Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ESTIMATING AND OPTIMIZING COST SAVINGS FOR LARGE SCALE
DEPLOYMENTS USING LOAD PROFILE OPTIMIZATION
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS:
This application is a non-provisional application claiming priority to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application, Serial No.61/530,658, to Burke, filed
September 2, 2011,
which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE:
[0001] The invention relates generally to energy management, and more
specifically to a
system, computer-implemented method, and computer program product for
estimating and
optimizing cost savings for large scale deployments using load profile
optimization.
BACKGROUND:
[0002] A facility manager may attempt to identify a load profile, an
electrical engineering
term for a graph of the variation in an electrical load versus time, for a
facility, which delivers a
sufficient cost reduction for the facility. The facility manager may review a
cost reduction goal,
combine equipment load profiles into logical groups to create a facility load
profile, calculate a
target load profile for the facility, guess at meaningful changes for the
facility load profile,
configure equipment to implement these changes, and verify whether the target
load profile is
achieved for the facility. If the target load profile is not achieved for the
facility, the facility
manager may reconfigure the equipment until the target load profile is
achieved for the facility.
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Once the target load profile is achieved for the facility, the facility
manager waits until a billing
period is over to determine if the cost reduction goal is achieved. If the
cost reduction goal is not
achieved, the facility manager may begin the entire process over again. If the
facility manager
wishes to compare load profiles between two facilities or even between logical
collections of
equipment such as HVAC and refrigeration within the same facility, the
facility manager must
execute the process multiple times for each system, respectively. The
comparison of two or
three systems may be possible given enough time, but this comparison process
is completely
infeasible for large sets of systems.
[0003] The process that is typically employed to estimate the potential
cost savings of
deploying a target load profile to multiple facilities begins with selecting a
cost reduction target
and a primary facility. The process described above for load profile
optimization is then
conducted for the primary facility. Once the cost reduction targets are met, a
facility manager
may set about the difficult task of estimating the cost saving that might be
realized if a similar
load profile were applied at multiple facilities. Typically, a set of
secondary facilities are chosen
that are sufficiently similar to the primary facility. Cost related
information is then collected
from each secondary facility, such as utility provider and tariff information.
Next, a facility load
profile is collected from each secondary facility. These secondary load
profiles are then
compared to the primary load profile and cost differences are estimated. This
comparison and
estimation is particularly difficult because of the varying cost sensitivities
between the facilities,
and becomes almost impossible for customers with large numbers of facilities.
Once these costs
are estimated, a determination is made if the costs of deploying the target
load profile to the
secondary facilities are significantly less than the potential savings to
warrant a mass deployment
of the target load profile. This current process of comparing multiple load
profiles for facilities
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and estimating cost savings for a large number of deployed load profiles is
costly and time
consuming, prone to error, and often not repeatable. Furthermore, the analysis
represents a
single snapshot in time, and may not take into consideration all the relevant
variables.
SUMMARY:
[0004] A system, computer-implemented method, and computer program product
are
provided for estimating and optimizing cost savings for large scale
deployments of optimized
load profiles. The system enables a user to decide whether a deployment of a
target load profile
to each of multiple secondary facilities would be cost effective for each of
the secondary
facilities without requiring significant amounts of capital expenses
reconfiguring equipment or
significant amounts of time to be spent waiting for the end of any utility
provider's billing cycle.
[0005] The system receives selections of a primary load profile and one or
more secondary
load profiles via a user interface. For example, a user selects a target load
profile created for a
proposed reconfiguration of a facility's refrigeration Equipment and the
facility's HVAC
Equipment and the load profiles for ten similar facilities' energy costs,
which is based on the ten
facilities' refrigeration energy costs and the ten facilities' HVAC energy
costs. Although a
facility's load profile may combine many load profiles, this simplified
example combines only
two types of load profiles. The system inputs the primary load profile and the
one or more
secondary load profiles from one or more external sources. For example, the
system inputs the
target load profile from a load profile library and the ten load profiles from
ten other databases.
[0006] The system compares the primary load profile with the one or more
secondary load
profiles. For example, the system makes a comparison of the target load
profile with the ten load
profiles, ensuring that the functioning of the ten associated facilities is
unaffected. The system
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outputs one or more comparisons of the primary load profile and the one or
more secondary load
profiles via the user interface. For example, the system outputs cost
differentials based on the
comparisons of the target load profile with the ten load profiles and based on
utility provider
information for the load profiles, such as complex time-of-use tariffs. The
cost differentials
enable a system user to decide whether a deployment of a load profile to each
specific facility
would be cost effective for each specific facility without requiring
significant amounts of capital
to be spent reconfiguring equipment or significant amount of time to be spent
waiting for the end
of any utility provider's billing cycle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
[0007] Drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are
attached hereto
so that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be better and more fully
understood:
[0008] FIG. 1 presents a sample system of the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 presents a sample frame depicted by a user interface of the
present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 presents another sample frame depicted by a user interface of
the present
disclosure; and
[0011] FIG. 4 presents a sample method of the present disclosure.
