Technologies for optimally individualized building automation
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorsTao Cui, Joseph A. Carr, Alexander Brissette, David Coats
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for a building automation system to control a comfort level in a building includes tracking a building occupant's activity data using a wearable activity tracker. A smartphone is coupled to the wearable activity tracker. Activity data is collected from the wearable activity tracker using a smartphone app operating on the building occupant's smartphone, and a comfort value is determined using the smartphone app based on the activity data. A report of the comfort value is transmitted to a building automation system (BAS) app from the smartphone, and the output of a building system is controlled based on the comfort value.
Claims21
A system for controlling comfort in a building having a heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
- a multi-tier communication architecture, wherein
- a first tier of the multi-tier communication architecture is constructed for communication between a wearable activity tracker and a smartphone,
- the first tier of the multi-tier communication architecture wirelessly transmits an activity data from the wearable activity tracker and wirelessly receives the activity data at the smartphone,
- a second tier of the multi-tier communication architecture is constructed for communication between the smartphone and a building automation system (BAS), and
- the second tier of the multi-tier communication architecture wirelessly transmits a comfort value from the smartphone and wirelessly receive the comfort value at the BAS;
- the multi-tier communication architecture including:
- a plurality of smartphone apps constructed to operate on a corresponding plurality of smartphones, each smartphone being constructed to couple to a corresponding wearable activity tracker worn by a building occupant of a plurality of building occupants, wherein each smartphone app is constructed to receive activity data transmitted from the corresponding wearable activity tracker and to determine the comfort value for the building occupant based on the activity data, yielding a plurality of comfort values;
- and
- the building automation system having a BAS app and constructed to:
- (1) receive the comfort values from the plurality of smartphone apps via the corresponding smartphones,
- (2) determine a comfort estimate at a location of each of the plurality of building occupants, the comfort estimate based at least in part on one or more pre-programmed assumptions of the building occupants,
- (3) determine, from the comfort values and the comfort estimate, a comfort index, and
- (4) control the HVAC system based on the comfort index.
A method for controlling a comfort level in a building, comprising:
- subdividing the building into a plurality of zones;
- obtaining data related to the comfort levels of at least some occupants in each zone of the plurality of zones from wearable activity trackers worn by the occupants, wherein the data includes a skin temperature measured by the wearable activity trackers;
- communicating, for at least some occupants in each zone, the data from the wearable activity trackers to a smartphones associated with the occupant;
- determining a comfort values for the at least some occupants in each zone based on the data received from corresponding wearable activity trackers;
- communicating the comfort values to a building automation system;
- determining, for each zone, a comfort estimate, the comfort estimate being based at least in part on one or more pre-programmed assumptions of the building occupants;
- applying a weighted value to the comfort values and the comfort estimates, a value of the applied weighted value being different for at least some of the comfort values and/or the comfort estimates;
- determining, from an average of the weighted comfort values and the weighted comfort estimates, a comfort index for each zone;
- controlling a building system output for each zone based on the comfort index associated with each zone.
A method for a building automation system (BAS) to control a comfort level in a building, comprising:
- tracking activity data relating to a building occupant using a wearable activity tracker;
- collecting, by a smartphone, the activity data from the wearable activity tracker;
- determining, using a smartphone app on the smartphone, a comfort value of the building occupant based on the activity data;
- communicating, from the smartphone, a report of the comfort value to a BAS app;
- determining, by the BAS app and via use of at least data from one or more fixed sensors of the building and one or more pre-programmed assumptions of the building occupant, a comfort estimate for a location in the building;
- determining from the comfort value and the comfort estimate, a comfort index;
- and
- adjusting an output from at least one of a heating, ventilation and/or conditioning system based on the comfort index.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.