Method, technology, and system for displaying, measuring, assessing, and improving the operating and financial performance of metered energy and water consuming systems

• US 8,571,922 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2012
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E3 Analytics Corp.
• Original Assignee: Efficiency3 Corp.
• Inventors: Zaloom, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): MARCUS, LELAND R
• Application Number:
  US13/452,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271670A1
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11
• US Class Current: 705/7.39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/84 Greenhouse gas [GHG] management systems

Abstract

Certain examples relate to computer implemented methods and systems including at least three modules whose combined functionality provides for interpretation and optimization of usual and unusual patterns in energy consumption; the identification, quantification, and monetization of hidden operating and financial waste and the accurate measurement of the results of implemented energy management solutions. The first, “Expert Module”, provides information that assists with the accurate interpretation of the information provided in the Operations module. The second, “Costs Module”, allows users to modify consumption and price components and derive the resulting operating costs based on the facility'"'"'s applied or available rate structures. The third, “Operations Module”, charts and evaluates the current operating performance of a facility down to 15-minute intervals in comparison to the operating performance of a pre-selected “base year”. Comparisons are synchronized over intervals in a manner that allows users to compare and comment on individual graphs interactively.

Claims

1. A utility management system for tracking performance relating to utility usage, the system comprising:

at least one storage device configured to store information indicating intervals of utility usage data for a first time period and information indicating intervals of utility usage data for a second time period different from the first time period;

a computer processor coupled to the storage device, the processor configured to;

automatically synchronize intervals of utility usage data of the first time period with corresponding intervals of utility usage data of the second time period such that the utility usage data for one or more day(s) in the first time period is synchronized with utility usage data for one or more corresponding respective day(s) in the second time period, where each corresponding respective day in the synchronized second time period is exactly 364 days or an integer multiple thereof after each day in the synchronized first time period, and wherein each corresponding respective day in the synchronized first time period is a same day of the week as the corresponding respective day of the week in the synchronized second time period;

automatically compute at least one cost comparison associated with utility usage data for the synchronized one or more day(s); and

automatically provide the calculated at least one cost comparison for presentation or display.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer processor is further configured to automatically provide a graph of first time period utility usage data for each consecutive day of exactly one week superimposed with a graph of second time period utility usage data for each consecutive data of exactly one subsequent week.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer processor is further configured to automatically calculate a cost differential of second period utility usage as compared to first period utility usage.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer processor is further configured to provide an expert system that compares second period utility usage data of different users.

5. A utility management system for tracking performance relating to utility usage, the system comprising:

at least one storage device configured to store information indicating intervals of utility usage data from a first time period and a second time period, wherein the first and second time periods are related by a multiple of 364 days;

a computer processor coupled to the storage device, wherein the processor is configured to;

automatically synchronize the intervals of utility usage data from the first time period with corresponding intervals of utility usage data from the second time period such that the utility usage data for one or more day(s) in the first time period is synchronized with the utility usage data for one or more corresponding respective day(s) in the second time period, wherein each day in the first time period is a same day of the week as the corresponding respective day in the second time period;

automatically calculate a cost difference between the first time period utility usage data and the second time period utility usage data; and

provide information for graphically presenting said synchronized usage data and calculated cost difference on a weekly basis.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the processor is further configured to:

automatically compute at least one daily and one weekly cost associated with utility usage data for the synchronized one or more day(s); and

provide the calculated at least one cost for presentation or display.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the processor is further configured to accept comments and/or analysis from at least one user and associate said accepted comments and/or analysis with displayed synchronized usage data.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the processor is further configured to place the comments and/or analysis below each weekly graph in order to enable the user to review, discuss, and comment on the usage graphs and data in separate weekly increments.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein the storage device stores said intervals of utility usage data for a plurality of facilities, and the processor is further configured to compute and provide facility use ranking and diagnosis.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said processor is further configured to compute said diagnosis based on an expert system containing operating and physical characteristics of said plurality of facilities.

11. The system of claim 5 wherein the processor is further configured to present graphs and associated tabular data in discrete weekly increments in a vertical or horizontal fashion such as to allow the user to quickly review one year'"'"'s energy use and cost data, with associated interactive comments, by displaying individual weekly representations of the synchronized periodic data.