Abstract: A strategic response control for an air conditioning system for use in an environment with increased power rates during a designated peak period. The air conditioning system includes a power board for operating the air conditioning system in one or more operating status having a controller with a processor and a real time clock, an indoor temperature sensor for generating an input signal representing the indoor temperature, an outdoor temperature sensor for generating an input signal representing the outdoor temperature, and an operating program that sets a maximum comfort level temperature, a minimum comfort level temperature and a warmup rate for the environment in which the air conditioner operates, and has a procedure for precooling the environment before the peak period, wherein on activation, the processor signals the power board to enter an operating state for precooling and an “off” or lower level operating state during the peak period.

Abstract: A speed controller for a single phase motor such as a permanent split capacitor motor allows the motor to be operated at a first speed, n1, and a lower speed, n2. High speed motor operation is produced by passing a single phase AC current through both the main and auxiliary windings of the motor. For low speed operation, the controller passes first and second reduced frequency AC waveforms through the motor's auxiliary and main windings, respectively. The first waveform bypasses the motor's auxiliary winding capacitor and is phase shifted 90 degrees from the second AC waveform. A split source capable of generating an AC signal and its inverted signal can be used by the controller to generate the reduced frequency waveforms. Specifically, the controller uses selected half cycles from each split source signal to produce the reduced frequency waveforms.

Abstract: New and improved compacted or powder pressed materials for thermoelectric applications include a body formed from compacted powder material including at least bismuth and tellurium and at least one highly electrically conductive phase. The materials are made in accordance with the general method of the present invention by forming a particulate mixture containing the constituent elements of a first compound including at least bismuth and tellurium and the constituent elements of a second compound capable of forming at least one highly electrically conductive phase, and thereafter, compressing at least a portion of said particulate mixture to form a compacted body of the material. In accordance with a first preferred embodiment, the first and second compounds are first separately prepared from their respective constituent elements. The first and second compounds are then combined and heated to form a melt. Thereafter, the melt is cooled to solid material form and then crushed to form the particulate mixture.

Abstract: There is disclosed new and improved multiphase thermoelectric alloys and a method for making the same. The alloys are disordered materials having a multiplicity of matrix crystallites separated by generally disordered grain boundaries containing transitional phases and grain boundary regions of various phases including electrically conductive phases having at least one phase having high electrical conductivity.The alloys are formed from a mixture of at least two separately prepared multiple element compounds preferably a first compound Bi.sub.10 Sb.sub.30 Te.sub.60 or Bi.sub.40 Te.sub.48 Se.sub.12 and a second compound Ag.sub.25 Sb.sub.25 Te.sub.50. These compounds while crystalline, have different crystalline structures. They themselves are polycrystalline and do not represent the most stable crystalline structure. The first compound has a rhombohedral crystalline structure and the second compound has a face centered cubic crystalline structure.