DEFINITIONS
[0012] As used herein, Facility Domain refers to the one or more facility,
building, plant,
operations platform, etc., consuming energy, and the power uses within such
facilities, and
expertise specifically related to such facility, such as knowledge regarding
building management,
physical assets, power use, energy power consumption devices, and monitoring
tools. A
customer will have personnel, whether employees or contractors, with expertise
in the Facility
Domain, and capable of defining or identifying facility Performance
Indicators, referred to as a
facility manager.
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[0013] As used herein, Energy Domain refers to energy consumption, use,
distribution of
use, energy consumption behavior, energy measurement, energy use measurement,
key
Performance Indicators for a business sector, etc., and the knowledge and
expertise specific to
such information. An Energy Domain Analyst, or simply "analyst," is a person,
whether
employed by a customer, or contracted as an expert, with expertise in the
Energy Domain and
capable of defining or identifying energy use Performance Indicators.
[0014] As used herein, Business Domain refers to business or customer
operations, revenue,
revenue targets, budgeting, planning, costs, cost goals, etc., and the
knowledge and expertise
relevant to a business. A customer will have personnel, whether employees or
contractors, who
are experts in the Business Domain capable of defining or identifying business
Performance
Indicators. Energy Resource Management, as used herein, refers to management
of energy
consumption and its by-products at the Business Domain level. It is to be
understood that
various experts and analysts referred to herein may be one or more person, an
employee or
contractor, and that a single person may qualify as an expert in more than one
Domain.
[0015] As used herein, Equipment refers to one or more energy consuming
devices, such as
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, water pumps,
compressors,
engines, lighting systems, etc. The term Equipment may mean a single piece of
equipment or a
logical grouping of several pieces of equipment. For example, Equipment may
refer to a group
of electrical devices in a single location, such as on a floor of a facility
or at a machine bay or on
a rig. Similarly, Equipment may be grouped by type of device, such as all the
HVAC units for a
facility.
[0016] As used herein, Business Intelligence refers to software-based tools
used to extract,
create, and/or import key Performance Indicators for a customer. As used
herein, Performance
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Indicators refer to data and/or variables regarding energy consumption, energy
resource
management, costs, usage, etc. that can be used to generate insights into
energy use and
efficiency. Performance Indicators refer to information that may be used in
creating, modifying,
describing and displaying load profiles. For example, a facility Performance
Indicator may be a
facility's HVAC load profile, which combines the facility's energy demand
measured by meter 1
for HVAC unit 1 and the facility's energy demand measured by meter 2 for HVAC
unit 2.
[0017] As used herein, Domain Variables refer to the data and the variables
(such as
kilowatts, kilowatt hours, etc.) for all of the various domains, such as the
Facility Domain, the
Energy Domain, and the Business Domain. As used herein, Domain Mapping refers
to the
translation of Performance Indicators from one domain to a set of Performance
Indicators in
another domain. For example, a business Performance Indicator may be a number
of sales per
kilowatt hour, and an energy Performance Indicator may be the demand cost for
the collective
lighting systems across ten buildings, while a facility Performance Indicator
may be the average
temperature during a period of sales.
[0018] As used herein, an Equipment load profile is a graph of the
variation in the electrical
load versus time for a specific piece of Equipment. The equipment load profile
is metered by a
power meter on the piece of Equipment. In contrast, a load profile is an
electronic graph of the
variation in the electrical load versus time which is created by an Energy
Management System
user and related to selected Domain Variables. As used herein, a stored load
profile is simply a
load profile which has been saved. Various load profiles may be created and/or
modified until
one of the load profiles enables achievement of a goal, thereby becoming a
target load profile.
As used herein, a target load profile is an electronic load profile based on a
targeted energy
usage, or other targeted variable. A target load profile created for a primary
facility may become
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a primary load profile that may be used to create, compare, and modify load
profiles for other
similar facilities.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS:
[0019] FIG. 1 presents a sample system 100 of the present disclosure, which
may also be
referred to as an energy management system 100. The system 100 includes a
computer 102, a
memory 104, a computer program 106, and a user interface 108. The computer
program 106 is
stored in the memory 104 and executed by the computer 102 to communicate via
the user
interface 108 with system users.
