DETERMINING ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN A STRUCTURE
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a measured value of a consumable product supplied through a distribution system, the distribution system connecting multiple users in a facility to the consumable product;
retrieving one or more signatures from a database, each signature characterizing access to the consumable product by one or more of the multiple users; and
determining with an autonomous processor an amount of the consumable product accessed by a particular user of the multiple users based on the measured value and the one or more signatures including any divergence from common usage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for measuring the supply of a consumable product/energy source, such as electrical power, to a facility over time and analyzing the measurements to determine the consumption or supply of the product by one or more loads and/or sources in the facility, and to determine induced and residual heat flow through the facility'"'"'s envelope. Various aspects compare the measured supply of the consumable product to a database of consumption signatures, which characterize access to the consumable product by particular users. In doing so, costs for the product may be more accurately divided between different tenants of the facility without having to install individual services or measurement equipment for each individual tenant. Operating conditions and facility characteristics, such as temperatures, load factors, insulation factors, etc., may be further considered in determining a particular user'"'"'s access of the consumable product. To aid in the controlling of energy use, thermal resistance factors of the building are determined, which are based on the induced and residual heat flow through the facility. Various algorithms are used including smart agents (e.g. neural networks) to determine the consumption of the consumable product by a particular user, to create the database of consumption signatures, and to determine the thermal resistance factors.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving a measured value of a consumable product supplied through a distribution system, the distribution system connecting multiple users in a facility to the consumable product; retrieving one or more signatures from a database, each signature characterizing access to the consumable product by one or more of the multiple users; and determining with an autonomous processor an amount of the consumable product accessed by a particular user of the multiple users based on the measured value and the one or more signatures including any divergence from common usage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method comprising:
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measuring access to a consumable product by a plurality of users over a fixed period of time; determining with a processor one or more signatures based on the measured use by the plurality of users, each signature characterizing access to the consumable product by one or more of the plurality of users; storing the signatures to a database. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method comprising:
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receiving, with an automated data collection processor, measurements of inside and outside environments of a building envelope, and measurements of one or more measured energy sources supplied through a building envelope; and determining with the processor; an induced heat flow through the building envelope produced by the one or more measured energy sources, a residual heat flow through the building envelope based on the induced heat flow and changes in the inside and the outside environments, and a thermal resistance of the building envelope based on the calculated residual heat flow and the changes between the inside and the outside environments. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. An apparatus comprising one or more processors and memory storing instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
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receive measurements of inside and outside environments of the building envelope, and measurements of one or more measured energy sources supplied through a building envelope; determine an induced heat flow through a building envelope produced by the one or more measured energy sources; determine a residual heat flow through the building envelope based on the induced heat flow and changes in the inside and the outside environments, and determine a thermal resistance of the building envelope based on the calculated residual heat flow and the changes between the inside and the outside environments. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. One or more non-transitory computer readable medium having executable instructions stored thereon, that when executed by one or more processors within a system, cause the system to:
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receive measurements of inside and outside environments of the building envelope, and measurements of one or more measured energy sources supplied through a building envelope; determine an induced heat flow through a building envelope produced by the one or more measured energy sources; determine a residual heat flow through the building envelope based on the induced heat flow and changes in the inside and the outside environments, and determine a thermal resistance of the building envelope based on the calculated residual heat flow and the changes between the inside and the outside environments. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A method of constructing building structure comprising:
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assembling a first layer of the building structure; detecting thermal resistance properties of the first layer using a thermal imaging camera before a second layer of the building structure is assembled over the first layer; assembling the second layer of the building structure over the first layer; and detecting thermal resistance properties of the second layer using the thermal imaging camera.
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Specification