Computer-Implemented System And Method For Externally Evaluating Thermostat Adjustment Patterns Of An Indoor Climate Control System In A Building

摘要

Energy usage data of an indoor climate control system, such as an HVAC system, for a building and ambient temperature data are obtained for a time period of interest with a time resolution that reflects the physically relevant time scales. The data are formed into time series. A correlation between the system's usage and ambient temperature is established, where a strong (or high) correlation is interpreted as an indication that the thermostat set point infrequently gets changed, if at all, whilst a weak (or low) correlation is interpreted as an indication that the thermostat set point is changed regularly. In addition, a correlation between the system's usage and the building's occupancy can be established, which can help corroborate the assessment of the appropriateness or efficiency of thermostat set point changing patterns.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method for externally evaluating thermostat adjustment patterns of an indoor climate control system in a building based on temperature, comprising the steps of:
obtaining a usage time series that reflects indoor climate control system usage in a building over a plurality of operating cycles, each operating cycle comprising a “go-to-idle” state transition triggered by a thermostat during which the indoor climate control system transitions from a running state to an at idle state and a “go-to-run” state transition triggered by the thermostat during which the indoor climate control system transitions from an at idle state to a running state, the indoor climate control system running for a period of running time between each “go-to-run” state transition and the next “go-to-idle” state transition, the indoor climate control system remaining at idle for a period of idle time between each “go-to-idle” state transition and the next “go-to-run” state transition, the running time comprising the time necessary to bring the building's interior temperature into a temperature range defined about a desired indoor temperature as specified by a set point of the thermostat for the building; obtaining a temperature time series for the temperature ambient to the building over the same plurality of the operating cycles; and finding a temperature correlation between the usage time series and the temperature time series, wherein a low temperature correlation is interpreted as changing of the thermostat set point during the operating cycles, wherein the steps are performed on a suitably-programmed computer.