[0020] The computer 102 also communicates with a Facility Domain database
110, an
Energy Domain database 112, and a Business Domain database 114, which may be
mutually
exclusive databases. The computer program 106 includes a load profile examiner
116 and a cost
engine 118. The computer 102 also communicates with a load profile library
120, which
includes load profiles 122. Although FIG. 1 depicts one of each of the
elements 102 ¨ 122, the
system 100 may include any number of each of the elements 102 ¨ 122.
[0021] The load profile examiner 116 imports load profiles, modifies load
profiles, compares
load profiles, and graphically depicts all comparisons between the load
profiles. The cost engine
118 calculates cost differentials based on comparisons of load profiles and
based on utility
provider information, such as complex time-of-use tariffs, and can decompose
the cost
differentials into cost drivers. The load profile library 120 stores the load
profiles 122 accessed
by the system 100. An example of the load profile library 120 is described
below in reference to
FIG. 3. The load profiles 122 are imported and modified by the user of the
system 100, and are
combinations or modifications of load profiles. An example of the load
profiles 122 is described
below in reference to FIG. 2. The computer program 106 may synchronize a load
profile with
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the metered data from the load profile's component load profiles to enable
comparisons based on
metered data, without the need to reconfigure the equipment associated with
the metered data.
Metered data may refer to data previously measured by a meter and/or data that
is currently
measured by a meter.
[0022] Examples of data in the Business Domain include budgets, corporate
energy
conservation goals, sales transactions, operational expenses, energy cost,
demand cost, and
transaction and energy cost. Examples of data in the Energy Domain, upon which
data in the
Business Domain may be based, include calculated data such as real usage,
reactive usage,
power factor, maximum demand, kilovolt-ampere reactive (kVAr), kilovolt-ampere
reactive
hours (kVArh), power factor, kilowatts during a base time of use, kilowatts
during an
intermediate time of use, kilowatts during a sub-peak time of use, kilowatts
during a peak time of
use, kilowatt hours during a base time of use, kilowatt hours during an
intermediate time of use,
kilowatt-hours during a sub-peak time of use, and kilowatt hours during a peak
time of use.
Examples of data in the Facility Domain, upon which the data in the Energy
Domain may be
based, include raw data such as meter data, meter configuration, metered data,
a sampling
frequency, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) data, lighting
data, humidity and,
temperature, and control information such as setpoints.
[0023] The computer program 106 enables a user to decide whether a
deployment of a target
load profile from a primary facility to each of multiple secondary facilities
would be cost
effective for each of the multiple secondary facilities without requiring
significant amounts of
capital to be spent reconfiguring equipment or a significant amount of time to
be spent waiting
for the end of any utility provider's billing cycle. The computer program 106
receives selections
of a primary load profile and one or more secondary load profiles via the user
interface 108. For
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example, a user selects a target load profile that created for a proposed
reconfiguration of a
facility's refrigeration Equipment and the facility's HVAC Equipment and the
load profiles for
ten similar facilities' energy costs, which are based on the ten facilities'
refrigeration energy
costs and the ten facilities' HVAC energy costs. By inputting and modifying
the target load
profile that combines the metered data from the HVAC load profile and the
metered data from
the refrigeration load profile, the computer program 106 enables the operation
of the associated
HVAC system and refrigeration system to continue unaffected while the computer
program 106
makes comparisons between the target load profile based on the metered data
and any other load
profiles.
[0024] Although a facility's load profile may combine many component load
profiles, this
simplified example combines only two types of component load profiles. For
example, a
facility's target load profile may combine load profiles for each of the
facility's refrigeration
system, HVAC system, lighting system, water system, and natural gas system.
[0025] The computer program 106 may reformat load profiles to ensure
compatibility
between load profiles and to modify target load profiles. For example, the
computer program
106 may reformat a load profile for smart meters from the Facility Domain
database 110 and
load profiles for refrigeration system costs and HVAC system costs from the
Energy Domain
database 112 to ensure that these load profiles are compatible, thereby
enabling comparison of
these load profiles or the modification of a target load profile based on
these load profiles.
[0026] The primary load profile may be a static load profile or a metered
primary load
profile. For example, the primary load profile may be a target load profile
based on historical
data measured on a specific day when the user reconfigured a facility's
Equipment to operate in a
specific manner. In another example, the primary load profile may be a metered
load profile
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based on current data measured from a specific facility's Equipment that the
user has
reconfigured to operate in a specific manner.
