ENERGY CONSUMPTION ASSESSMENT

• US 20170060159A1
• Filed: 08/26/2015
• Published: 03/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jin, Feng, Li, Bin, Lv, Xin Jie, Tian, Qi Ming, Ye, Lei, Zhang, Li, Zhou, Gang
• Granted Patent: US 10,394,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2639 Energy management, use maximum of cheap power, keep peak load low
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/66 Regulating electric power

Abstract

According to embodiments of the present invention, the energy consumption assessment is done by identifying the benchmark production processes or enterprises. First, a process similarity between a target production process and a candidate production process is determined based on energy consumption units (ECUs) involved in the target production process and the candidate production process. In response to the process similarity being greater than a first threshold, an energy consumption similarity between the target production process and the candidate production process is determined based on a factor that has influence on energy consumption of at least one of the ECUs. In response to the energy consumption similarity being greater than a second threshold, the candidate production process is identified as a benchmark for assessing energy consumption of the target production process.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

determining a process similarity between a target production process and a candidate production process based on energy consumption units (ECUs) involved in the target production process and the candidate production process;

in response to the process similarity being greater than a first threshold, determining an energy consumption similarity between the target production process and the candidate production process based on a factor that has influence on energy consumption of at least one of the ECUs; and

in response to the energy consumption similarity being greater than a second threshold, identifying the candidate production process as a benchmark for assessing energy consumption of the target production process.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the process similarity comprises:

determining, from a pool of critical ECUs, a first set of critical ECUs involved in the target production process, the pool of the critical ECUs being obtained based on a plurality of reference production processes;

determining, from the pool of critical ECUs, a second set of critical ECUs involved in the candidate production process; and

determining the process similarity based on the number of critical ECUs shared in the first and second sets of critical ECUs.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

obtaining the pool of critical ECUs by;

determining a topology for each of the plurality of reference production processes; and

identifying an ECU as a critical ECU if the topology for each of the plurality of reference production processes is broken without the ECU.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the energy consumption similarity comprises:

obtaining a first value of the factor in the target production process;

obtaining a second value of the factor in the candidate production process;

determining a weight for the factor in association with the target production process; and

determining the energy consumption similarity by comparing the first value and the second value based on the determined weight.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the weight for the factor in association with the target production process comprises:

determining reference values of the factor in a plurality of reference production processes;

dividing the plurality of reference production processes into a plurality of segments according to the reference values of the factor; and

determining the weight based on the dividing of the plurality of reference production processes.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the weight based on the dividing of the plurality of reference production processes comprises:

obtaining reference metrics of energy consumption related to the factor in the plurality of reference production processes;

calculating a first average of the reference metrics;

determining one of the segments to which the target production process belongs;

calculating a second average of the reference metrics in the determined segment;

calculating a deviation of the reference metrics among the plurality of segments; and

determining the weight based on the first average, the second average and the deviation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the factor includes at least one of:

a design variable associated with the least one of the ECUs; and

an operational variable associated with the at least one of the ECUs.

8. A computer system, comprising:

a processing unit;

a memory coupled to the processing unit and containing program modules for execution by the processing unit, the program modules including;

a first similarity determining module configured to determine a process similarity between a target production process and a candidate production process based on energy consumption units (ECUs) involved in the target production process and the candidate production process;

a second similarity determining module configured to determine, in response to the process similarity being greater than a first threshold, an energy consumption similarity between the target production process and the candidate production process based on a factor that has influence on energy consumption of at least one of the ECUs; and

a benchmark identifying module configured to identify, in response to the energy consumption similarity being greater than a second threshold, the candidate production process as a benchmark for assessing energy consumption of the target production process.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the first similarity determining module is configured to:

determine, from a pool of critical ECUs, a first set of critical ECUs involved in the target production process, the pool of the critical ECUs being obtained based on a plurality of reference production processes;

determine, from the pool of critical ECUs, a second set of critical ECUs involved in the candidate production process; and

determine the process similarity based on the number of critical ECUs shared in the first and second sets of critical ECUs.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the program modules further comprise:

a pool obtaining module configured to;

determine a topology for each of the plurality of reference production processes;

identify an ECU as a critical ECU if the topology for each of the plurality of reference production processes is broken without the ECU; and

add the identified critical ECU into the pool of critical ECUs.

11. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the second similarity determining module is configured to:

obtain a first value of the factor in the target production process;

obtain a second value of the factor in the candidate production process;

determine a weight for the factor in association with the target production process; and

determine the energy consumption similarity by comparing the first value and the second value based on the determined weight.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the second similarity determining module is configured to:

determine reference values of the factor in a plurality of reference production processes;

divide the plurality of reference production processes into a plurality of segments according to the reference values of the factor; and

determine the weight based on the dividing of the plurality of reference production processes.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the second similarity determining module is configured to:

obtain reference metrics of energy consumption related to the factor in the plurality of reference production processes;

calculate a first average of the reference metrics;

determine one of the segments to which the target production process belongs;

calculate a second average of the reference metrics in the determined segment;

calculate a deviation of the reference metrics among the plurality of segments; and

determine the weight based on the first average, the second average and the deviation.

14. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the factor includes at least one of:

a design variable associated with the least one of the ECUs; and

an operational variable associated with the at least one of the ECUs.

15. A computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transient machine-readable medium and comprising machine-executable instructions, the instructions, when executed on a device, causing the device to:

determine a process similarity between a target production process and a candidate production process based on energy consumption units (ECUs) involved in the target production process and the candidate production process;

in response to the process similarity being greater than a first threshold, determine an energy consumption similarity between the target production process and the candidate production process based on a factor that has influence on energy consumption of at least one of the ECUs; and

in response to the energy consumption similarity being greater than a second threshold, identify the candidate production process as a benchmark for assessing energy consumption of the target production process.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed on a device, further cause the device to:

determine, from a pool of critical ECUs, a first set of critical ECUs involved in the target production process, the pool of the critical ECUs being obtained based on a plurality of reference production processes;

determine, from the pool of critical ECUs, a second set of critical ECUs involved in the candidate production process; and

determine the process similarity based on the number of critical ECUs shared in the first and second sets of critical ECUs.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed on a device, further cause the device to obtain the pool of critical ECUs by:

determining a topology for each of the plurality of reference production processes; and

identifying an ECU as a critical ECU if the topology for each of the plurality of reference production processes is broken without the ECU.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed on a device, further cause the device to:

obtain a first value of the factor in the target production process;

obtain a second value of the factor in the candidate production process;

determine a weight for the factor in association with the target production process; and

determine the energy consumption similarity by comparing the first value and the second value based on the determined weight.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed on a device, further cause the device to:

determine reference values of the factor in a plurality of reference production processes;

divide the plurality of reference production processes into a plurality of segments according to the reference values of the factor; and

determine the weight based on the dividing of the plurality of reference production processes.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed on a device, further cause the device to:

obtain reference metrics of energy consumption related to the factor in the plurality of reference production processes;

calculate a first average of the reference metrics;

determine one of the segments to which the target production process belongs;

calculate a second average of the reference metrics in the determined segment;

calculate a deviation of the reference metrics among the plurality of segments; and

determine the weight based on the first average, the second average and the deviation.