Building Controller Using Wireless Signals for Occupancy Lighting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automated lighting systems in office environments, such as timing systems and motion sensors, fail to accurately control lighting due to imprecision in handling early or late arrivals and departures, leading to unnecessary energy wastage, with motion sensors requiring multiple installations and often turning lights off at inconvenient times.
Innovation Solution
A building system controller that observes wireless signals from electronic devices to determine the occupancy of a region, using a processor to analyze characteristics like signal strength and packet rate to adjust lighting and other building systems accordingly, thereby optimizing energy usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If motion sensors are installed to detect occupancy, then lighting control is improved, but the number of sensors required increases and installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs multiple functions: it controls lighting based on occupancy detection, manages building systems, and processes wireless signals. By making the controller multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate dedicated motion sensors while maintaining reliable lighting control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses wireless signals from electronic devices as an intermediary to detect occupancy. Instead of directly installing motion sensors throughout the space, the system mediates occupancy detection through existing wireless device signals, reducing the number of physical sensors needed.
2Ease of operation
If timing systems are used to control lighting, then energy control is simplified, but precision in handling early or late arrivals deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts lighting control based on real-time wireless signal detection rather than relying on fixed timing schedules. The controller continuously monitors for electronic device signals and adjusts lighting states accordingly, providing both simplicity and precision by adapting to actual occupancy patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously detecting wireless signals from electronic devices and using this information to adjust lighting control. This closed-loop approach maintains ease of operation while improving precision, as the system responds to actual occupancy rather than predetermined schedules.
3Reliability
If motion sensors are used to detect movement, then occupancy detection is improved, but lights are turned off at inconvenient times when people remain still
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses wireless signals from electronic devices as an intermediary indicator of occupancy, rather than relying on motion detection. This approach detects the presence of electronic devices regardless of whether the user is moving or stationary, preventing lights from turning off when people remain still at their desks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system copies the occupancy information from electronic device presence rather than directly detecting human motion. By monitoring wireless signals from devices that users carry or use, the system infers occupancy status without requiring direct motion detection, thus maintaining convenience while improving reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A building system controller for controlling an environment in a region of a building. The controller is coupled to a building system and operable to change a state of the building system. The controller comprises a processor and a receiver coupled to the processor, the receiver being operable to incidentally observe a wireless signal from an electronic device in the region of the building. The processor is configured to determine whether the observed signal satisfies a predetermined control criterion, and the controller is configured to change a state of the building system in dependence on the determination that the control criterion is satisfied.