Distributed Air Conditioner Control for Automated Energy Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inefficient energy management in buildings with multiple discrete air conditioner units, as individual manual control leads to energy wastage when units are not adjusted to energy-efficient settings during unoccupied periods.
Innovation Solution
A building management system with a central coordinator and discrete air conditioner controllers that communicate wirelessly to control and coordinate the operation of multiple air conditioner units, using sensors for occupancy and temperature data to optimize energy use and automate settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If individual users manually control discrete air conditioner units, then ease of operation is improved, but energy efficiency deteriorates when building or zone is unoccupied
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables air conditioner units to automatically adjust their operation based on occupancy detection. The discrete air conditioner controllers self-regulate by receiving occupancy information from sensors and autonomously modifying cooling settings without requiring manual user intervention, thus maintaining energy efficiency while preserving ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where occupancy sensors continuously monitor building or zone occupancy status and transmit this information to the central coordinator. The central coordinator then sends appropriate control signals to discrete air conditioner controllers, which adjust their operation based on the received occupancy feedback, ensuring energy-efficient operation during unoccupied periods.
2Loss of energy
If a central coordinator controls all discrete air conditioner units, then energy efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into independent discrete air conditioner controllers, each capable of receiving and processing occupancy information and autonomously adjusting its controlled air conditioner unit. This segmentation distributes the control intelligence across multiple simple units rather than requiring one complex central controller, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining energy efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The discrete air conditioner controllers are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as local control units for their respective air conditioner units and as nodes in the wireless communication network that receive occupancy data and transmit control signals. This universal design simplifies the overall system architecture by eliminating the need for separate dedicated control components.
Data Source
AI summary
A building control system that includes a central coordinator and one or more discrete air conditioner controllers configured to communicate with one or more discrete air conditioner units. The discrete air conditioner controller may include a wireless I/O block for receiving signals in a first signal format from the central coordinator and for transmitting signals to the one or more discrete air conditioner units in a second signal format. In some instances, the discrete air conditioner controller may be configured to wirelessly transmit a signal to at least one discrete air conditioner unit in response to receiving a signal from the central coordinator. This configuration may provide a measure of distributed control of the building control system in a cost effective and efficient manner.