e.g., internet, intranet, and the like) via one or more communication interfaces.

[0085] It is noted that the one or more controllers may be housed in a common housing or housed external. As such, FIG. 2 is provided merely for illustrative purposes and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

[0086] In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects described herein which can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various types of electrical circuitry. Consequently, as used herein electrical circuitry includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.

[0087] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively associated such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as associated with each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being operably connected, or operably coupled, to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being operably couplable, to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

[0088] While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.