Central Plant Rank-Based Asset Allocator for HVAC Resource Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current HVAC system operations, where an operating engineer allocates resources based on preference, often result in cost inefficiencies due to unawareness of priority patterns among HVAC devices, leading to suboptimal resource allocation.
Innovation Solution
A controller system that determines and adjusts resource allocation among subplants based on rank identifiers, classifying resources as independent or dependent, and iteratively optimizing operations to prioritize resource production and consumption according to predetermined or automatically detected ranks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an operating engineer manually allocates resources to HVAC devices based on preference, then the operation can be simple and straightforward, but the resource allocation becomes cost inefficient and suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-optimization of resource allocation by detecting priority patterns among HVAC devices and autonomously determining optimal operating sequences, eliminating the need for manual engineering judgment while achieving cost efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by monitoring operational data, detecting priority patterns in device operations, and using this information to continuously optimize resource allocation decisions, creating a closed-loop control system that improves efficiency over time
2Productivity
If the system automatically detects and optimizes priority patterns among subplants, then resource allocation efficiency improves and operational costs reduce, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates simplified digital representations (copies) of the complex HVAC subsystems and their priority relationships, allowing automated optimization algorithms to operate on these models without directly complicating the physical system architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the complex resource allocation problem into manageable components by identifying and ranking individual subplants and their priority patterns, allowing independent optimization of each segment while maintaining overall system efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are related to a system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for operating an energy plant having a plurality of subplants that operate to produce one or more resources consumed by a building based on ranks. In one aspect, the system obtains rank identifiers indicating ranks of the plurality of subplants. In one aspect, the ranks indicate a priority of each subplant with respect to production of a resource relative to other subplants that produce the resource. In one aspect, the system determines resource allocation of the plurality of subplants according to the ranks of the plurality of subplants. The system may operate the plurality of subplants according to the resource allocation.