[0027] In contrast to many Energy Management Systems that can input load
profiles from
only one source, the load profile examiner 116 inputs the primary load profile
and the one or
more secondary load profiles from one or more external sources. For example,
the load profile
examiner 116 inputs the target load profile from the load profile library 120
and the ten load
profiles from ten energy domain databases, with each database similar to the
energy domain
database 112. However, the first external source does not have to be different
from the second
external source. For example, the load profile examiner 116 may input all of
the load profiles to
be compared from the load profile library 120.
[0028] The load profile examiner 116 compares the primary load profile with
the one or
more secondary load profiles. For example, the load profile examiner 116 makes
a comparison
of the target load profile with metered data from the ten load profiles,
thereby ensuring that the
functioning of the ten associated facilities is unaffected.
[0029] The load profile examiner 116 outputs one or more comparisons of the
primary load
profile and the one or more secondary load profiles via the user interface
108. For example, the
load profile examiner 116 outputs cost differentials based on calculations
made by the cost
engine 118 using the comparisons of the target load profile with the ten load
profiles and based
on utility provider information for the load profiles, such as complex time-of-
use tariffs.
[0030] The cost engine 118 may enable a system user to select utility
provider information
and tariff information to be applied to the secondary load profile. For
example, a system user
may conduct a "what-if" scenario by substituting alternative utility provider
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alternative tariff information for a facility's utility provider information
and tariff information to
determine if the customer could reduce expenses by changing utility providers.
[0031] The cost engine 118 may decompose a load profile into billing cost
factors, such as
demand, usage, and penalties costs, including time-of-use sensitivities, and
may decompose
aggregate load profiles into constituent load profiles and their respective
relative demand and
cost contributions and cost sensitivities, etc. The cost engine 118 may
analyze, decompose, and
otherwise manipulate the load profile data to indicate the individual cost
drivers across selected
Equipment, Equipment groups, etc., such as HVAC, refrigeration, and lighting.
The
decomposition process may analyze a specified load profile, such as a baseline
load profile, and
indicates which particular Equipment, locations, energy usage or time-of-use,
are driving energy
costs. For example, the cost engine 118, based on the loaded demand, tariffs,
etc., may indicate
that the most significant cost driver for facility 2 is the HVAC Equipment,
and provide a cost
sensitivity graphic related to the HVAC Equipment, etc.
[0032] The computer program 106 may automatically generate suggested energy
usage
and/or time-of-use changes to provide a targeted cost reduction and output
these suggestions via
the user interface 108. For example, the computer program 106 may analyze a
targeted costs
reduction, -10% for example, and calculate and output to the user a suggested
reduction of load
pulled by the HVAC Equipment throughout the facility, resulting in a one
degree increase in
facility temperature during business hours, will result in a targeted cost
reduction.
[0033] The computer program 106 can, based on selections and limitations
entered by the
user, offer solutions which fit the user's priorities. For example, the
facility manager for facility
2 can specify that a temperature change above a certain temperature during
business hours is not
allowed as a suggestion to reduce cost. The computer program 106 can provide
alternative
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suggestions, such as temperature increase during off-peak hours, reduction in
floor lighting, etc.,
to reduce energy costs. The computer program 106 provides the user with enough
flexibility to
automatically determine, using the data provided by the computer program 106,
to reach a
targeted cost reduction without changes to essential equipment or particular
energy usage which
is desired to be omitted from the analysis. The computer program 106 may also
account for
physical plant or facility modifications which have not been implemented but
can be modeled by
the system. For example, a facility manager for facility 2 can select a
Performance Indicator
associated with providing window tinting on the south-facing windows, or
installation of high-
efficiency HVAC systems on Floor 3, etc., and the computer program 106 may
provide the
anticipated cost changes due to such changes. Obviously, such outputs require
inputting known
or published data related to the efficiencies associated with the physical
devices.
[0034] These cost differentials output by the load profile examiner 116
enable a system user
to decide whether a deployment of a target load profile from a primary
facility to each secondary
facility would be cost effective for each secondary facility without requiring
significant amounts
of capital to be spent reconfiguring equipment or significant amount of time
to be spent waiting
for the end of any utility provider's billing cycle. The load profile examiner
116 may provide the
user with data such as cost differences between load profiles, selected and
historical equipment
loads or demands, load modifications, historical loads, cost sensitivities,
historical and
anticipated costs, relevant data about utility providers and tariffs, etc. A
cost sensitivity is a cost
gradient as a function of load profile changes, namely of usage and time-of-
use, or demand and
time. Cost sensitivity can be calculated and displayed for a piece or group of
equipment, for a
facility, location, floor, system, etc.
