SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AN ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20140088945A1
• Filed: 09/20/2013
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: American Energy Assets, LLC
• Original Assignee: American Energy Assets, LLC
• Inventors: Davis, Jack, Kobbe, James, Weller, Dan, Gertz, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US14/033,232
• Publication Number:
  US 20140088945A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/13
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/38 Failure diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/47 Responding to energy costs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/06 Power analysis or power optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/08 Thermal analysis or thermal optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

Implementations of the present disclosure involve a system and/or method for analyzing the energy efficiency of a building. The system receives a set of data points from a building automation system operating to control various aspects of the building. The data points each corresponds to an environmental condition of the building. Each data point is associated with a variable that represents the represents a type of information conveyed by the data point. Variables are then mapped to component models that represent the physical components of the building. A formula is then selected for evaluating the operation of one or more physical components. Building problems are then diagnosed by evaluating the formula using the data points.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing the energy efficiency of a building comprising:

receiving a set of data points from a building automation system operating on the building, wherein each data point corresponds to an environmental condition of the building;

associating each data point with a variable representing a type of information conveyed by the data point;

mapping at least one variable to a component model, the component model representing a physical component of the building;

selecting a formula for evaluating the operation of the physical component represented by the component model; and

diagnosing an environmental condition of the building by evaluating the formula using the data points.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of data points is divided into at least one group of data points according to a relationship between at least two data points, and wherein a group of data points is associated with a group of variables and the group of variables is matched to a single component model.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one data point is generated by a sensor component operating within the building and coupled to the building automation system, and wherein the at least one data point is grouped in the set of data points.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one data point represents an operational status of a building component within the building and coupled to the building automation system, and wherein the at least one data point is grouped in the set of data points.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the component model represents a generic physical component used in a HVAC system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the component model represents a specific physical component of a HVAC system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the formula comprises a data point is not in the set of data points, and method further comprising:

calculating a virtual data point using at least one data point from the set of data points; and

evaluating the formula using the virtual data point.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the formula comprises a Boolean data point representing a system condition is not in the set of data points, and the method further comprising:

determining a Boolean value representing the presence of the system or output condition using at least one data point from the set of data points; and

evaluating the formula using the Boolean value.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating at least one of a cost and an energy usage associated with the environmental condition.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental condition comprises at least one of a hardware failure of a physical component of the building, a software failure of the building automation system, or an inefficient control sequence utilized by the building automation system that controls the physical component.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a third party set of data points by retrieving information relevant to the building from a third party.

12. A system for analyzing environmental data from a building comprising:

a computing device including a processor coupled to a system memory, the system memory storing instructions for execution on the processor, the instructions configured to cause the processor to;

receive a set of data points from a building automation system operating on the building, wherein each data point corresponds to an environmental condition of the building;

store the set of data points in a database operating in the system memory;

associate each data point with variable representing a type of information conveyed by the data point and storing;

map at least one variable to a component model stored in a model library stored in the system memory, the component model representing a physical component of the building;

select a formula for evaluating the operation of the physical component represented by the component model from a formula library stored in the system memory; and

diagnose an environmental condition by evaluating the formula using the data points.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the set of data points is divided into at least one group of data points according to a relationship between at least two data points, and wherein a group of data points is associated with a group of variables and the group of variables is matched to a single component model.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein at least one data point is generated by a sensor component operating within the building and coupled to the building automation system, and wherein the at least one data point is grouped in the set of data points.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein at least one data point represents an operational status of a building component within the building and coupled to the building automation system, and wherein the at least one data point is grouped in the set of data points.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the component model represents a generic physical component used in a HVAC system.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the component model represents a specific component of a HVAC system.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the formula comprises at least one required data point not in the set of data points, and wherein the instructions configured to cause the processor to:

calculate a virtual data point using at least one data point from the set of data points; and

evaluate the formula using the virtual data point.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the formula comprises at least one required Boolean data point representing a system condition not in the set of data points, and wherein the instructions configured to cause the processor to:

determining a Boolean value representing the presence of the system or output condition using at least one data point from the set of data points; and

evaluating the formula using the Boolean value.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to calculate at least one of a cost and an energy usage associated with the environmental condition.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the environmental condition comprises at least one of a hardware failure, a software failure, an inefficient control sequence, or a poor operating strategy.

22. The system of claim 12, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to receive a third party set of data points by retrieving information relevant to the building from a third party.

23. A method of analyzing a dataset comprising:

receiving a set of data points from a building automation system operation on the building, wherein each data point corresponds to an environmental status of the building and wherein the set of data points is divided into at least one group of data points according to a relationship between at least a first data point and a second data; and

associating each data point with variable representing a type of information conveyed by the data point, wherein a group of variables is formed for each group of data points;

mapping at least one variable to a component model, wherein the component model represents a physical component of the building, and wherein groups of variables are mapped to a single component model;

selecting a formula for evaluating the operation of the physical component represented by the component model; and

diagnosing an environmental condition by evaluating the formula using the data points.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein at least one data point is generated by a sensor component operating within the building and coupled to the building automation system, and wherein the at least one data point is grouped.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising calculating a cost associated with each of the at least one building automation system problems and displaying the at least one building automation system problem according to the cost.