APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:
- Commercial buildings including offices, hotels, classrooms with multiple occupants with varying comfort needs
- Residences
- Vehicles
- HVAC and lighting controls
- Intelligent furniture
ADVANTAGES:
- Provides hyperlocal environmental sensing, e.g., ambient temperature, humidity, air quality, daylight, noise
- Integrates localized HVAC and controls, local and ambient lighting, local and zone-based electrical loads
- Responds to electric price signals
- Responds to user preferences and comfort requirements
- Aggregates hyperlocal environment data and user comfort preferences into building automation system (BAS)
- Aggregates energy consumption and load data into energy information system (EIS)
- Provides a platform to conduct price-based energy trading
ABSTRACT:
A team of Berkeley Lab researchers has developed a system enabling distributed, systematic energy management in a building by monitoring environmental conditions in the built space, receiving and deciphering electricity price signals, and identifying plugged-in devices. The Intelligent System for Personalized Ambient Comfort and Energy Efficiency (i-SPACE) integrates the information to manage electric loads and end-uses, optimize energy consumption, and enhance occupant comfort. As a result, the Berkeley Lab technology offers a solution to overcoming energy waste due to lack of building control system coordination and controls linked to occupant needs.
Components in an i-SPACE integrated workstation may include sensors for relative humidity, carbon monoxide, vibration (for earthquake detection) and many other parameters. i-SPACE can perform functions on a building zone or workstation level, such as integrated control of HVAC, lighting, and plug loads into one platform, to save energy and reduce the cost of controls. The technology can apply transaction-based controls at the level of the individual workstation, as well as personalized controls, to reduce the use of scarce energy resources. i-SPACE also handles an integrated controls platform to reduce energy and load in grid-islanded, resource-constrained buildings. Transactions such as energy-trading between building tenants may be conducted, based on energy price and budget. Lastly, i-SPACE manages delivery of task-ambient lighting and air movement systems that reduce their power use while maintaining occupant comfort and productivity.
There is currently no automatic task level control of loads to deal with constrained energy supply systems. Current challenges to achieving energy savings include lack of coordination among building control systems; inability to respond to diverse occupant needs; and inability to adjust energy loads in a coordinated, cost-effective way. More modern problems include a lack of self-configuring controls and a lack of interoperability between different types of control systems and different vendors.
Building systems need to understand their current operational state, project their future operational state, and have an understanding of trade-offs between energy used and services delivered. Berkeley Lab’s i-SPACE robustly integrates localized HVAC and controls, local and ambient lighting, local and zone based electrical loads while responding to electric price signal, based on user preferences and comfort requirements.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Proven principle.
STATUS: Published U.S. Patent Application 15/681,086 (Publication 2018/0059633). Available for licensing or collaborative research.
SEE THESE OTHER BERKELEY LAB TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS FIELD:
Fast, Accurate Estimation of Renewable Energy Generation on the Distribution Grid, 2016-077