Forty percent of the energy in Manhattan is used in high-rise office buildings and, of that energy, forty percent goes towards controlling the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems controlling in these buildings. The costs associated with this energy are high, particularly for heating buildings with steam in the winter. This technology describes a module which helps forecast any necessary control adjustments that will keep the building at the desired temperature, and recommends preheating settings to reduce steam usage during peak hours. This technology not only increases energy efficiency, but also reduces energy costs.
This technology is another step towards more efficient, cost-effective energy usage. The technology is a temperature trajectory module that uses advanced analytics to make suggestions to the building manager who controls the floor-by-floor adjustments that modify the temperature. It uses the ambient space temperature, the current temperatures on each floor, and the various HVAC settings to make its recommendations for the upcoming two hours. Similar algorithms are used to make 24-hour predictions, which can determine whether to preheat the building with steam before peak hours render the steam a hundred times more expensive. This technology has the potential to provide great savings in energy and cost to Manhattan.
A prototype module has been developed and tested in a tenant space over one winter season, reducing energy consumption by 7%, resulting in a savings of at least $75,000.
Patent Pending (US 20150178865)
Tech Ventures Reference: IR CU14020, IR CU14021