User status- and user behavior-based control system and method for building technology systems and components

• US 9,804,578 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2012
• Issued: 10/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: tado GmbH
• Original Assignee: tado GmbH
• Inventors: Deilmann, Christian, Schwarz, Johannes
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Tuan
• Application Number:
  US14/237,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20140172176A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,911 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A building-installation control system comprises at least one interface unit for functional coupling to a building-installation functional unit, and a user status determination arrangement designed to determine a current building user status, wherein on the basis of the current building user status, a control specification for the building-installation function unit adapted thereto is then determined and used for controlling the operation of the building-installation function unit. The user status determination arrangement preferably comprises one or more of the following devices: a building user geodata acquisition device, an appliance usage sensing device, a radio frequency monitoring device and/or a power consumption sensing device that can be coupled to a smart meter.

Claims

1. A building technology control system comprising:

at least one interface unit configured to functionally couple to a building technology functional unit; and

a user status determination device configured to communicate with the at least one interface unit and designed to (i) determine a current central electrical energy consumption of a building or building section having multiple electrical devices, wherein the determined current central electrical energy consumption corresponds to the total current electrical energy consumed by the multiple energy-consuming devices, and (ii) derive a current building user status from at least the current central electrical energy consumption, wherein;

the user status determination device is configured to find patterns in the current central electrical energy consumption of the building or building section, which patterns are characteristic of different electrical devices;

the user status determination device is configured to (i) determine, from the patterns in the current central electrical energy consumption, which of the multiple electrical devices are currently activated and (ii) derive the current building user status depending on which electrical devices are determined to be currently activated;

the current building user status indicates whether or not a building user is currently active in the building;

the building technology control system is configured to (i) determine a control specification for the building technology functional unit based on the determined current building user status and (ii) use the control specification for the building technology functional unit to control operation of the building technology functional unit via the at least one interface unit; and

the user status determination device is configured to control the building technology functional unit as a function of which of the multiple electrical devices are identified in the current central electrical energy consumption as being currently activated.

2. The building technology control system according to claim 1, in which the user status determination device comprises one or more of (i) a building user geodata sensing device, (ii) an appliance usage sensing device, (iii) a radio frequency monitoring device, and (iv) a power consumption sensing device which can be coupled to a smart meter.

3. The building technology control system according to claim 2, further comprising one or both of (i) a statistical evaluation device and (ii) a user profile storage and management device which, from a determined previous building user status determined by the user status determination device, derive a user behavior profile which is typical for a corresponding building user and which is used exclusively or in co-ordination with the determined current building user status for controlling the operation of the building technology functional unit.

4. The building technology control system according to claim 2, in which the building user geodata sensing device of the user status determination device is designed to determine, by comparison of a geodata set of a corresponding building and a geodata set of a corresponding building user, whether or not the building user is located within a defined geozone around the building.

5. The building technology control system according to claim 2, in which the appliance usage sensing device of the user status determination device is designed to determine, by coupling to a software application of a corresponding building user, whether a corresponding computer is being used.

6. The building technology control system according to claim 2, wherein the radio frequency monitoring device of the user status determination device is designed to determine the presence of a corresponding building user in a corresponding building by monitoring radio frequency bands for specific characteristics that are typical emission characteristics of one or more of a portable mobile communication device, a WLAN/WiFi module, and a Bluetooth module.

7. The building technology control system according to claim 2, wherein the power consumption sensing device of the user status determination device is designed to determine from a measured current consumption which electrical consumer unit in a corresponding building or of a corresponding building user is being used, wherein a conclusion can be drawn as to the determined current building user status from the electrical consumer unit determined being used.

8. The building technology control system according to claim 1, wherein the building technology functional unit is one or more of an energy-generating system and an energy storage unit.

9. The building technology control system according to claim 1, wherein the user determination device is configured to (i) determine from the current central electrical energy consumption whether or not a television is turned on and (ii) derive the current building user status from at least the information whether or not the television is turned on.

10. The building technology control system according to claim 1, wherein the building technology control system is configured to determine the current central electrical energy consumption of the building or building section having the multiple electrical devices using a single power consumption sensing device without independently monitoring the electrical consumption of individual electrical devices.

11. The building technology control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the user status determination device is configured to distinguish, from patterns in the current central electrical energy consumption, between (i) an activated television and (ii) an activated washing machine or activated refrigerator;

the user status determination device is configured to set different current building user statuses depending on whether or not a television is found to be currently activated;

the user status determination device is configured to adjust a setting of the building technology functional unit if the user status determination device identifies, based on the current central electrical energy consumption, that the television is switched on or off; and

the user status determination device is configured not to adjust the setting of the building technology functional unit if the user status determination device identifies, based on the current central electrical energy consumption, that the refrigerator is switched on or off.

12. The building technology control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the building technology functional unit comprises a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system;

the user status determination device is configured to distinguish, from patterns in the current central electrical energy consumption, between (i) an activated television and (ii) an activated washing machine or activated refrigerator;

the user status determination device is configured to set different current building user statuses, depending on whether or not a television is found to be currently activated, for setting different temperatures with the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in dependence on whether or not a television is found to be currently activated;

the user status determination device is configured to adjust a setting of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system if the user status determination device identifies, based on the current central electrical energy consumption, that the television is switched on or off; and

the user status determination device is configured not to adjust the setting of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system if the user status determination device identifies, based on the current central electrical energy consumption, that the refrigerator is switched on or off.

13. A method for controlling a building technology functional unit by a building technology control system, the building technology control system comprising (i) at least one interface unit that functionally couples to the building technology functional unit and (ii) a user status determination device that communicates with the at least one interface unit, the method comprising:

(a) the user status determination device determining a current central electrical energy consumption of a building or building section having multiple electrical devices;

(b) the user status determination device deriving, from at least the current central electrical energy consumption, a current building user status indicating whether or not a building user is currently active in the building by (i) the user status determination device finding patterns in the current central electrical energy consumption of the building or building section having multiple electrical devices, wherein the determined current central electrical energy consumption corresponds to the total current electrical energy consumed by the multiple electrical devices, which patterns are characteristic of different electrical devices, (ii) the user status determination device determining from the patterns in the current central electrical energy consumption which of the multiple electrical devices are currently activated, and (iii) the user status determination device deriving the current building user status depending on which electrical devices are determined to be currently activated; and

(c) the building technology control system using the determined current building user status to determine a control specification for a building technology functional unit, wherein;

the building technology control system uses the control specification for the building technology functional unit to control operation of the building functional unit via the at least one interface unit; and

the user status determination device of the building technology control system controls the building technology functional unit as a function of which of the multiple electrical devices are identified in the current central electrical energy consumption as being currently activated.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein step (a) comprises the determination of an electrical consumer unit currently being operated in a corresponding building by means of current consumption measured in the building, wherein the determined current building user status is determined from the electrical consumer unit currently being operated.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein:

step (a) comprises determining from the current central electrical energy consumption whether or not a television is turned on; and

step (b) comprises deriving the current building user status from at least the information whether or not the television is turned on.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein step (a) comprises determining the current central electrical energy consumption of the building or building section having the multiple electrical devices using a single power consumption sensing device without independently monitoring the electrical consumption of individual electrical devices.