Building control system with multi-objective control of carbon emissions and occupant comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building owners lack the technological capability to significantly reduce their carbon footprint due to reliance on utility grids, and existing solar and wind energy solutions are difficult to integrate into existing building systems, hindering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling building equipment that includes a graphical user interface for balancing carbon emissions control with other objectives like occupant comfort and operating costs, using an objective function to generate control decisions, and adjusting weights based on performance differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If building owners install solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries to reduce carbon emissions, then carbon footprint is reduced, but system integration complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and building equipment into a single integrated modular unit. This merging of previously separate components into one unified system reduces installation complexity while maintaining carbon reduction capabilities, directly addressing the technical contradiction between emission reduction and system complexity.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If building owners install integrated energy solutions, then carbon neutrality is achieved, but installation and integration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the integrated energy system into standardized modular units that can be easily transported and installed. Each module contains pre-integrated components (solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, building equipment), allowing for simplified installation processes while achieving carbon neutrality goals.
Solution Approach 2:
By merging all energy generation, storage, and building equipment into a single pre-integrated module, the system eliminates the need for complex on-site integration work. Building owners simply install the complete modular unit rather than coordinating multiple separate installations, significantly improving ease of manufacture and installation.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If control strategies prioritize carbon emissions reduction, then carbon footprint decreases, but occupant comfort and operating costs may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The control system dynamically adjusts operating parameters based on real-time conditions, allowing it to balance carbon emissions reduction with occupant comfort and operating costs. The system can shift strategies depending on environmental conditions, occupancy patterns, and energy prices, providing adaptability across multiple competing objectives rather than rigidly prioritizing one goal.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling building equipment provides a user interface including a graphical representation of a relationship between a carbon emissions control objective and a second control objective that competes with the carbon emissions control objective over a range of control strategies for the building equipment. The carbon emissions control objective is based on electrical consumption of the building equipment and a marginal operating carbon emissions rate. The system assigns a weight to the carbon emissions control objective or the second control objective in an objective function. The weight is associated with a control strategy that corresponds to a user selection based on the graphical representation. The system generates control decisions for the building equipment using the objective function with the weight assigned to the carbon emissions control objective or the second control objective and operate the building equipment in accordance with the control decisions.