Thursday, November 17, 2011

Intelligent Building and Home Energy Management
-- One of the areas that has seen considerable development of intelligent device technology is the historically difficult application of managing multiple disparate systems that make up a typical office or commercial building.  These buildings have HVAC, security, lighting, refrigeration, and energy consumption as just some of the systems that could and need to be centrally managed.  Furthermore, many of these systems would benefit from being able to act on each others data -- e.g. the lighting system using the motion detectors of the security system to determine where people are and turn on/off lights.  Most automated lighting systems require proprietary motion detectors to do this, but with intelligent networks of smart things the lighting system could leverage the security system for that telemetry.

To build these types of integrated systems, one must first enable the device to communicate with each other, then enable a control system to manage them and software that programs the interactions and reports back to the operators on the status of the building and its systems.

In the case of energy management, Serious Energy has build the software solution that manages the various subsystems to maximize energy efficiency.



Their web-based application enables a building manager to monitor energy usage in real-time at an individual device/system level, monitor to make sure that systems and devices are functioning properly, reset systems based on weather and outside temperature, and provide customized internal departmental billing based on actual energy consumption.

What enables this application interface with all these subsystems is an intelligent device by Echelon called a SmartServer -- a versatile smart energy manager that connects to IP-based applications such as enterprise energy management solutions, demand response programs, streetlight management systems, and high-value remote asset management programs, and link thousands of electronic devices to control centers.

A number of other companies make similar intelligent devices including Cisco and Tridium.

In the consumer space, a former Apple iPhone engineer has developed the first intelligent thermostat that learns from the homes occupants.  The NEST learning thermostat is a revolutionary product that bring intelligent energy management of HVAC to the home.


The NEST thermostat learns in one week how the manage the temperature in your home and provides both web based and smartphone based management tools as well as a very slick user interface on the device itself.


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