System for managing the energy consumption of a building

• US 10,642,234 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ubiant SA
• Original Assignee: Ubiant SA
• Inventors: Olivier, Emmanuel, Mansour, Saber, Lefevre, Olivier, Bazille, Romain, Demares, Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Karim, Ziaul
• Application Number:
  US15/541,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20180259919A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: 700291
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2639 Energy management, use maximum of cheap power, keep peak load low
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1927 using a plurality of sensors G05D23/1902, G05D23/1917, and G05D23/1919 take precedence

Abstract

System (1) for managing the energy consumption of a building including at least one area, incorporating:

• • a set of sensors (8) capable of generating information representative of environmental parameters;
  • a set of at least one actuator (4-6) capable of acting on the environmental parameters existing in the said area;
  • a computer system (2) designed to receive the said information from the said sensors (8), and to send instructions to the said actuators (4-6), while executing regulation process for the said actuators (4-6) in order to comply, with a set of at least two predetermined criteria;
    wherein it also incorporates:
  • a routing device (3) connected to the said IT system (2), the said sensors (8) and the said actuators (4-6), designed to transmit information representative of environmental parameters to the IT system (2) and set levels to the said actuators (4-6);
  • a man-machine interface device (10) located in the said area.

Claims

1. System (1) for managing an energy consumption of a building including at least one area, incorporating:

a set of sensors (8) capable of generating information representative of environmental parameters, including a temperature sensor and a brightness sensor installed in an area;

at least one actuator (4-6) configured to adjust the temperature and/or brightness in the said area;

a computer system (2) designed to receive the said information from the said sensors (8), and to send instructions to the said actuators (4-6), and to implement a process of regulation of the said actuators (4-6) via a multi-agents system, in order to comply with a set of at least two predetermined criteria,

a routing device (3) connected to the said computer system (2), the said sensors (8) and the said actuators (4-6), designed to transmit information representative of environmental parameters to the computer system (2) and set levels to the said actuators (4-6);

a man-machine interface device (10) located in the said area, connected to said routing device (2), and incorporating;

a system (121) for displaying an indication based on information items from the computer system (2), the indication is selected from a group consisting of;

an indication of an instantaneous level of energy consumption,

an indication of a cumulative level of energy consumption as a function of a targets set by the user,

an indication pertaining to a comparison of the instantaneous level of energy consumption with the cumulative level of energy consumption of buildings of a same type whose statistics are compiled by the computer system, and

an indication pertaining to a comparison of the cumulative level of energy consumption with the level of consumption of buildings of a same type whose statistics are compiled by the computer system;

means (131-135, 150) of entering information pertaining to a configuration of the actuators and/or sensors present in the area, and to instructions from user present in the area;

wherein said multi-agents system is configured to search and apply an arbitration between user comfort and energy efficiency;

wherein the man-machine interface device incorporates an electronic control unit capable of executing a program generating set levels for the actuators in an event of a break in the connection between the routing device (3) and the computer system (2).

2. System in accordance with claim 1, wherein the man-machine interface device incorporates at least a part of the sensors (141-144) capable of generating information representative of environmental parameters.

3. System in accordance with claim 2, wherein the environmental parameters are selected from a group including energy consumption, atmospheric pressure, temperature, carbon dioxide level, sound level, brightness, relative humidity, presence of users, and a level of volatile organic compounds.

4. System in accordance with claim 1, wherein the man-machine interface device (10) and the routing device (3) are incorporated within one unit.

5. System in accordance with claim 1, wherein one of the actuators is a heat source and a second actuator is a light or sun blind device.

6. System in accordance with claim 1, wherein an information acquisition system (150) operates via contactless communication.

7. System in accordance with claim 6, wherein an information relating to a configuration of the actuators and/or sensors contains an identifier for the actuator and/or sensor.

8. System in accordance with claim 6, wherein the computer system (2) incorporates a database (22) of actuators and/or sensors that can be integrated into the set of sensors and/or the at least one actuator, identified by their identifier.

9. System in accordance with claim 6, wherein the multi-agent system applies the arbitration by modeling each of the plurality of sensors and the at least one actuator, constituting a set of virtualized agents, and performing negotiation between the virtualized agents.