Circuit-Level Power Tracking for Real-Time Building Energy Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building management systems lack real-time monitoring and control capabilities for individual circuits within a building, leading to inefficiencies in energy usage and increased costs due to their inability to provide detailed energy consumption data and compatibility issues with different types of devices.
Innovation Solution
A building management system that includes a local power system with circuit-based sensors to collect and transmit energy usage data to a cloud analyzer, enabling real-time tracking, forecasting, and automated demand management through an AI-driven analysis engine, allowing for proactive control of energy usage and reducing peak demand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If circuit-based sensors are connected to each circuit to monitor individual energy consumption, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the building's power system into individual circuits, each monitored by separate sensors. This segmentation allows precise measurement of energy consumption at the circuit level while managing complexity through modular sensor units that can be independently installed and configured.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a building management system as an intermediary layer between the sensors and the user interface. This mediator aggregates data from multiple sensors, processes information centrally, and presents unified reports, thereby reducing the complexity burden on individual sensor components and simplifying user interaction.
2Productivity
If smart metering systems connect sensors to energized power lines for real-time monitoring, then productivity is improved, but safety hazards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses current transformers or sensor elements as intermediaries that can measure electrical parameters without direct contact with high-voltage conductors. These sensors are designed to couple with energized lines through magnetic fields or capacitive coupling, allowing real-time monitoring while maintaining safe isolation distances and eliminating the need for workers to touch live wires.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical connection methods (direct wiring, physical contact with conductors) with field-based sensing techniques. Current transformers and other non-contact sensors detect electrical parameters through electromagnetic fields, eliminating the mechanical interaction that creates safety hazards while preserving real-time monitoring capabilities.
3Measurement precision
If building management systems are custom-designed for proprietary monitoring, then measurement precision is improved, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The building management system is designed with universal communication interfaces and standardized data protocols that enable compatibility with multiple types of sensors, devices, and communication networks. The system can accommodate different sensor types (current transformers, voltage sensors, power quality analyzers) and communicate through various media (wired, wireless, power line communication), making it adaptable to diverse building configurations and future expansions.
Data Source
AI summary
A building management system including a local power system that delivers power to devices at a location, a data collector system coupled to the local power system, to monitor aggregate power used at a location, including at least one circuit based sensor configured to collect power usage data, each of the at least one sensors being clamped onto a circuit basis, and a data transmitter coupled to the at least one sensor and communicating the collected power usage data over a network to a cloud analyzer system, a tracker application configured to provide real-time reporting, alerts, and control via the network, and to be executed by a processor in an operating system (OS), in a native or virtual environment, wherein the tracker interacts with an analysis engine to map out energy use inside of a building on an individual circuit basis.