Building management system with optimized processing of building system data
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large building management systems (BMS) with complex hierarchies, calculating metrics for various levels and time aggregations becomes cumbersome, leading to slow user interfaces and difficulty in applying business rules, due to the traditional methods of data processing.
Innovation Solution
A BMS that includes a space hierarchy database to store sibling relationships between points, a batch metrics engine to aggregate data samples from sibling points, and a controller to adjust building equipment operations based on calculated aggregate metrics, facilitating efficient metric calculation and user interface performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional data processing methods are used in large BMS with complex hierarchies, then metrics can be calculated for various levels and time aggregations, but the computation becomes cumbersome and slow, resulting in poor user interface performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a batch metrics engine that pre-calculates and stores aggregate metrics for different time aggregations (hourly, daily, monthly, yearly) and hierarchical levels before they are requested. This preliminary computation stores results in a metrics database, eliminating the need for real-time calculation when data is accessed, thus resolving the contradiction between accurate multi-level metric calculation and fast retrieval performance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the complex metric calculation process into distinct components: individual point data collection, sibling point aggregation, batch processing, and hierarchical level computation. By dividing the calculation into manageable segments that can be pre-computed and stored, the system achieves both accurate multi-level metrics and fast access performance
2Reliability
If traditional real-time calculation methods are used for metrics in complex BMS hierarchies, then up-to-date metrics are available, but the computational load is high and user interface responsiveness is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The batch metrics engine performs preliminary calculation and storage of aggregate metrics for all required time aggregations and hierarchical levels. When the user interface requests metrics, the system retrieves pre-computed values from the database rather than calculating them in real-time, ensuring both data availability and interface responsiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a metrics database as an intermediary layer between the data collection system and the user interface. This database stores pre-computed aggregate metrics, acting as a buffer that decouples the calculation process from the retrieval process, thereby improving user interface responsiveness while maintaining reliable metric availability
3Use of energy by moving object
If metrics are calculated on-demand for each query in complex BMS hierarchies, then computational resources are conserved, but calculation time increases and business rules application becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs metric aggregation and calculation in advance through the batch metrics engine, storing results in a metrics database. This preliminary action shifts computational workload from on-demand queries to scheduled batch processing, reducing both calculation time for users and overall system resource consumption by avoiding redundant calculations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple individual metric calculations into a single batch processing operation. The batch metrics engine simultaneously aggregates data from multiple sibling points across different hierarchical levels and time periods, combining computational tasks that would otherwise be performed separately, thereby reducing total computational resource usage and calculation time
Data Source
AI summary
A building management system includes a plurality of meters configured to provide data samples of a plurality of points relating to a building and a space hierarchy database configured to store a sibling relationship for each of the points. Each sibling relationship identifies two or more of the points as sibling points. The building management system includes a batch metrics engine configured to receive a first data sample of a first point, access the sibling relationship for the first point to identify one or more sibling points of the first point, aggregate the first data sample with data samples of the sibling points to generate a batch, and calculate an aggregate metric using the first data sample and the other data samples in the batch. The building management system also includes a controller configured to adjust an operation of building equipment based on the aggregate metric.