System and methods for assessing whole-building thermal performance
First Claim
1. A system for characterizing a thermal efficiency of a structure comprising:
- a measurement device for recording an inside temperature of the structure;
a first database including periodic outside temperature measurements proximate the structure;
a second database in communication with said measurement device and said first database, said second database configured to receive, as inputs, said inside temperature and said outside temperature and to correlate said inside temperature and said outside temperature; and
a processor in communication with said second database and capable of executing a set of instructions, said set of instructions including;
determining a difference between said inside temperature and said outside temperature;
determining a plurality of quiescent periods from said inside temperature;
determining a rate of change during each of said plurality of quiescent periods;
comparing said rate of change with said difference; and
determining a thermal efficiency of the structure from said comparing.
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Abstract
An assessment system and method are described that capture indoor temperature measurements and corresponding outdoor temperature measurements in order to determine a thermal efficiency of a structure. The assessment system identifies quiescent periods and trims these periods to eliminate undesirable influences such as auxiliary heating or solar gain. The quiescent periods are then compared to outdoor temperature differences to determine the thermal efficiency of the structure. The system can model the structure'"'"'s performance metrics, through inferred qualitative and quantitative characterizations including, but not limited to, the building'"'"'s rate of temperature change as a function of internal and external temperatures, the building'"'"'s heating, cooling, and other energy needs as they relate to the building envelope, appliances, and other products used at the site and occupant behavior.
21 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system for characterizing a thermal efficiency of a structure comprising:
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a measurement device for recording an inside temperature of the structure; a first database including periodic outside temperature measurements proximate the structure; a second database in communication with said measurement device and said first database, said second database configured to receive, as inputs, said inside temperature and said outside temperature and to correlate said inside temperature and said outside temperature; and a processor in communication with said second database and capable of executing a set of instructions, said set of instructions including; determining a difference between said inside temperature and said outside temperature; determining a plurality of quiescent periods from said inside temperature; determining a rate of change during each of said plurality of quiescent periods; comparing said rate of change with said difference; and determining a thermal efficiency of the structure from said comparing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A context-based thermal efficiency determination system for a structure comprising:
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a data acquisition device capable of recording or receiving a raw data set including an inside temperature, a set-point, a heating data, an outside temperature, a weather metric, and an occupancy metric; and an analysis module determining, based upon said raw data set, a plurality of quiescent periods, wherein said plurality of quiescent periods includes a plurality of divergent quiescent periods and a plurality of non-divergent quiescent periods; a thermal efficiency module determining a thermal efficiency of the structure based upon said plurality of non-divergent quiescent periods. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of characterizing a thermal efficiency of a structure comprising:
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collecting temperature data from inside the structure and outside the structure; determining a difference between the temperature inside the structure and outside the structure; determining, from the inside temperature data, a plurality of quiescent periods; determining a rate of change during each of said plurality of quiescent periods; relating the rate of change to the corresponding differences in temperature inside the structure and outside the structure; and determining, from said relating, a thermal efficiency of the structure. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of characterizing a thermal efficiency of a structure comprising:
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collecting temperature data from inside the structure and outside the structure; determining a difference between the temperature inside the structure and outside the structure; determining, from the inside temperature data, a plurality of quiescent periods, wherein said determining, from the temperature data inside the structure, a plurality of quiescent cooling periods includes the steps of determining which of the plurality of quiescent periods are non-divergent quiescent periods based upon the context associated with the respective quiescent period; determining a rate of change during each of said plurality of quiescent periods, wherein said determining a rate of change during each of said plurality of quiescent periods is limited to determining a rate of change during non-divergent quiescent periods; relating the rate of change to the corresponding differences in temperature inside the structure and outside the structure; determining, from said relating, a thermal efficiency of the structure; and collecting a set-point, a heating data, a weather metric, and an occupancy metric and developing a context based upon one or more of the set-point, the heating data, the weather metric, and the occupancy metric, the context being associated with the temperature data.
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Specification