US-20260126366-A1 - DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE SENSOR AND MONITOR FOR MEASURING FILTER HEALTH

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, and methods provide for a filter health sensor. The filter health sensor includes a first pressure port and a second pressure port located on a housing and configured to access an upstream side and a downstream side of a filter, respectively. A pressure transducer is configured to measure a differential pressure between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter. A color changing indicator is located on a front side of the housing to emit three different colors. A control unit is configured to cause three different colors to emit from the color changing indicator indicating normal filter operations, a warning that the filter should be replaced soon, or a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately.

Inventors

• Bryce Knudson

Assignees

• SETRA SYSTEMS LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251029

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A filter health sensor, comprising: a housing; a first pressure port located on the housing, the first pressure port configured to access an upstream side of a filter; a second pressure port located on the housing, the second pressure port configured to access a downstream side of the filter; a pressure transducer located within the housing, the pressure transducer configured to measure a differential pressure between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter; a color changing indicator located on a front side of the housing opposite a back side of the housing, the color changing indicator configured to emit three different colors; and a control unit coupled to the pressure transducer and the color changing indicator, the control unit configured to: cause a first color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating normal filter operating conditions in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is below both a first threshold value and a second threshold value; cause a second color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced soon in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and below the second threshold value; and cause a third color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and above the second threshold value.
2. 2 . The filter health sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first color is green, wherein the second color is yellow, and wherein the third color is red.
3. 3 . The filter health sensor of claim 1 , wherein the color changing indicator is a color changing light ring.
4. 4 . The filter health sensor of claim 3 , further comprising a display screen located on the front side of the housing within the color changing light ring, the display screen configured to display the measured differential pressure.
5. 5 . The filter health sensor of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is a microprocessor.
6. 6 . The filter health sensor of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to receive the first and second threshold values from user input.
7. 7 . A method comprising: accessing an upstream side of a filter via a first pressure port located on a housing; accessing a downstream side of the filter via a second pressure port located on the housing; measuring a differential pressure between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter via a pressure transducer located within the housing; emitting a first color indicating normal filter operating conditions via a color changing indicator located on a front side of the housing in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is below both a first threshold value and a second threshold value; emitting a second color from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced soon in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and below the second threshold value; and emitting a third color from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and above the second threshold value.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first color is green, wherein the second color is yellow, and wherein the third color is red.
9. 9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the color changing indicator is a color changing light ring.
10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: displaying the measured differential pressure via a display screen located on the front side of the housing within the color changing light ring.
11. 11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the determination as to whether the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and above the second threshold value is performed via a microprocessor.
12. 12 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising: receiving the first and second threshold values from user input.
13. 13 . A filtration-equipped system, comprising: a filter; a housing; a first pressure port located on the housing, the first pressure port configured to access an upstream side of the filter; a second pressure port located on the housing, the second pressure port configured to access a downstream side of the filter; a pressure transducer located within the housing, the pressure transducer configured to measure a differential pressure between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter; a color changing indicator located on a front side of the housing opposite a back side of the housing, the color changing indicator configured to emit three different colors; and a control unit coupled to the pressure transducer and the color changing indicator, the control unit configured to: cause a first color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating normal filter operating conditions in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is below both a first threshold value and a second threshold value; cause a second color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced soon in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and below the second threshold value; and cause a third color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and above the second threshold value.
14. 14 . The filtration-equipped system of claim 13 , wherein the first color is green, wherein the second color is yellow, and wherein the third color is red.
15. 15 . The filtration-equipped system of claim 13 , wherein the color changing indicator is a color changing light ring.
16. 16 . The filtration-equipped system of claim 15 , further comprising a display screen located on the front side of the housing within the color changing light ring, the display screen configured to display the measured differential pressure.
17. 17 . The filtration-equipped system of claim 13 , wherein the control unit is a microprocessor.
18. 18 . The filtration-equipped system of claim 13 , wherein the control unit is further configured to receive the first and second threshold values from user input.
19. 19 . The filtration-equipped system of claim 13 , wherein the filtration-equipped system comprises a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.

Description

FIELD The instant disclosure relates generally to systems, apparatuses, and methods for filter health sensors. In particular, embodiments of the instant disclosure relate to systems, apparatuses, and methods for a filter health sensor configured to emit three different colors from a color changing indicator indicating differing filter operating conditions. BACKGROUND Customers have many applications where efficiently understanding the health (e.g., how clean or dirty) of the filters in a system is critical to optimal performance. Filter health can affect energy usage, proper air flow, and/or health of the spaces serviced. Current solutions utilize dial indicators or pressure sensors with displays that show the current pressure reading. These solutions make it difficult to understand the actual health of the system due to their inability to portray the differential pressure limits at which a filter is clean or dirty. Accordingly, there is an unmet need for customers to be able to visually understand the health of the filter in their equipment quickly and accurately. SUMMARY Advantageously, some implementations discussed herein provide a filter health sensor having a first pressure port and a second pressure port located on a housing and configured to access an upstream side and a downstream side of a filter, respectively. The filter health sensor changes a color of the color changing light indicator in response to pressure changes. The filter health sensor may have two pressure thresholds and three light indication colors. The filter health sensor is configured to emit three different colors from the color changing indicator indicating normal filter operations, a warning that the filter should be replaced soon, or a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately. As will be described in greater detail below, in some implementations discussed herein, systems, apparatuses, and methods provide for a filter health sensor. The filter health sensor includes a first pressure port and a second pressure port located on a housing and configured to access an upstream side and a downstream side of a filter, respectively. A pressure transducer is configured to measure a differential pressure between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter. A color changing indicator is located on a front side of the housing to emit three different colors. A control unit is configured to cause three different colors to emit from the color changing indicator indicating normal filter operations, a warning that the filter should be replaced soon, or a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately. In one example, a filter health sensor comprises a housing, a first pressure port, a second pressure port, a pressure transducer, a color changing indicator, and a control unit. The first pressure port is configured to access an upstream side of a filter. The second pressure port is configured to access a downstream side of the filter. The pressure transducer is located within the housing and is configured to measure a differential pressure between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter. The color changing indicator is located on a front side of the housing opposite a back side and is configured to emit three different colors. The control unit is coupled to the pressure transducer and the color changing indicator. The control unit is configured to: cause a first color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating normal filter operating conditions in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is below both a first threshold value and a second threshold value; cause a second color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced soon in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and below the second threshold value; and cause a third color to emit from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced immediately in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is above the first threshold value and above the second threshold value. In a further example, a method includes accessing an upstream side of a filter via a first pressure port. A downstream side of the filter is accessed via a second pressure port. A differential pressure is measured between the upstream side of the filter and the downstream side of the filter via a pressure transducer located within the housing. A first color is emitted indicating normal filter operating conditions via a color changing indicator located on a front side of the housing in response to a determination that the measured differential pressure is below both a first threshold value and a second threshold value. A second color is emitted from the color changing indicator indicating a warning that the filter should be replaced soon in response t