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[0035] If the computer program 106 predicts that the desired cost
reductions will not been
achieved, the facility manager may simply modify the primary load profile and
gets updated,
modified, associated cost output from the cost engine 118. If the estimated
costs generated by
the computer program 106 differ from the actual costs after the utility bill
is available from the
utility provider, and the desired cost reductions have not been achieved, the
process can be
refined. For example, the facility manager may modify the primary load profile
to include
additional or different Equipment loads or make corrections to better model
the actual load and
demand, tariffs, and other data and calculations used by the computer program
106. However,
the expected success rate for estimated costs is high because of the benefits
of the computer
program 106.
[0036] FIG. 2 presents a sample frame 200 presented by the user interface
108 in FIG. 1 of
the present disclosure. The frame 200 includes a location column 202, a
facility domain column
204, an energy domain column 206, a business domain column 208, a load profile
library column
210, a reformatted variables column 212, and a load profile examiner column
214.
[0037] The location column 202 includes a row for customer XYZ, which
includes indented
rows for a northeast zone, a southeast zone, a northwest zone, and a southwest
zone. If the
indented row for the northeast zone is selected via the user interface 108,
the location column
202 depicts a double indented row for the city A. If the double indented row
for the city A is
selected via the user interface 108, the location column 202 depicts triple
indented rows for
facility 1, facility 2, and facility 3. If the triple indented row for
facility 1 is selected via the user
interface 108, the computer program 106 receives this selection of the
facility 1 location.
Subsequent selections of variable identifiers may be based on the location
selection. For
example, the computer program 106 receives the selection of the triple
indented row for facility 1
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in the location column 202, presents variables that correspond to facility 1
in city A in the
northeast zone for selection in the columns 204 ¨ 208, and identifies this
location selection in the
reformatted variables column 212.
[0038] The Facility Domain column 204 includes rows for floor 1 and
basement, which
correspond to facility 1 selected from the location column 202. If the row for
floor 1 was
selected via the user interface 108, the Facility Domain column 204 may depict
indented rows
for smart meter 1 and smart meter 2. If the indented row for smart meter 1 was
selected via the
user interface 108, the Facility Domain column 204 may depict double indented
rows for data
and configuration. If the row for the basement of facility 1 is selected via
the user interface 108,
the Facility Domain column 204 may depict a double indented row for a
thermostat. If the
double indented row for the thermostat of facility 1 was selected via the user
interface 108, the
Facility Domain column 204 may depict triple indented row for data and
configuration of the
thermostat. If the triple indented row for the configuration of the thermostat
was selected via the
user interface 108, the Facility Domain column 204 may depict a quadruple
indented row for the
set point of the thermostat. In this example, since the computer program 106
receives the
selections of the indented rows for the smart meters in the Facility Domain
column 204, the
computer program 106 identifies these selections in the reformatted variables
column 212.
[0039] The Energy Domain column 206 includes rows for refrigeration, HVAC,
lighting,
water, natural gas, facility total, and bill audit. If the row for facility
total is selected via the user
interface 108, the Energy Domain column 206 depicts an indented row for total
cost. In this
example, since the computer program 106 receives the selections of the rows
for refrigeration
and HVAC in the Energy Domain column 206, the computer program 106 identifies
these
selections in the reformatted variables column 212.
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[0040] The Business Domain column 208 includes rows for cost goals,
sustainability targets,
sales figures, conservation goals, and utility providers. If the row for
sustainability targets was
selected via the user interface 108, the Business Domain column 208 may depict
an indented row
for CO2 footprint. If the row for sales figures was selected via the user
interface 108, the
Business Domain column 208 may depict an indented row for total sales. If the
row for cost
goals is selected via the user interface 108, the Business Domain column 208
may depict an
indented row for budget. If the row for conservation goals is selected via the
user interface 108,
the Business Domain column 208 may depict an indented row for monthly cost
reduction goal.
If the row for utility providers is selected via the user interface 108, the
Business Domain
column 208 may depict an indented row for Energy Co. In this example, since
the computer
program 106 receives the selections of the indented row for monthly cost
reduction goal and
Energy Co. in the Business Domain column 208, the computer program 106
identifies this
selection in the reformatted variables column 212.
[0041] The load profile library column 210 depicts load profiles that a
user may select via
the user interface 108, which may serve as an alternative to creating a target
load profile. An
example of the load profile library 120 is described below in reference to
FIG. 3.
[0042] The reformatted variables column 212 includes references to previous
selections. For
example, the reformatted variables column 212 depicts the selection of
facility 1 in city A in the
northeast zone for customer XYZ as the location selection, the smart meters 1
and 2 on floor 1 of
facility 1 as the variables selected from the Facility Domain, the cost of the
refrigeration system
and the cost of the HVAC system for facility 1 as the variables selected from
the Energy
Domain, and the monthly conservation goal and the utility provider information
for Energy Co.
as the variables selected from the Business Domain.
