Energy optimization for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (hvac)

Abstract

Techniques for optimizing energy utilized by a HVAC system in a facility are described. In one aspect, one or more parameters corresponding to a zone from amongst a plurality of zones within the facility are obtained. The one or more parameters include occupancy data, facility data, and an occupancy schedule, where the occupancy data indicates a number of occupants present in the zone at a first instance of time. Further, an optimum temperature set point of the zone in correspondence to the one or more parameters is determined and a current temperature set point of the zone is transitioned to the optimum temperature set point of the zone, where the transitioning to the optimum temperature set point of the zone is to optimize energy utilization of the zone. Similarly, techniques of the present subject matter optimize a Variable Air Volume (VAV) flow rate of the zone in correspondence to the one or more parameters.

I/We claim: 
     
         1 . A method implemented by an energy management system for optimizing energy utilized by a Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system in a facility, the method comprising:
 obtaining, by the energy management system, one or more parameters corresponding to a zone from amongst a plurality of zones within the facility, wherein the one or more parameters include occupancy data, facility data, and an occupancy schedule, wherein the occupancy data indicates a number of occupants present in the zone at a first instance of time;
 determining, by the energy management system, an optimum temperature set point of the zone in correspondence to the one or more parameters; and 
 transitioning, by the energy management system, a current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone, wherein the transitioning to the optimum temperature set point of the zone is to optimize energy utilization of the zone. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising monitoring, by the energy management system, the occupancy data for a first time period to transition the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 detecting, by the energy management system, a state of occupancy from amongst a plurality of states of occupancy in correspondence to the occupancy data; and   determining, by the energy management system, a transition value to transition the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone, wherein determining the transition value is based on a pre-determined threshold value associated with each state of occupancy from amongst the plurality of states of occupancy.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the occupancy data corresponding to each zone of the facility is obtained at pre-determined time intervals. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include a zone recovery time, wherein the zone recovery time corresponds to the time taken for transitioning the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising assigning, by the energy management system, a priority for each zone of the facility in correspondence to the zone recovery time. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising analyzing, by the energy management system, the one or more parameters and the current temperature set point of the zone at pre-defined time intervals to
 identify a new optimum temperature set point of the zone; and   transition the current temperature set point of the zone to the new optimum temperature set point of the zone.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein transitioning the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point further comprises monitoring, by the energy management system, a predicted mean vote of the zone to ensure thermal comfort. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the predicted mean vote of the zone is computed in correspondence to an air temperature of the zone, a mean radiant temperature of the zone, air velocity of the zone, relative humidity of the zone, activity level in the zone, and clothing insulation. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 predicting the optimum temperature set point in correspondence to an occupancy schedule of the zone; and   transitioning the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone based on the predicted optimum temperature set point.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the optimum temperature set point in correspondence to the one or more parameters and historical transition data, wherein the historical transition data includes past data corresponding to the transition of the current temperature set point to the optimum temperature set point with respect to the one or more parameters for the zone. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprises controlling, by the energy management system, a Variable Air Volume (VAV) flow rate of the zone in correspondence to the optimum temperature set point. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprises controlling, by the energy management system, an Air Handling Unit (AHU) supply air flow rate of the zone in correspondence to the optimum temperature set point. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprises determining, by the energy management system, an optimum Variable Air Volume (VAV) flow rate of the zone and transitioning a current VAV flow rate of the zone to the optimum VAV flow rate of the zone, wherein the optimum VAV flow rate of the zone is identified in correspondence to the one or more parameters. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprises analyzing, by the energy management system, the one or more parameters and the current VAV flow rate of the zone at predefined time intervals to
 identify a new optimum VAV flow rate of the zone; and   transition the current VAV flow rate of the zone to the new optimum VAV flow rate of the zone.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprises determining at least a first optimum VAV flow rate for a first zone amongst the plurality of zones within the facility and a second optimum VAV flow rate for a second zone amongst the plurality of zones within the facility, wherein the first zone and the second zone are coupled to at least one VAV box. 
     
     
         17 . An energy management system for optimizing energy utilized by a HVAC system in a facility, the energy management system comprising:
 an occupancy assessment module configured to:
 obtain one or more parameters corresponding to a zone from amongst a plurality of zones within the facility, wherein the one or more parameters include occupancy data, facility data, and an occupancy schedule, and wherein the occupancy data indicates a number of occupants present in the zone at a first instance of time; 
 detect a state of occupancy from amongst a plurality of states of occupancy, wherein the state of occupancy is detected in correspondence to an occupancy percentage computed from the occupancy data; and 
 determine an optimum temperature set point in correspondence to the detected state of occupancy; and 
   an energy optimizer configured to:
 transition a current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point, wherein the transitioning to the optimum temperature set point of the zone is to optimize energy utilization of the zone. 
   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the system is to determine a transition value to transition the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone, wherein determining the transition value is based on a pre-determined threshold value associated with each state of occupancy from amongst the plurality of states of occupancy. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for optimizing energy utilized by a HVAC system in a facility, the instructions being executable by a processor to:
 obtain one or more parameters corresponding to a zone from amongst a plurality of zones within the facility, wherein the one or more parameters include occupancy data, facility data, and an occupancy schedule, wherein the occupancy data indicates a number of occupants present in the zone at a first instance of time;   determine an optimum temperature set point of the zone and an optimum VAV flow rate of the zone in correspondence to the one or more parameters; and   transition a current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone and a current VAV flow rate of the zone to the optimum VAV flow rate of the zone, wherein the transitioning to the optimum temperature set point of the zone and transitioning optimum VAV flow rate of the zone is to optimize energy utilization of the zone.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , the instructions being executable by the processor, wherein the one or more parameters include a zone recovery time, wherein the zone recovery time corresponds to the time taken for transitioning at least one of the current temperature set point of the zone to the optimum temperature set point of the zone and the current VAV flow rate of the zone to the optimum VAV flow rate of the zone.