Method and system for controlling consumption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building management systems face challenges in controlling power consumption of climate control devices while maintaining thermal comfort, as reducing energy consumption often leads to occupant discomfort and requires complex demand response strategies.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that impose a local power cap on climate control appliances, allowing them to make dynamic, fine-grained decisions based on real-time sensor data to minimize discomfort and enforce a predetermined power consumption cap, by determining which appliances to activate or deactivate to maintain target environmental conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If power consumption of climate control appliances is reduced to meet energy caps, then energy consumption decreases, but thermal comfort of occupants deteriorates due to temperature deviations
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the building into multiple zones with individual climate control appliances (HVAC units, heaters, vents) that can be independently controlled. Each appliance monitors its local climate parameters and makes autonomous decisions about operation, allowing fine-grained control of energy consumption while maintaining comfort in occupied zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the operation of climate control appliances based on real-time climate parameter measurements. Appliances transition between active and inactive states based on whether current operation is necessary to maintain comfort, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions and optimize energy consumption without compromising thermal comfort when needed.
2Use of energy by stationary object
If demand response strategies are implemented to control power consumption, then energy management improves, but system complexity increases due to coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
Each climate control appliance is equipped with a processor that autonomously monitors local climate parameters, determines whether operation is necessary to maintain comfort, and makes independent decisions about activation or deactivation. This distributed self-service approach eliminates the need for complex centralized coordination while achieving effective demand response and energy management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters (active/inactive states) of climate control appliances based on measured climate parameters such as temperature, humidity, and occupancy. This parameter-based control allows the system to respond to actual conditions rather than following complex predetermined schedules, simplifying the control logic while improving energy management.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to methods and systems for controlling consumption, particularly power consumption, more particularly by appliances in a building, and is generally suitable for integration with building management systems. Embodiments of the invention provide methods and systems which probabilistically limit the aggregated power load of a plurality of climate control appliances in a building to a selected value, while seeking to minimize the deviation from target environmental conditions within the building. The embodiments of the invention propose distributed decision-making by individual devices based on projected deviation from the target conditions after a period of activity or inactivity.