Building Performance Assessment via Virtual-Physical Data Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy management systems in commercial buildings are inadequate for assessing building performance against design goals in real-time, as they primarily focus on energy usage and do not account for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), and are limited by their ability to measure performance only after a building has been operational for a year, which is too late for construction stakeholders.
Innovation Solution
A holistic building performance assessment system that integrates virtual and physical data acquisition components to generate predicted and trended metrics, allowing for real-time comparison against design goals, including energy usage, IAQ, and IEQ, using an integrated interface to identify performance gaps and provide dynamic decision matrices for improvement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional energy management systems are used to measure building performance, then energy usage can be monitored, but performance can only be assessed after a building has been operational for twelve months, which is too late for construction stakeholders
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing building performance data during the construction phase before the building is operational. Sensors are installed and begin collecting data on energy consumption, IAQ, and IEQ metrics during construction, allowing performance assessment to occur immediately upon occupancy rather than waiting twelve months. This enables construction stakeholders to evaluate performance in real-time during the critical decision-making period.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional metrics are used to assess building performance, then energy usage can be measured, but IAQ and IEQ factors are not accounted for
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements multi-functionality by integrating multiple assessment capabilities into a single unified platform. It simultaneously measures energy consumption, indoor air quality (IAQ), and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) metrics including lighting, temperature, and occupancy. The system consolidates data from various sensors and sources, providing comprehensive building performance assessment across all these dimensions through one integrated interface, thereby expanding scope without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Loss of information
If comprehensive building performance assessment is implemented including energy, IAQ, and IEQ, then building performance can be fully evaluated, but data integration and processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple data streams from different sources into a unified data structure. It combines energy consumption data, IAQ measurements, and IEQ metrics into a single integrated database with standardized formats. The system consolidates information from various sensors, building management systems, and operational data into one coherent framework, enabling comprehensive performance assessment while simplifying data access and analysis through unified querying and reporting mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual data acquisition component generates a building performance model having a plurality of predicted building performance metrics. A physical data acquisition component obtains a plurality of trended building performance metrics. An integrated interface receives the building performance model from the virtual data acquisition component having the plurality of predicted building performance metrics and the plurality of physical building performance metrics from the physical data acquisition component. The integrated interface enables the comparison of the predicted building performance consumption metrics with the trended building performance metrics to identify performance gaps.