TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to devices, methods, and systems for determining the cause of a fault in an HVAC system.

BACKGROUND

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can be used to control the environment within a facility (e.g., building). For example, an HVAC system can include a number of components (e.g., equipment, sensors, operating panels, controllers, actuators, etc.) that can be used to control the air temperature of different zones (e.g., rooms, areas, spaces, and/or floors) of a facility, in order to keep the zones in a comfort state for their occupants.

During operation of an HVAC system, however, faults in the HVAC system (e.g., in different components of the HVAC system) may sometimes occur. Detecting and correcting faults in the HVAC system can be important to provide a comfortable environment for the occupants of the facility, to prevent the fault from causing further damage to the HVAC system, and/or to avoid inefficient operation of the HVAC system which may result in higher energy consumption, for example.

In order to effectively correct a fault in an HVAC system, the cause of the fault must first be determined. However, determining the cause of a fault occurring in an HVAC system, and then correcting the fault, can be a difficult, costly, and/or time consuming process. For instance, in some previous approaches, a technician may have to travel to (e.g., be physically present at) the facility in order to determine the cause of a fault and correct the fault. Further, because of the complexity of HVAC systems, in some instances the cause of the fault may be at a different location in the facility than where the fault appears to be occurring (e.g., at a different location than where the effects of the fault may be being felt).

