System for Controlling Building Services Based on Occupant

• US 20140277763A1
• Filed: 03/11/2014
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Joe Colett, Sundeep Ramachandran, Tim Dobson
• Original Assignee: Joe Colett, Sundeep Ramachandran, Tim Dobson
• Inventors: Ramachandran, Sundeep, Bastoni, Cara, Dobson, Tim, Colett, Joe, Tejas, Tirumalai
• Application Number:
  US14/205,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20140277763A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/276
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/16 by timing means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A system according to an illustrative embodiment includes an energy management system and a control system. The energy management system is configured to manage energy usage within a building. The control system is configured to determine an occupancy factor associated with the building, and control the energy management system according to the occupancy factor. The occupancy factor indicates a presence of electronic devices capable of wireless communications.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an energy management system configured to manage energy usage within a building; and

a control system configured to;

determine an occupancy factor associated with the building, wherein the occupancy factor indicates a presence of electronic devices capable of wireless communications; and

control the energy management system according to the occupancy factor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the energy management system is configured to manage energy usage for a plurality of subsystems within the building, and wherein the plurality of subsystems comprises a heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system and a lighting system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the occupancy factor indicates the presence and location of electronic devices that are capable of communicating via a wireless local area network (WLAN).

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic devices comprise badges or identification cards.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic devices comprise cell phones, computers, tablet devices, personal data assistants, or game consoles.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein control system is further configured to:

determine a historical occupancy factor for the building, wherein the historical occupancy factor indicates historical occupancy trends based on a building location and time; and

control the energy management system further according to the historical occupancy factor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein control system is further configured to control the energy management system further according to a building calendar, wherein the building calendar indicates a time and location of events that are scheduled within the building.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein control system is further configured to:

determine an outside weather factor, wherein the outside weather factor indicates weather conditions outside of the building; and

control the energy management system further according to the outside weather factor.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the control system comprises a mobile device location tracking system that includes a received signal strength indication (RSSI) fingerprint component and a continuous signal broadcast component, wherein the RSSI fingerprint comprises a dynamic dataset that associates pre-determined locations in the building with an RSSI signal strength, and wherein the continuous signal broadcast component is configured to generate a signal of a constant, known strength at a fixed, known location.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control system is configured to adjust the RSSI fingerprint according to the signal generated by the continuous signal broadcast component.

7. The system of claim 7, wherein the historical occupancy factor is based on a historical presence of WLAN-enabled devices, and wherein the control system is configured to store over time a presence, location, and number of WLAN-enabled devices.

12. A method comprising:

determining, by a computing system, an occupancy factor associated with a building, wherein the occupancy factor indicates a presence of electronic devices capable of wireless communications; and

controlling, by the computing system, an energy management system according to the occupancy factor, wherein the energy management system is configured to manage energy usage within the building.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the energy management system is configured to manage energy usage for a plurality of subsystems within the building, and wherein the plurality of subsystems comprises a heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system and a lighting system.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the occupancy factor indicates the presence and location of electronic devices that are capable of communicating via a wireless local area network (WLAN).

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

storing a presence, location, and number of WLAN-enabled devices over a period of time;

determining a historical occupancy factor for the building, wherein the historical occupancy factor indicates historical occupancy trends based on a building location and time, and wherein the historical occupancy factor is based on a historical presence of the WLAN-enabled devices; and

controlling the energy management system further according to the historical occupancy factor.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising further controlling the energy management system according to a building calendar, wherein the building calendar indicates a time and location of events that are scheduled within the building.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining an outside weather factor, wherein the outside weather factor indicates weather conditions outside of the building; and

further controlling the energy management system according to the outside weather factor.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a signal from a continuous signal broadcast component; and

adjusting the RSSI fingerprint according to the received signal from the continuous signal broadcast component, wherein the RSSI fingerprint comprises a dynamic dataset that associates pre-determined locations in the building with an RSSI signal strength, and wherein the received signal from the continuous signal broadcast component is generated at a constant, known strength and at a fixed, known location by the continuous signal broadcast component.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

determining an occupancy factor associated with a building, wherein the occupancy factor indicates a presence of electronic devices capable of wireless communications; and

controlling an energy management system according to the occupancy factor, wherein the energy management system is configured to manage energy usage within the building.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the occupancy factor indicates the presence and location of electronic devices that are capable of communicating via a wireless local area network (WLAN).