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[0043] The load profile examiner column 214 may include text 216 entered by
a customer
via the user interface 108 that modified a target load profile. Alternatively,
the text 216 may be
automatically generated by the computer program 106 based on measuring
relationships between
Equipment load profiles. Complicated computer programs are typically written
in computer
languages by either software vendors or hired experts, and typically require a
lengthy software
development life cycle before the computer program is laboriously compiled
into executable
language that may have to wait before it can be loaded into a live data
system. In contrast, the
text 216 may be customer-entered modifications based on a simple text that the
customer can
easily understand, and the text 216 may be interpreted and executed quickly by
a live data
system without the need for compilation or the need to wait before the text
can be used by the
live data system. The computer program 106 provides customers with the
capability of
achieving operational scalability by drastically reducing the development life
cycle to modify
and compare a large number of load profiles through the elimination of
middlemen such as
software vendors and hired experts during a greatly accelerated development
process.
[0044] In this example, the text 216 represents a target load profile that
is based on an
equation modified by the user, in which the target load profile for facility 1
is a cost that equals 2
multiplied by facility l's HVAC cost plus 0.5 multiplied by facility l's
refrigeration cost. For
this example, the system user may have reconfigured facility l's HVAC
equipment and
refrigeration equipment to optimize facility l's operation and cost. The
system user may have
attempted to achieve a 10% cost reduction goal for facility 1 while
maintaining facility l's
operational requirements by increasing the operation of facility l's HVAC
equipment while
decreasing the operation of facility l's refrigeration equipment. In this
example, the system user
reconfigured the HVAC equipment to pre-cool facility 1 before peak energy
usage hours, which
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enabled a reduction in the operation of the refrigeration equipment during
peak energy usage
hours, when a disproportionally large amount of the costs are incurred. The
Equipment load
profiles for the HVAC equipment and the refrigeration equipment were measured
by meters
during this reconfigured operation, resulting in an HVAC cost that was double
the previous
HVAC cost and a refrigeration cost that is half of the previous refrigeration
cost. If the previous
refrigeration cost was significantly more than the previous HVAC cost, this
Equipment
reconfiguration enabled the system user to achieve the desired goal of the 10%
reduction in
operating costs. Therefore, the system user modified the text 216 that
reflected this potential
reconfiguration of equipment. The text 216 may represent either a static load
profile, or the text
216 may represent metered data from the facility, either which may be referred
to as a primary
load profile because the system user selected facility 1 as the primary load
profile to which
subsequent load profiles will be compared.
[0045] The text 216 also indicated that a solid bold line will graphically
represent the target
load profile equation in the load profile examiner column 214. For example,
the solid bold line
in the load profile examiner column 214 graphically indicates that facility
l's target load profile
slowly increased, rapidly increased, and then slowly decreased during a day.
[0046] The load profile examiner column 214 includes text 218 that
indicates that the load
profile that represents the addition of facility 2's HVAC load profile to
facility 2's refrigeration
load profile is graphically represented by a solid line. For example, the
solid line in the load
profile examiner column 214 graphically indicates that facility 2's load
profile rapidly increased,
practically flat-lined, increased, and then rapidly increased again during the
day.
[0047] The load profile examiner column 214 includes text 220 that
indicates that a
comparison between facility l's target load profile and facility 2's load
profile is graphically
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represented by a bold dashed line. For example, the bold dashed line in the
load profile
examiner column 214 graphically indicates that the cost engine 118 calculated
that the cost
savings differential between facility l's target load profile and facility 2's
load profile increased,
decreased, and then increased again during the day.
[0048] The load profile examiner column 214 includes peak energy usage
hours 222 that
indicate when a disproportionally large amount of the costs are incurred. The
graphic
representations in the load profile examiner column 214 indicate that both
facility l's target load
profile and facility 2's load profile are in a complex time-of-use tariff, the
greatest cost
differentials occur during the peak energy usage hours 222, and facility l's
target load profile has
a lower peak demand than facility 2's load profile.
[0049] The load profile examiner column 214 includes cost differential text
224 that indicate
the cost differential calculated by the cost engine 118 for the time period
graphically represented.
For example, the cost differential text 224 indicates that the energy costs
represented by the
proposed deployment of facility l's target load profile to facility 2 is $250
less than the energy
costs represented by facility 2's load profile. In this example, the cost
engine 118 decomposes
the cost differential into multiple cost drivers of $180 in usage savings and
$70 in demand
savings.
