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The role of intelligent diagnostics and control in energy efficient buildings.
We already live in hemes with increased 'tevei.is of intelligence. We have smart thermosta ts that learn our routines and * save *energy when we are at work, white bringing the' indoor climate back ta a comfortable setthgjust in time for our return,- We have home security systems integrated with oof -smart phones to -maintain .safety and security. At work, commercial buildings am b&pôraing strongly ihtercoiinected systems, where ciimote control, lighting, elevator, anc| .security systems work together to deliver ó cohifortöbie; ©xpeftene-e; to building -'©ccupanfs .white qptemizi tig energy Use.
However, the integration cannot stop within homes or unique office buildings. To improve efficiencies in our future green cities, we need to integrate groups of buildings to optimally balance supply and demand, while at the same time enabling in-house sustainable renewable energy sources that can feed extra energy back to the grid. As pointed out by Mr, Geraud Damis, President & CEO, UTC (United Technologies Corporation) Building & Industrial Systems, "Buildings will be ecosystems themselves and rest in balance with the natural environment. They will evolve from a drain on our resources, to a regeneration of our resources." While such integration creates new opportunities to make smarter energy consumption decisions, the sheer complexity of a large integrated system leads to many critical technical challenges. Although the behavior of each individual building subsystem is well understood, the global behavior of an integrated building system can be highly uncertain and difficult to monitor, predict, and control. Complexity increases further due to variations in external weather conditions and uncertain building use by the occupants. Therefore, for efficient use of energy in a building while maintaining a desired level of comfort, we need a robust and scalable analytics system or solution comprising performance monitoring, health management, and control strategies that can handle the high degree of uncertainty and complexity. In addition, many buddings are significantly under-sensed and underactuated, making the estimation and control of the building state a much more challenging proposition. While robustness and scalability are basic requirements for an advanced analytics solution for buildings, a true "winning" solution must also address the issue of commissioning cost and sustainability (e.g., deploying and maintaining performance of advanced...