A building management system and method
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Wind infiltration into buildings affects the climate within the building, increasing energy consumption of HVAC systems and potentially causing failure of energy-consuming components, while excessive wind conditions can hinder construction activities, leading to delays and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A building management system that utilizes a climate simulation module to calculate wind infiltration based on predicted weather data and an internal model of the building, determining a climate profile and performance characteristics of energy-consuming components, with an alert module to manage operations and mitigate potential issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If HVAC systems operate to control temperature and humidity changes caused by wind infiltration, then the building climate is maintained, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by forecasting future wind conditions and predicting their impact on building climate before the actual weather events occur. This allows the HVAC system to be pre-positioned or pre-adjusted to anticipate and respond more efficiently to incoming thermal loads, rather than reacting after the climate has already changed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring actual wind conditions, comparing them against forecasts, and using this information to adjust HVAC operations. The climate simulation model provides predictive feedback about future climate conditions, enabling the system to optimize HVAC setpoints in advance based on anticipated thermal loads from wind infiltration.
2Temperature
If HVAC systems increase operation to compensate for wind infiltration, then climate control is improved, but component reliability decreases due to increased stress and energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses preliminary action by predicting future wind conditions and their impact on building climate before they occur. This allows the HVAC system to be optimally positioned in advance, avoiding sudden high-stress operations that could damage components. The system can gradually adjust to anticipated loads rather than experiencing abrupt demand spikes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides beforehand cushioning by using climate simulation to predict extreme weather events and their impact on the building. This allows the HVAC system to be pre-positioned or pre-cooled/pre-heated to handle anticipated extreme loads, cushioning against thermal shocks that could stress or damage HVAC components during sudden weather changes.
3Reliability
If cranes are taken out of service during excessive wind conditions, then safety is improved, but construction productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by forecasting extreme wind events before they occur and providing advance warning to construction managers. This allows proactive decision-making about crane operations - either securing cranes in advance during predicted high-wind periods or scheduling critical crane tasks during predicted calm periods, thereby maintaining safety while minimizing productivity loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by providing automated wind condition monitoring and predictive warnings that allow construction teams to make informed decisions about crane operations without requiring constant external weather service consultations. The integrated climate simulation and forecasting provide self-contained decision support for maintaining both safety and productivity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Building management systems and methods are described herein which augment predicted weather data with an external model of a built environment to calculate wind infiltration into a specific building or wind conditions at a building site. The wind infiltration can be used to predict the performance characteristic of at least one energy consuming component installed in the building, whereas the wind conditions can be used to determine whether the calculated wind conditions exceed a safety threshold.