Characterization of utility demand using utility demand footprint
First Claim
1. A method of displaying to a user a utility demand footprint visually characterizing the utility demand of a structure in relation to one or more influencing factors, the method comprising:
- measuring over time a first parameter associated with at least one of said influencing factors and storing said measurements of said first parameter;
measuring over time a second parameter associated with the use of a particular utility within said structure and storing said measurements of said second parameter;
displaying a visual representation of said measurements of said first and second parameters in the form of an intensity map, said intensity map depicting the intensity of said second parameter in relation to said first parameter over a predetermined period of time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Utility demand is continuously monitored and monitoring data is aggregated and organized. The results are presented visually as a Utility Demand Footprint, referred to herein as a UDF. A UDF characterizes the utility demand in relation to selected influencing factors over a selected time period and over selected time intervals within the time period. In a preferred embodiment, the UDF is generated using a computer program and includes color mapping for simplifying analysis of the information displayed in the UDF. The footprint generation may be performed for a particular time period in which the demand essentially keeps its character (e.g., summer) or may be periodically updated (e.g., every day, every hour, etc.) to capture the latest changes.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of displaying to a user a utility demand footprint visually characterizing the utility demand of a structure in relation to one or more influencing factors, the method comprising:
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measuring over time a first parameter associated with at least one of said influencing factors and storing said measurements of said first parameter; measuring over time a second parameter associated with the use of a particular utility within said structure and storing said measurements of said second parameter; displaying a visual representation of said measurements of said first and second parameters in the form of an intensity map, said intensity map depicting the intensity of said second parameter in relation to said first parameter over a predetermined period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A data storage device having a data structure stored thereon for causing a computer system to display a utility demand footprint, comprising:
a cumulative visual representation of statistically processed values of energy demand occurring during a predetermined set of sampling intervals, correlated to outdoor temperature measurements taken during the same predetermined set of sampling intervals, wherein different values of energy demand are displayed in said visual representation as different colors. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of displaying to a user a utility demand footprint visually characterizing the utility demand of a structure in relation to one or more influencing factors, the method comprising:
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measuring over time a first parameter associated with at least one of said influencing factors and storing said measurements of said first parameter; measuring over time a second parameter associated with the use of a particular utility within said structure and storing said measurements of said second parameter; identifying and storing a time and date of measurement of said stored measurements for said first and said second parameters; identifying a footprint interval comprising a set of said stored measurements for said first and second parameters; dividing all of said stored measurements within said footprint interval into predetermined sampling intervals; determining an average value of said stored measurements for all of the predetermined sampling intervals falling within said identified footprint interval; for each predetermined sampling interval falling within said identified footprint interval, identifying a value of said second parameter and creating a visual representation of said identified value of said second parameter; and displaying each of said visual representations in graphical format as a utility demand footprint. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification