Building occupant comfort network
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial building HVAC systems face challenges in providing individual thermal comfort while maintaining energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact, as traditional uniform temperature approaches fail to accommodate human variations in thermal preferences, leading to increased energy consumption and discomfort.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a networked HVAC system with zone and subzone controllers that collect and aggregate data on occupant preferences, thermal conditions, and energy usage, allowing for localized control of thermal comfort factors like space temperature, air movement, and humidity at individual workstations, while optimizing energy use based on grid constraints and available resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If individual thermal control is added to accommodate human variations in thermal preferences, then occupant comfort is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the building into multiple thermal zones and further into subzones, allowing independent temperature control in each segment. This enables individual thermal preferences to be accommodated without uniformly increasing energy consumption across the entire building, as control is localized to specific occupied areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local thermal control at the subzone level, where each subzone can have customized temperature settings based on occupant preferences. This localized approach allows comfort customization without proportionally increasing overall energy use, as unoccupied areas maintain standard settings.
2Adaptability or versatility
If individual thermal control is added to accommodate human variations in thermal preferences, then occupant comfort is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into hierarchical levels (building level, zone level, subzone level), where each level manages specific functions. This modular segmentation reduces overall system complexity by distributing control functions across multiple independent components rather than requiring a single complex centralized system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs universal control interfaces and communication protocols that can be applied across multiple zones and subzones. This multi-functionality allows the same control architecture to serve diverse thermal control needs without requiring separate complex systems for each area.
3Loss of energy
If building energy systems are continuously adjusted to respond to grid constraints, then energy efficiency is improved, but loss of information increases due to frequent data communication
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic data communication and system adjustment cycles, where subzone controllers report to zone controllers and building energy systems at scheduled intervals. This periodic action reduces continuous data transmission overhead while still enabling timely responses to grid constraints and occupancy changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary data aggregation at the subzone level before transmitting to zone controllers, and preliminary optimization calculations before implementing building-wide adjustments. This preliminary processing reduces the volume and frequency of communications required at higher system levels, minimizing information loss.
Data Source
AI summary
In a commercial building, individual occupant thermal comfort is achieved with optimal cost and energy efficiency through the integration of a variety of local thermal comfort components into a communication network that employs emerging optimization principles to meet individual preferences for the thermal environment on a workstation basis while reducing building energy use and operating in accordance with any constraints on the energy grids that serve the buildings. These multiple objectives are met in part through a robust communication network that employs distributing processing to achieve preferred thermal conditions with optimal control of all components at subzone, zone, system, central plant, and energy grid levels.