Room Conditioning Control for Targeted Coverage and Lower Energy Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing building environment conditioning systems waste energy due to overlapping environment conditioning ranges of equipment items and lack of consideration for energy consumption when selecting equipment items, leading to inefficiencies in energy use.
Innovation Solution
A control device that identifies suitable equipment items for specific target locations within a room and selects control patterns based on power consumption to efficiently condition the environment, reducing energy waste by optimizing equipment usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple equipment items operate to condition the environment in the entire space of a building, then the environment conditioning coverage is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transitioning from uniform whole-space conditioning to localized targeted conditioning. The control device identifies specific target locations where environment conditioning is needed and selects equipment items based on their ability to condition those specific locations, rather than conditioning the entire space uniformly. This resolves the contradiction by providing adequate coverage only where needed, reducing energy consumption while maintaining necessary environment conditioning coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the building space into multiple target locations and identifies which equipment items can effectively condition each segment. By dividing the space and selectively applying conditioning to specific segments rather than the entire space, the system reduces energy consumption while maintaining appropriate coverage in areas that require it.
2Reliability
If equipment items are selected without considering energy consumption, then environment conditioning effectiveness is improved, but energy efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the selection parameter from purely effectiveness-based to a composite parameter that includes both effectiveness and energy consumption. The control device evaluates equipment items based on their ability to condition the target location environment while also considering their power consumption characteristics, thereby achieving both effective conditioning and energy efficiency simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects equipment items based on real-time conditions including target location, required environment conditioning, and energy consumption characteristics. Rather than using fixed selection criteria, the control device adapts its selection to optimize both effectiveness and energy efficiency for each specific situation.
3Area of stationary object
If equipment items with overlapping environment conditioning ranges are used without appropriate selection, then coverage is improved, but energy waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by identifying the specific target location and selecting the most appropriate equipment item from those with overlapping ranges. Rather than operating multiple equipment items with overlapping coverage areas, the system selects the single most suitable item based on its ability to effectively condition the specific target location, thereby eliminating energy waste from redundant overlapping operation while maintaining adequate coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of environment conditioning from multiple redundant equipment items and concentrates it on the single most appropriate item for the target location. By taking out the overlapping functionality and focusing it on one optimally suited equipment item, the system reduces energy waste while preserving the necessary conditioning coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A control device controls a plurality of equipment items for conditioning the environment in a room. The control device comprises an installation information memory and a space information memory configured to store information regarding the space the environment in which can be conditioned by each of the plurality of equipment items; a target setter configured to set a target location in the room and a target environment at the target location; a unit identifier configured to identify the equipment item that can condition the environment at the target location; and a controller configured to select one control pattern based on the power consumption when the control according to each control pattern is executed from among a plurality of control patterns for controlling the equipment item so as to condition the environment at the target location to the target environment and control the equipment item with the selected control pattern.