[0050] The load profile examiner 116 may save the comparison of the load
profiles in a
library for use as a cost differential. For example, the computer program 106
may enable the
system user to save facility l's target load profile represented by the text
216 as one of the load
profiles 122 in the load profile library 120 and save the comparison between
facility l's target
load profile and facility 2's load profile as a cost differential load profile
in the load profile
library 120. The system user may subsequently retrieve load profiles from the
load profile
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library 120 for analysis. For example, the system user may retrieve the cost
differential load
profile as static data from the load profile library 120 to analyze the
difference between the load
profiles on the day the load profiles were compared. In another example, the
system user may
retrieve the cost differential load profile as metered data from the load
profile library 120 to
analyze the difference between the load profiles for the day subsequent to
when the load profiles
were retrieved.
[0051] The frame 200 may be part of a larger display screen that includes
fields for users to
enter commands to make, edit, and store selections and transform text. The
user interface 108 in
FIG. 1 may output a display screen that includes the frame 200 in FIG. 2 in
response to a search
based on search criteria input via the user interface 108 in FIG. 1. For
example, a system user
may enter search criteria to request to review the frame 200, which
corresponds to the selections
and text previously entered.
[0052] FIG. 3 presents a sample frame 300 presented by the user interface
108 in FIG. 1 of
the present disclosure. The frame 300 includes a load profile library 302 and
a load profile
subscriptions library304. A system user may instruct the computer program 106
to import load
profiles from the load profile library 302 into the load profile examiner
column 214 in FIG. 2.
The load profile subscriptions library304 depicts the capability which allows
the system user to
associate load profiles in a one to many relationship.
[0053] The load profile library 302 includes rows and columns such as a
"profile type"
column, a "location type" column, a "location" column, an "asset name" column,
a "combined"
column, a "profile name" column, a "created by" column, a "last modified"
column, and an
"operation" column. The load profile library 302 identifies information for
stored load profiles
and enables system users to retrieve stored load profiles. For example, after
the first row in the
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load profile library302 that includes the headings for these columns, the
"profile type" column
specifies whether each load profile reflects currently metered data or static
historic data, the
"location type" column specifies a geographic area for each load profile, and
the "location"
column specifies a physical location for each load profile. Continuing this
example, the "asset
name" column specifies the Equipment assigned to each load profile, the
"combined" column
specifies whether each load profile includes a combination of other load
profiles, a "profile
name" column specifies a name assigned by a system user to each load profile,
a "created by"
column specifies a system user who created each load profile, and the "last
modified" column
specifies when each load profile was created. By selecting from the
corresponding options of
edit, delete, and export in the "operation" column, a system user instructs
the computer program
106 to edit the corresponding load profile, to delete the corresponding load
profile, or to export
the corresponding load profile.
[0054] The load profile subscriptions library 304 includes rows and columns
such as a
"baseline profile name" column, a "tracking" column, a "last day" column, a
"last week"
column, a "last month" column, and an "operation" column. The load profile
subscriptions 304
identify which load profiles are tracking other load profiles and the cost
differentials associated
with the load profiles tracking the other load profiles, and enable system
users to retrieve
depictions of the tracking and tracked load profiles. For example, after the
first row in the load
profile subscriptions 304 that includes the headings for these columns, the
"business profile
name" column specifies each load profile that is tracking another load
profile, the "tracking
column" column specifies each load profile that is being tracked by a load
profile, while the "last
day" column, the "last week" column and the "last month" column specify a
calculated cost
saving that the equipment associated with the baseline profile would have
achieved if the facility
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had the same load profile as the load profile specified in the "tracking"
column. By selecting
from the corresponding options of view, delete, and update in the "operation"
column, a system
user instructs the computer program 106 to enable the user to view a graphic
depiction of the
corresponding baseline load profile and the load profile specified in the
corresponding "tracking"
column, such as the graphic depictions in the load profile examiner column 214
in FIG. 2.
[0055] The system user can have any number of load profiles automatically
track another
load profile, establishing a comparative relationship that continually
calculates the cost
differences between the tracking load profiles and the tracked load profiles
for the associated
facilities, even if the load profiles represent currently metered data,
without affecting the facility
operations represented by the load profiles. This automatic tracking is a cost
and time saving
capability for large customers because such customers may have large numbers
of facilities,
making manual tracking infeasible. In the example depicted the load profile
subscriptions 304 in
FIG. 3, a system user has chosen to have the load profile for the HVAC in 9
poorly performing
stores track the load profile for the HVAC in the primary store. The system
user may quickly
assess the cost savings opportunities, and decide early on to deploy the HVAC
configurations
associated with the primary store to stores 1 and 3 through 9 based on the
data in the "Last Day"
column, the "Last Week" column, and the "Last Month" column. Furthermore, the
system user
may investigate the reasons why the load profile subscriptions 304 indicate
that deploying the
HVAC configuration to store 2would have resulted in negative cost savings.
