Thermo Efficiency Measurement System

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for determining an energy transfer rate of a room via one or more sensors to determine a baseline efficiency measurement of a room as well as delta efficiency gains obtained by making changes to internal or external factors affecting thermal efficiency. The system further include the automatic control for various equipment associated with the room and automatic measurement based on the status of the room.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for determining an energy transfer rate of a room comprising:
 a first sensor mounted in a first housing, the first sensor generating first environmental data and including:
 a first environmental measuring device, 
 a first power source, 
 a first processor, 
 a first storage, and 
 a first communications hardware coupled to a network; 
   a mounting element connected to the housing such that said first sensor is freely positionable within the room;   software executing on said first processor and generating first environmental data corresponding to discrete environmental measurements taken within the room at first time intervals and including time data associated with each discrete environmental measurement;   a computer coupled to the network and having a computer storage accessible by said computer, said storage having threshold environmental data saved thereon;   wherein a second sensor positioned outside the room generates second environmental data corresponding to environmental measurements taken outside the room and including time data associated with the environmental measurements;   the first environmental data and the second environmental data transmitted to said computer via the network;   software executing on said computer processing the first environmental data and the second environmental data compared to the threshold environmental data to generate an energy transfer rate of the room.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the first environmental data is selected from the group consisting of: temperature, humidity and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the second environmental data is selected from the group consisting of: temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, solar energy intensity, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  wherein when the first and second environmental data each comprise temperature measurements and the second environmental data comprises an outside air temperature, the temperature measurements taken by the first sensor at the first time intervals are compared to the temperature measurements taken by the second sensor to calculate a temperature differential. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein at least two sensors are positioned in the room and the energy transfer rate determination further indicates efficiency of one or more portions of the room. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein a volume of the room is considered in the energy transfer rate determination. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein a surface area of internal surfaces of the room is considered in the energy transfer rate determination. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein a date and a geographic location of the room is considered in the energy transfer rate determination. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 8  wherein when the room is located in a facility, the location of the room within the facility is considered in the energy transfer rate determination. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1  wherein said computer automatically initiates the discrete environmental measurements of said first sensor based on input relating to the status of the room. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 10  wherein an occupancy sensor located in the room provides data to said computer which is used to determine the status of the room. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 10  wherein said computer automatically controls various equipment associated with the room prior to initiating the discrete environmental measurements of said first sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 14  wherein the various equipment is selected from the group consisting of: motorized window shades or binds, motorized air vents associated with the room, HVAC equipment servicing the room and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 1  further comprising a remote computer coupled to the network and in communication with said computer, said remote computer receiving the first environmental data and the second environmental data. 
     
     
         15 . A system for determining an energy transfer rate of a room comprising:
 a sensor mounted in a housing, the sensor generating environmental data and including:
 a environmental measuring device, 
 a power source, 
 a processor, 
 a storage, and 
 a communications hardware coupled to a network; 
   a mounting element connected to the housing such that said sensor is freely positionable within the room;   a computer coupled to the network and having a computer storage accessible by said computer, said storage having threshold environmental data saved thereon;   software executing on said processor and generating environmental data corresponding to a discrete environmental measurement taken within the room and including time data associated with the discrete environmental measurement;   software executing on said computer for automatically initiating the discrete environmental measurement during based on input relating to the status of the room;   the environmental data transmitted to said computer via the network;   said software executing on said computer processing the environmental data compared to the threshold environmental data to generate an energy transfer rate of the room.   
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein an occupancy sensor located in the room provides data to said computer which is used to determine the status of the room or to send alerts or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein at least one window or door sensor is located in the room provides data to said computer which is used to determine the status of the room. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein said computer receives data relating to whether a user is active on a computer associated with the room and the data is used to determine the status of the room. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein said computer automatically controls various equipment associated with the room prior to initiating the discrete environmental measurement. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 19  wherein the various equipment is selected from the group consisting of: motorized window shades or binds, motorized air vents associated with the room, HVAC equipment servicing the room and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The system according to  claim 15  further comprising a second sensor mounted outside the room and generating second environmental data corresponding to environmental measurements taken outside the room. 
     
     
         22 . The system according to  claim 21  wherein said first sensor is selected from the group consisting of: temperature sensor, humidity sensor and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         23 . The system according to  claim 21  wherein said second sensor measures temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar intensity or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         24 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein the initiation of the discrete environmental measurement is coordinated with a schedule of the set points for HVAC equipment serving the room. 
     
     
         25 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein the threshold environmental data comprises historical data associated with the room or with a facility within which the room is located. 
     
     
         26 . The system according to  claim 15  wherein the threshold environmental data comprises calculated energy transfer rates based on a configuration of the room or the construction materials of the room or a geographic location of the room or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         27 . A method for determining an energy transfer rate of a room comprising the steps of:
 positioning a plurality of sensors within a plurality of different rooms in a facility;   generating environmental data for a plurality of discrete environmental measurements in the plurality of rooms, each discrete environmental measurement including time data corresponding to a time when each of the environmental measurements was taken and which room the measurement corresponds to;   transmitting the environmental data to a computer via a network connection;   processing the environmental data based upon a rate of change of the environmental measurements over a set time period;   determining an energy transfer indication of each of the rooms by comparing the environmental data with threshold environmental data.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27  wherein the computer automatically initiates the plurality of discrete environmental measurements based on input received by the computer relating to the status of the room. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27  wherein an occupancy sensor located in the room provides data to the computer which is used to determine the status of the room. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27  wherein the computer automatically controls various equipment associated with the room prior to initiating the discrete environmental measurements. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30  wherein the computer automatically shuts down HVAC equipment servicing the room or closes vents serving the room prior to initiating the discrete environmental measurements.