Controlling building systems

• US 9,471,045 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Netesco, LLC
• Original Assignee: Netesco, LLC
• Inventors: Scelzi, Michael Craig
• Primary Examiner(s): Fennema, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stevens, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US13/800,831
• Publication Number:
  US 20130204439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 700/276
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 17/20 across a radiating surface, combined with ascertainment of the heat transmission coefficient materials therefor G01K17/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/1333 adapted for special tariff measuring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/66 Regulating electric power
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/84 Greenhouse gas [GHG] management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for measuring the supply of a consumable product 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. Operating conditions and facility characteristics may be further considered in determining a particular user'"'"'s access of the consumable product. Thermal resistance factors of the building may be determined, which are based on the induced and residual heat flow through the facility. Finally, one or more signatures of a building system are analyzed to determine a building'"'"'s overall efficiency, including determining a controllable load of a building and/or determining an efficient start time for one or more building systems.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a measured signature of a consumable product supplied to a building;

determining, by an autonomous processor, a stop time of a building system from the measured signature, wherein the stop time is an approximate time when the building system stopped accessing the consumable product;

retrieving, by the autonomous processor, an occupancy time of the building;

determining, by the autonomous processor, an unused ramp time of the building system, wherein the unused ramp time is a time interval between the determined stop time of the building system and the occupancy time of the building;

in response to the determining the unused ramp time, using a feedback control system utilizing outside temperature to reduce the unused ramp time; and

determining a start time score of the building, wherein the start time score is a metric comparing the unused ramp time to a desired ramp time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the building system is a HVAC system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the stop time comprises:

determining, by the autonomous processor, a time at which a slope of a curve of the measured signature becomes negative.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the start time score comprises:

comparing, by the autonomous processor, the unused ramp time to a table comprising a plurality of exemplary ramp times.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of exemplary ramp times corresponds to one of a plurality of ratings, wherein determining the building start time score further comprises:

comparing, by the autonomous processor, the unused ramp time to the plurality of exemplary ramp times;

determining, by the autonomous processor, a closest matching ramp time of the plurality of exemplary ramp times to the unused ramp time; and

selecting, by the autonomous processor, a rating of the plurality of ratings corresponding to the closest matching ramp time, wherein the building start time score is the selected rating.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the autonomous processor, a controllable load score of the building, wherein the controllable load score is a metric comparing a sum of a theoretical unoccupied load of the building and a sub-metered load of the building to an unoccupied load of the building.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

determining, by the autonomous processor, an energy score of the building, wherein the energy score is a metric characterizing the building start time score and the controllable load score.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the energy score is the sum of a number of variables including:

the building start time score and the controllable load score, divided by one of;

the number of variables, an integer and a user-assigned factor.

9. A method comprising:

determining a plurality of measured signatures of a consumable product supplied to a building, each of the plurality of measured signatures at corresponding operating conditions;

determining, by an autonomous processor, a plurality of optimal ramp times from the plurality of measured signatures, wherein each of the plurality of optimal ramp times is an interval of time before an occupancy time which the building system should be started for each of the corresponding operating conditions;

retrieving, by an autonomous processor, current operating conditions;

retrieving, by the autonomous processor, an optimal ramp time of the plurality of optimal ramp times corresponding to the current operating conditions;

determining, by the autonomous processor, a building system start time based on the retrieved optimal ramp time; and

starting, by the autonomous processor, the building system at the determined building system start time,

wherein determining the plurality of optimal ramp times comprises;

determining, by the autonomous processor, a measured start time and a measured stop time of the building system for each of the plurality of measured signatures; and

comparing, by the autonomous processor, the measured stop time to the measured start time for each of the plurality of measured signatures.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the building system is a HVAC system.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the plurality of optimal ramp times further comprises:

determining, by the autonomous processor, a time at which a slope of a curve of each of the plurality of measured signatures becomes negative.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the measured stop time is the time at which the slope of the curve of each of the plurality of measured signatures becomes negative.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the each of the plurality of optimal ramp times is a time interval between the measured start time and the measured stop time for each of the plurality of measured signatures.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the each of the plurality of optimal ramp times is greater than a time interval between the measured start time and the measured stop time for each of the plurality of measured signatures.

15. A method comprising:

determining a theoretical unoccupied load of a building during a predetermined time interval, wherein the theoretical unoccupied load is a value of a minimum access to a consumable product by one or more users during the predetermined time interval;

determining an unoccupied load of the building during the predetermined time interval, wherein the unoccupied load is a measured value of the consumable product accessed by the building during the predetermined time interval;

determining a sub-metered load of the building during the predetermined time interval, wherein the sub-metered load is a measured value of the consumable product accessed by one or more sub-metered users during the predetermined time interval;

determining, with an autonomous processor, a controllable load score of the building, wherein the controllable load score of the building is a metric comparing a sum of the theoretical unoccupied load and the sub-metered load to the unoccupied load; and

adjusting a HVAC system in response to the determining the controllable load score, wherein adjusting the HVAC system includes reducing access to the consumable product by the building during the predetermined time interval.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the controllable load score is the sum of the theoretical unoccupied load and the sub-metered load divided by the unoccupied load.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, with the autonomous processor, a controllable load of the building during the predetermined time interval, wherein the controllable load is the unoccupied load less the sum of the theoretical unoccupied load and the sub-metered load.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the theoretical unoccupied load comprises access to the consumable product by one or more emergency lights associated with the building.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the theoretical unoccupied load comprises access to the consumable product by one or more transformers associated with the building.