Computer-implemented system and method for evaluating a change in fuel requirements for heating of a building
First Claim
1. A method for evaluating a change in fuel requirements for heating of a building with the aid of a digital computer, comprising the steps of:
- obtaining data for thermal conductivity, indoor temperature, an efficiency of an HVAC system of the building, and solar gains recorded for a building over a heating season;
expressing fuel consumption for heating of the building over the heating season in parameterized terms that represent the thermal conductivity, the indoor temperature averaged, the HVAC efficiency, and the solar gains averaged;
modeling an effect of an optimization of the heating of the building on the fuel consumption, the optimization comprising one of an improvement of the shell of the building, a change in the effective window area of the building, a change in the operation of the HVAC system of the building, and an upgrade of the HVAC system, further comprising;
taking a derivative of the fuel consumption expression with respect to one of the parameterized terms as taken as a variable of interest; and
finding a change in the fuel consumption relative to the variable of interest by solving the derivative based on the data obtained, wherein the steps are performed on a suitably-programmed computer and wherein heating of the building is optimized based on the change in fuel consumption.
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Abstract
A computer-implemented system and method to assist consumers with decisions affecting a change in fuel requirements is provided. Fuel consumption for heating can be considered by evaluating changes that would affect thermal conductivity, average indoor temperature, HVAC efficiency, and solar gain. In a further embodiment, a computer-implemented system and method to evaluate investment'"'"'s in a building'"'"'s shell is provided. Thermal conductivity and the surface area of a surface that is under consideration for improvement are obtained, after which revised thermal conductivity can be modeled based on the existing and proposed thermal performance of that building surface. In a still further embodiment, fuel consumption for heating modeling results can be comparatively evaluated, with one fuel consumption model operating over an annual (or periodic) scope and another fuel consumption model operating on an hourly (or interval) scope.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for evaluating a change in fuel requirements for heating of a building with the aid of a digital computer, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining data for thermal conductivity, indoor temperature, an efficiency of an HVAC system of the building, and solar gains recorded for a building over a heating season; expressing fuel consumption for heating of the building over the heating season in parameterized terms that represent the thermal conductivity, the indoor temperature averaged, the HVAC efficiency, and the solar gains averaged; modeling an effect of an optimization of the heating of the building on the fuel consumption, the optimization comprising one of an improvement of the shell of the building, a change in the effective window area of the building, a change in the operation of the HVAC system of the building, and an upgrade of the HVAC system, further comprising; taking a derivative of the fuel consumption expression with respect to one of the parameterized terms as taken as a variable of interest; and finding a change in the fuel consumption relative to the variable of interest by solving the derivative based on the data obtained, wherein the steps are performed on a suitably-programmed computer and wherein heating of the building is optimized based on the change in fuel consumption. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer-implemented method for evaluating a building shell improvement affecting a change in thermal conductivity, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining existing thermal conductivity and finding the surface area of a surface for which an improvement to the building'"'"'s shell is under consideration; finding existing and proposed thermal performances of the surface; and evaluating revised thermal conductivity of the building based on the existing thermal conductivity and on the surface area and the existing and the proposed thermal performances of the surface in accordance with;
=UATotal+Δ
UATotalwhere UATotal represents the existing thermal conductivity, and - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for comparatively evaluating fuel consumption for heating with the aid of a digital computer, comprising the steps of:
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determining a periodic heating fuel consumption of a building over a time period based on total thermal conductivity, balance point thermal conductivity, temperature difference between average indoor and average outdoor temperatures, HVAC system efficiency, and duration of the time period; determining an interval heating fuel consumption of the building over the time period based on total thermal conductivity, the temperature difference, an average occupancy, a non-HVAC electricity consumption and a solar resource; and comparing the periodic heating fuel consumption and the interval heating fuel consumption over the time period, wherein the steps are performed on a suitably-programmed computer and wherein heating of the building is optimized based on at least one of the periodic heating fuel consumption and the interval heating fuel consumption, the optimization comprising at least one of changing a shell of the building, changing a size of an HVAC system within the building, and performing one or more upgrades to the HVAC system. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification