BUILDING ENVELOPE AND INTERIOR GRADING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

A difference module determines differences between an outdoor ambient temperature and an indoor temperature, determines a first average of the differences , and determines a second average of the differences. A storing module stores a first data point, the first data point including the first average and a first total run time of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, and stores a second data point, the second data point including the second average and a second total run time of the HVAC system. A fitting module fits a line to the first and second data points. An envelope grading module generates a grade for an exterior envelope of a building based on a first characteristic of the line. An interior grading module generates a grade for an interior of the building based on a second characteristic of the line. A reporting module generates a displayable report for the building including the grade of the exterior envelope and the grade of the interior of the building

On-line energy services for smart homes

The EC funded 'Smart Homes' project commenced in 2001 as a 3 year programme. The primary objective is to establish Internet-based energy services and test these within field trials in Sweden, Greece, the Czech Republic and the UK. The tasks include the prototyping and testing of energy services for citizens and professionals, and the establishment of cable and wireless approaches to Internet connection. The implementations are based on residential gateway, or 'e-box', technology. Users, for example utilities, citizens, local authority energy managers and health care providers, can access the information through standard Web browsers and, depending on the particular energy service, may transmit information or control requests back to the originating homes. This paper sets out the overall structure of the SmartHomes system and reports on progress to date

HVAC SYSTEM REMOTE MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF REFRIGERANT LINE OBSTRUCTION

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building includes a refrigerant loop. A monitoring system for the HVAC system includes a monitoring device installed at the building. The monitoring device is configured to measure a first temperature of refrigerant in a refrigerant line located between a filter - drier of the refrigerant loop and an expansion valve of the refrigerant loop. The monitoring system includes a monitoring server, located remotely from the building. The monitoring server is con figured to receive the first temperature and, in response to the first temperature being less than a threshold, generate a refrigerant line restriction advisory. The monitoring server is configured to, in response to the refrigerant line restriction advisory, selectively generate an alert for transmission to at least one of a customer and an HVAC contractor

BUILDING ENVELOPE AND INTERIOR GRADING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

A difference module determines differences between an out door ambient temperature and an indoor temperature, deter mines a first average of the differences, and determines a second average of the differences. A storing module stores a first data point, the first data point including the first average and a first total run time of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, and stores a second data point, the second data point including the second average and a second total run time of the HVAC system. A fitting module fits a line to the first and second data points. An envelope grading module generates a grade for an exterior envelope of a building based on a first characteristic of the line. An interior grading module generates a grade for an interior of the building based on a second characteristic of the line. A reporting module generates a displayable report for the building including the grade of the exterior envelope and the grade of the interior of the building

Simulation support for internet-based energy services

The rapidly developing Internet broadband network offers new opportunities for deploying a range of energy, environment and health-related services for people in their homes and workplaces. Several of these services can be enabled or enhanced through the application of building simulation. This paper describes the infrastructure for e-services under test within a European research project and shows the potential for simulation support for these services

The Emerging Internet of Things Marketplace From an Industrial Perspective: A Survey

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a dynamic global information network consisting of internet-connected objects, such as Radio-frequency identification (RFIDs), sensors, actuators, as well as other instruments and smart appliances that are becoming an integral component of the future internet. Over the last decade, we have seen a large number of the IoT solutions developed by start-ups, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, academic research institutes (such as universities), and private and public research organisations making their way into the market. In this paper, we survey over one hundred IoT smart solutions in the marketplace and examine them closely in order to identify the technologies used, functionalities, and applications. More importantly, we identify the trends, opportunities and open challenges in the industry-based the IoT solutions. Based on the application domain, we classify and discuss these solutions under five different categories: smart wearable, smart home, smart, city, smart environment, and smart enterprise. This survey is intended to serve as a guideline and conceptual framework for future research in the IoT and to motivate and inspire further developments. It also provides a systematic exploration of existing research and suggests a number of potentially significant research directions.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing 201

HEAT PUMP AND AIR CONDITIONING GRADING SYSTEMS AND METHODS

An expectation module determines an expected average power consumption of a heat pump for a predetermined period as a function of indoor and outdoor temperatures of the building during the predetermined period. A difference module determines a power difference between an average power consumption of the heat pump during the predeter mined period and the expected average power consumption of the heat pump for the predetermined period. A grade determination module determines a grade of the heat pump for the predetermined period based on the power difference of the predetermined period. A reporting module generates a displayable report including the grade of the heat pump for the predetermined period

Remote Control and Monitoring of Smart Home Facilities via Smartphone with Wi-Fly

Due to the widespread ownership of smartphone devices, the application of mobile technologies to enhance the monitoring and control of smart home facilities has attracted much academic attention. This study indicates that tools already in the possession of the end user can be a significant part of the specific context-aware system in the smart home. The behaviour of the system in the context of existing systems will reflect the intention of the client. This model system offers a diverse architectural concept for Wireless Sensor Actuator Mobile Computing in a Smart Home (WiSAMCinSH) and consists of sensors and actuators in various communication channels, with different capacities, paradigms, costs and degree of communication reliability. This paper focuses on the utilization of end users’ smartphone applications to control home devices, and to enable monitoring of the context-aware environment in the smart home to fulfil the needs of the ageing population. It investigates the application of an iPhone to supervise smart home monitoring and control electrical devices, and through this approach, after initial setup of the mobile application, a user can control devices in the smart home from different locations and over various distances

Performance prediction tools for low impact building design

IT systems are emerging that may be used to support decisions relating to the design of a built enviroment that has low impact in terms of energy use and environmental emissions. This paper summarises this prospect in relation to four complementary application areas: digital cities, rational planning, virtual design and Internet energy services

HVAC SYSTEM AIR FILTER DIAGNOSTICS AND MONITORING

A system and method for monitoring a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building is provided. A monitoring server, located remotely from the building, receives operating parameter data from a monitoring device at the building that measures an operating parameter of the HVAC system. The monitoring server generates a plurality of data clusters from the operating parameter data, each data cluster corresponding to operating parameter data generated during steady-state operation of the HVAC system. The monitoring server calculates an average operating parameter value for each data cluster. The monitoring server calculates normalized operating parameter values based on normalizing the average operating parameter values for the data clusters over a predetermined normalization time period. The monitoring server compares the normalized operating parameter values with a threshold. The monitoring server determine whether an air filter of the HVAC system needs to be replaced based on the comparison and generates a notification based on the determination indicating that the air filter needs to be replaced