[0056] Continuing this example, the computer program 106 may enable a
system user to
delete the tracking relationship between the corresponding load profiles, or
to update the tracking
relationship between the corresponding load profiles, such as by adding
another load profile to
the load profiles listed in the "tracking" column.
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[0057] Because the frames 200 ¨ 300 in FIG. 2 ¨ FIG. 3, respectively, are
samples, the
frames 200 ¨ 300 could vary greatly in appearance. For example, the relative
sizes and
positioning of the columns and rows are not important to the practice of the
present disclosure.
The frames 200 ¨ 300 can be depicted by any visual display, but are preferably
depicted by a
computer screen. The frames 200 ¨ 300 could also be output as reports and
printed or saved in
electronic format, such as portable document file (PDF). The frames 200 ¨ 300
can be part of a
personal computer system and/or a network, and operated from system data
received locally, by
the network, and/or on the Internet. The frames 200 ¨ 300 may be navigable by
a user.
Typically, a user can employ a touch screen input or a mouse input device to
point-and-click to a
location on the frames 200 ¨ 400 to manage the text on the frames 200 ¨ 300,
such as a selection
that enables a user to drag the text from at least some of the columns 202 ¨
210 and drop the text
into the reformatted variables column 212. Alternately, a user can employ
directional indicators,
or other input devices such as a keyboard. The text depicted by the frames 200
¨ 300 are
examples, as the frames 200 ¨ 300 may include a much greater amount of text.
[0058] FIG. 4 presents a sample method 400 of the present disclosure. The
energy
management system 100 in FIG. 1 may execute the method 400 to decide whether a
deployment
of a primary load profile from a primary facility to a secondary facility
would be cost effective
for the secondary facility without requiring significant amounts of capital to
be spent
reconfiguring equipment or significant amount of time to be spent waiting for
the end of any
utility provider's billing cycle.
[0059] In box 402, selections of a primary load profile and a secondary
load profile are
received. For example, the computer program 106 receives selections of
facility l's target load
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profile represented by the text 216 in FIG. 2 and facility 2's load profile
represented by the text
218 in FIG.2.
[0060] In box 404, a primary load profile is input from a first external
source and a
secondary load profile is input from a second external source. For example,
the computer
program 106 inputs facility l's target load profile from the load profile
library 120 and facility
2's load profile from the Energy Domain database 112.
[0061] In box 406, a primary load profile is compared with a secondary load
profile. For
example, the computer program 106 compares facility l's target load profile of
static data with
facility 2's load profile of currently metered data without effecting the
operation of equipment in
facility 2.
[0062] In box 408, a comparison of a primary load profile and a secondary
load profile is
output. For example, the computer program 106 outputs the load profile
examiner column 214
in FIG. 2, which indicates that the proposed deployment of facility l's target
load profile to
facility 2 would be calculated to save $250 for the day.
[0063] The method 400 may be repeated as desired. Although this disclosure
describes the
boxes 402 ¨ 408 executing in a particular order, the boxes 402 ¨ 408 may be
executed in a
different order.
[0064] The systems, methods, and computer program products in the
embodiments described
above are exemplary. Therefore, many details are neither shown nor described.
Even though
numerous characteristics of the embodiments of the present disclosure have
been set forth in the
foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of
the present
disclosure, the present disclosure is illustrative, such that changes may be
made in the detail,
especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the components within
the principles of
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the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general
meaning of the terms used
in the attached claims. The description and drawings of the specific examples
above do not point
out what an infringement of this patent would be, but are to provide at least
one explanation of
how to make and use the present disclosure. The limits of the embodiments of
the present
disclosure and the bounds of the patent protection are measured by and defined
in the following
claims.
[0065] The following are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes:
U.S. Patent
Application Serial No. 13/155,222, to Burke, entitled June 7, 2011; U.S.
Patent Application
Serial No. 13/219,361, to Burke, filed August 26, 2011; U.S. Patent
Application Serial No.
13/223,632, filed September 1, 2011, to Burke; U.S. patent application
entitled "Estimating and
Optimizing Cost Savings for Large Scale Deployments using Load Profile
Optimization", to
Burke, filed concurrently herewith; U.S. patent application entitled "Dynamic
Tagging To Create
Logical Models and Optimize Caching in Energy Management Systems", to Burke,
filed
concurrently herewith; and U.S. Patent Application entitled "Load Profile
Management and Cost
Sensitivity Analysis", to Burke, filed concurrently herewith.
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