Remote Building Efficiency Audits Using Utility Meter Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
On-site building efficiency audits are costly and inconvenient due to the need for specialized instrumentation and trained auditors, making it difficult to schedule and perform effective energy efficiency evaluations in residential or commercial buildings.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system for remotely evaluating energy efficiency by collecting and analyzing energy resource consumption data, weather information, and user behaviors to calculate thermal, wind, and solar sensitivity scores, which provide relative energy use sensitivity and enable targeted energy efficiency tips for utility customers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If on-site building efficiency audits are performed using specialized instrumentation and trained auditors, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses utility meter data as a copy or proxy for direct building performance measurements. Instead of bringing complex measurement instruments to the site, the system analyzes copies of energy consumption data from existing utility meters, combined with weather data, to derive efficiency metrics remotely.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of physical instrument deployment and manual measurement with an automated data processing system. The mechanical audit process is substituted by computational analysis of meter data and weather information, eliminating the need for physical measurement devices at the building site.
2Measurement precision
If on-site building efficiency audits are performed with specialized instrumentation, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation and scheduling convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The building's existing utility meter serves the dual purpose of both billing and efficiency measurement. The system leverages data that the building already generates for utility payment purposes, eliminating the need for separate measurement equipment and reducing the operational burden of scheduling audits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copies of existing utility meter data rather than requiring new measurement infrastructure. This allows efficiency assessment to be performed using data that already exists in the utility company's systems, making the process much easier to schedule and execute.
3Ease of operation
If remote efficiency audits are conducted using utility meter data and weather information, then ease of operation and cost-effectiveness are improved, but measurement precision may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback loops where energy consumption data is continuously collected from utility meters and correlated with weather conditions. This feedback mechanism allows the system to refine its efficiency calculations over time by comparing actual consumption patterns against weather-adjusted expectations, improving measurement precision while maintaining operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The system makes existing utility meter data serve multiple functions: billing, consumption tracking, and efficiency measurement. By extracting multiple values from the same data source, the system achieves improved measurement precision without adding complex measurement equipment, maintaining both ease of operation and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
The subject disclosure relates to systems and methods for calculating a thermal sensitivity score. In some aspects, the method includes steps for receiving temperature information for a first geographic location, receiving resource consumption data for each of a plurality of similar consumption locations in the first geographic location, and generating, by the processors, a thermal sensitivity model based on the temperature information and the resource consumption data for each of the plurality of similar consumption locations. In some aspects, the steps can further include computing a thermal sensitivity score for each of the similar consumption locations using the thermal sensitivity model. Systems and machine readable media are also provided.