Dynamic BMS Rule Templates for Building Equipment Fault Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Building management systems (BMS) face challenges in efficiently detecting and diagnosing faults in building equipment, as existing methods require manual setup and maintenance of rules and diagnostics, which are time-consuming and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A BMS with a processing circuit that generates equation-based constants and sub-rules from device-specific templates and thresholds, allowing for dynamic rule creation and adaptive diagnostics to identify faults, determine fault reasons, and automatically generate work orders based on predefined criteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual setup and maintenance of rules and diagnostics is used, then fault detection capability is achieved, but time consumption and error probability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically generates rules, constants, and diagnostics by processing device data and relationships without requiring manual intervention. The BMS self-configures fault detection logic based on device templates and measured values, eliminating the need for manual rule setup and maintenance while maintaining high detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
Device-specific templates and relationships are pre-configured in the system, allowing the BMS to rapidly generate operational rules and diagnostics without manual intervention during deployment. This preliminary preparation enables automatic rule generation when devices are added or modified
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive fault detection rules are implemented, then fault identification accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments fault detection into device-specific templates and generic relationships. Each device type has its own template with specific parameters, while relationships define universal logic patterns. This segmentation allows comprehensive fault detection for each device without requiring manual creation of complex interlinked rules across the entire system
Solution Approach 2:
Generic relationships serve multiple devices and rule types simultaneously. A single relationship definition can be applied across different device templates, allowing the same logical pattern to detect various fault conditions in different equipment types, thereby reducing overall system complexity
3Adaptability or versatility
If dynamic rule generation is implemented, then adaptability to different devices improves, but processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Device templates and relationship definitions are pre-configured and stored in the system. When a device is added or modified, the BMS retrieves existing templates and relationships rather than generating everything from scratch, significantly reducing processing requirements while maintaining full adaptability to different device types
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses device templates as reusable copies that can be instantiated for multiple devices of the same type. Instead of creating unique rules for each device, the BMS copies and adapts templates, reducing processing power requirements while maintaining device-specific adaptability
Data Source
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AI summary
A building management system for monitoring equipment status is provided. The building management system includes a processing circuit configured to generate one or more constants for a piece of building equipment based on thresholds and device specific templates. The constants are equation based relationships between a value and a threshold. The processing circuit is further configured to generate one or more sub-rules based on the one or more constants and one or more equipment points. The sub-rales are equation based relationships between the one or more constants and the one or more equipment points. The processing circuit is further configured to generate a rule based on the one or more sub-rules and the one or more equipment points. The rule is an equation based relationship between the one or more sub-rules and the one or more equipment points and indicates whether the piece of building equipment is experiencing a fault.