Building Automation Performance Benchmarking for Fault Remediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building automation systems face challenges in identifying and correcting communication errors and software defects across multiple units, leading to cascading operational issues due to the complexity of interactions between devices.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for monitoring, benchmarking, and archiving performance parameters of building automation devices, including system controllers, unit controllers, and sensors, which collects and compares data to identify performance defects, adjusts operating parameters, and prioritizes task execution to streamline issue resolution and improve overall system performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If building automation systems monitor and compare performance parameters across multiple devices, then system performance and reliability are improved, but device complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized server as an intermediary that receives, stores, and processes performance parameters from multiple building automation devices. This mediator handles the complex data processing tasks, allowing individual devices to remain relatively simple while still benefiting from comprehensive system-wide monitoring and analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where performance parameters are collected, compared against benchmarks, and used to generate alerts or adjust device operations. This feedback mechanism improves reliability by enabling real-time performance optimization and fault detection without requiring complex local processing at each device.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If performance parameters are collected and transmitted from all building automation devices, then issue identification capability is improved, but communication bandwidth and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements selective data transmission where only relevant performance parameters and anomaly alerts are transmitted to the server, rather than continuously sending all possible data. This partial action approach maintains effective issue identification while reducing communication overhead and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
Performance parameters are pre-processed and filtered at the device level before transmission, with local analysis identifying which data points warrant server communication. This preliminary action reduces the volume of transmitted data and energy consumption while preserving the ability to detect and measure issues effectively.
3Adaptability or versatility
If performance benchmarks are dynamically adjusted based on observed parameters, then system adaptability is improved, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from collected performance parameters to dynamically adjust benchmarks through a centralized server that analyzes trends and modifies reference values. This approach enables adaptability without requiring complex local control logic at each device, as the benchmark adjustment intelligence is centralized.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables devices to automatically adjust their operating parameters based on pre-established benchmarks and alert thresholds, providing self-service optimization. This reduces control complexity by using simple rule-based adjustments rather than complex adaptive algorithms, while still achieving system adaptability through cumulative learning.
4Productivity
If real-time monitoring and historical analysis are implemented, then problem-solving efficiency is improved, but data storage and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and stores only critical performance parameters and anomaly-related data in the centralized database, rather than archiving all possible data from every device. This selective extraction maintains problem-solving efficiency by preserving essential diagnostic information while reducing overall data storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements hierarchical data storage with recent detailed data stored centrally for immediate analysis, while historical aggregate data is stored in compressed or summarized forms. This dimensional approach to data management enables efficient real-time monitoring and historical analysis without proportionally increasing storage requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of improving building automation system (BAS) performance includes collecting performance parameters associated with building automation devices, comparing the parameters to a benchmark, and adjusting the performance benchmark to match the corresponding performance parameter if the corresponding performance parameter exceeds the performance benchmark, or utilizing the performance parameter and the identity of the building automation device associated therewith to remediate the performance defect. The collected performance parameters may be used to prioritize system tasks based on current system performance. A performance monitoring agent included in a building automation system controller or a device controller determines a performance parameter thereof to assess and benchmark BAS performance.