Cloud Energy Management Platform for Multi-Site Thermostat Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current energy management solutions for small footprint commercial sites lack centralized control and analysis capabilities, leading to inefficient energy usage and high costs due to outdated manual or custom-designed systems that are not scalable for multiple locations.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based energy management system with networked energy management devices and a centralized service unit that collects and analyzes energy usage data across multiple sites, enabling automated control and behavioral learning algorithms to optimize energy usage, using programmable thermostats with Wi-Fi communication for remote monitoring and configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual or programmable thermostats are used at each site, then local energy management is possible, but centralized control and analysis capabilities are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines distributed energy management devices at individual sites with a centralized cloud-based energy management platform. The distributed devices maintain local control capabilities while the centralized platform aggregates data and provides enterprise-wide analysis, thus merging local autonomy with centralized intelligence to resolve the contradiction between local ease of operation and centralized information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cloud-based energy management platform as an intermediary between local energy management devices and enterprise decision-makers. This intermediary collects data from distributed devices, processes it centrally, and provides both local control support and enterprise-wide analysis, thus mediating between local operational needs and centralized strategic requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If custom-designed energy management solutions are implemented at individual sites, then specific site requirements are met, but scalability across multiple sites is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a universal cloud-based energy management platform that can serve multiple sites with different requirements through a single system architecture. The platform provides multi-functionality by supporting various energy management devices, analyzing diverse energy data types, and serving both local and enterprise-level needs, thus achieving adaptability to site-specific requirements while maintaining scalability across the entire enterprise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic system where the energy management platform can adapt its configuration and analysis capabilities based on the specific needs of different sites and the overall enterprise. The system dynamically scales to accommodate new sites and adjusts its functionality to meet varying site-specific requirements, thus achieving both adaptability and scalability through dynamic configuration rather than static custom designs.
3Ease of operation
If local site managers manually manage thermostats, then on-site control is maintained, but energy optimization is insufficient due to other job responsibilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements energy management devices that can autonomously optimize energy usage based on collected data and centralized algorithms. The system performs self-service by automatically adjusting energy management parameters, generating optimization recommendations, and executing control actions without requiring continuous manual intervention from site managers, thus maintaining on-site control while achieving sophisticated energy optimization through automated intelligence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a feedback loop where energy management devices continuously collect operational data, transmit it to the centralized platform, receive optimization recommendations, and automatically adjust their operation. This closed-loop feedback system enables continuous energy optimization without requiring site managers to dedicate time to manual management, thus maintaining on-site control while achieving high productivity in energy optimization through automated feedback-driven adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides an energy management system that is based on a distributed architecture that includes networked energy management devices located at a plurality of sites and a collection of energy management program applications and modules implemented by a centralized energy management service unit. The energy management program applications and modules are responsible for facilitating customer access to the system, configuring energy management devices, and collecting, storing, and analyzing energy management data collected from the plurality of sites. The energy management system is adaptable to a wide variety of energy usage requirements and enables customers to configure energy management devices at customer sites using scheduling templates, to define and customize site groupings for device configuration and data analysis purposes, and to request and view various statistical views of collected energy usage data.