US20080096145A1

US20080096145A1 - Zone master 2002 the ultimate forced air zone system

Info

Publication number: US20080096145A1
Application number: US11/500,692
Authority: US
Inventors: Steven Lawrence Jordan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-10-23
Filing date: 2006-10-23
Publication date: 2008-04-24

Abstract

Zone Master 2002 was designed as a two-part process that enables the installer to regulate the amount of heat required to efficiently heat any established area or “zone” in a building or residence. With the ability to shut off part of the burners, you can adjust from 20,000 to 120,000 BTU output on the same furnace. The control board allows for up to eight zones, a universal fit, and the ability to combine inputs from multiple thermostats and readjust as thermostats are satisfied.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

In the past ten years there have not been any major advances for the HVAC contractor. There have been advances in filtration, but nothing to combat the rising cost of gas and electricity. That is to say until now. The Zone Master 2002 was designed for both the HVAC contractor and the homeowner. For the contractor, it comes with all the necessary components for easy universal hook-up. All components are preprogrammed for safe operation. Only minor adjustments are needed to ensure proper fit. The burner control is designed to bolt onto the existing ½″ malleable iron gas manifold. The last burner tube on the furnace remains untouched. Each of the other burner tubes have their own 24 volt motor with an arm and adjustable orifice plug. Each burner control is designed to plug off it's own burner orifice on command. This allows the furnace to operate at different heat capacities. When these controls are used with a zoned duct system, it allows the homeowner to only produce the desired amount of heat with only enough blower speed to satisfy that thermostat. The result is that you burn up to ⅔ less fuel with up to 50% less electricity. The circuit board designed for operation in conjunction with the burner controls, allows the installer to preset the BTU output and blower speed for each zone, by a mere slide of a dip switch.
Maximum efficiency is accomplished by leaving the thermostat t one temperature 24/7. This is the only HVAC control that will actually cut your heating and cooling bills from the moment it's installed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the rising cost of gas and electricity, and the near extinction of our natural resources, has forced the HVAC Community to turn their sights on conservation as well as comfort for consumers. The last two big attempts to conserve energy utilized by furnaces, helped, but only under certain conditions. The set back thermostat was designed to have the furnace run at a lower temperature when no one is at home or during sleep patterns. This works well if you don't have more than four degrees Fahrenheit in temp settings. If you program more than four degrees variance, when the program calls for the higher temp, the initial burn cycle is sustained extra long, and actually burns more fuel than you saved at the lower temp. The three-stage gas valve was the other big innovation. It's down fall is simply the fact, unless you decrease the amount of ductwork being heated, and the cubic feet of space being heated, the same amount of BTU's is required for sufficient heat. Yes it may burn at a lower gas pressure, making the furnace quieter, but it has to burn longer cycles to satisfy the thermostat. When the three-stage valve is used with a zone damper system, the benefits can be seen. However, if the gas pressure is not tested at start up, the arrival of soot from too low of gas pressure is inevitable. Soot causes blockages, which can lead to CO.
The Zone Master 2002 is designed to enhance a standard zone system by allowing for up to eight zones of heat. Each zone trunk line can now be down sized greatly. This allows for less remodeling for the homeowner and less BTU's to each zone. The way we achieve lower BTU's is not by lowering gas pressure, but by simply shutting off burners that aren't needed to produce the desired amount of BTU's for each and every zone that calls for heat. The Zone Master 2002 comes with 24-volt burner orifice controls for each burner tube on the furnace. The first burner tube initially lights the burners, and the last burner in line proves flame on the whole burner. The last burner tube stays open all the time. However, all of the other burner tubes are fitted with my burner control. The Zone Master 2002 kit also comes with a special Circuit board. This new board is designed so that the installer can adjust the amount of BTU output and blower speed for each zone. They can be adjusted from 20,000 BTU's to 120,000 BTU's in 20,000 BTU increments. The fan side of the board has four options lo, med, med hi, and hi. Once the thermostat is set, on a call for heat, if the zone only requires 20,000 BTU's, the entire burner assembly would light and prove flame for 5 seconds. After that the specially designed circuit board that comes with the kit processes the BTU settings on the thermostat that is calling for hear. It then plugs off the burner orifices not needed. If the BTU setting is 20,000, all of the burner controls would energize, rotating 90 degrees, pushing their orifice plugs into their orifices, plugging off the orifices, shutting down their burners. With the orifice plugs in place, the furnace now only produces 20,000 BTU's. Only the last burner would be lit. When the thermostat is satisfied, the last burner would shut off and the burner controls would de-energize. The controls are equipped with a spring return to re-open all of the burner orifices. They are now ready for the next call for heat. If there are more than one thermostat that calls for heat, the special circuit board combines the total BTU's needed, adjusts burner controls as necessary, and sets the blower speed to med hi. As thermostats are satisfied, the circuit board will close burners and adjust blower speed to match. By plugging off the orifices, you don't changes the gas pressure, therefore eliminating the potential of soot and other problems. Any single stage gas valve can be used. Expensive multistage valves are not necessary. By shutting down unneeded burners, the consumer uses less volume which makes for lower gas bills. Being that the blower speed is adjustable at the board, the amount of amperes needed to start the fan at lo speed is dramatically less than always starting on med hi. Less amp draw translates into lower electricity consumption, and less strain on already over loaded grids. On a call for cooling, the circuit board would process the fan speed and set the blower accordingly.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

The majority of the residential heating and cooling systems being used are controlled by one thermostat. Depending on the number of hot air registers and their placement along the outside wall; and the location of the thermostat, multiple cold spots can be found throughout the house. The innovation of the damper zone system gave us the ability to reduce energy bills by adding multiple thermostats. Using multiple thermostats enables us to isolate where the heat is needed most. Adding my invention, the “Zone Master 2002”, to any existing zone system, we can increase the number of zones to eight and put only as much heat as needed to satisfy that area of the house. This addition could save as much as two thirds on your gas bill and one half on your electric.

Claims

1. A universal fan and furnace control board that can energize burner orifice controls, set and adjust blower speed, and process information from multiple thermostats at one time.

2. A burner orifice control that uses a 24 volt signal from the main transformer. When energized the motor pushes the orifice plug into place to shut the burner off.

3. The process of changing the BTU output as needed to satisfy each zone thermostat.