Determining energy consumption in a structure

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided for measuring the supply of a consumable product/energy source, such as electrical power, to a facility over time and analyzing the measurements to determine the consumption or supply of the product by one or more loads and/or sources in the facility, and to determine induced and residual heat flow through the facility's envelope. Various aspects compare the measured supply of the consumable product to a database of consumption signatures, which characterize access to the consumable product by particular users. In doing so, costs for the product may be more accurately divided between different tenants of the facility without having to install individual services or measurement equipment for each individual tenant. Operating conditions and facility characteristics, such as temperatures, load factors, insulation factors, etc., may be further considered in determining a particular user's access of the consumable product. To aid in the controlling of energy use, thermal resistance factors of the building are determined, which are based on the induced and residual heat flow through the facility. Various algorithms are used including smart agents (e.g. neural networks) to determine the consumption of the consumable product by a particular user, to create the database of consumption signatures, and to determine the thermal resistance factors.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 identifying at least one building component associated with a facility;   electronically retrieving an energy signature from a database related to the at least one building component; and   displaying on a display an estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component based on the energy signature.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 generating a report detailing the estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the report comprises an estimated cost corresponding to the estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the report comprises an estimated greenhouse gas emission by the at least one building component. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 retrieving characteristics of the facility from the database, wherein the characteristics of the facility comprise at least one of: insulation factors of walls in the facility; insulation factors of windows in the facility; load factors of the facility; and historical seasonal usage information of the facility. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining at least one of: one or more energy ratings of the facility; compliance of the facility with one or more governmental regulations; and compliance of the facility with one or more trade group certifications. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining one or more thermal properties of an envelope of the facility. 
 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus comprising:
 a processor; and   memory storing computer executable instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to:
 identify at least one building component associated with a facility; 
 electronically retrieve an energy signature from a database related to the at least one building component; and 
 display on a display an estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component based on the energy signature. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:
 generate a report detailing the estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the report comprises an estimated cost corresponding to the estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the report comprises an estimated greenhouse gas emission by the at least one building component. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:
 retrieve characteristics of the facility from the database, wherein the characteristics of the facility comprise at least one of: insulation factors of walls in the facility; insulation factors of windows in the facility; load factors of the facility; and historical seasonal usage information of the facility.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:
 determine at least one of: one or more energy ratings of the facility; compliance of the facility with one or more governmental regulations; and compliance of the facility with one or more trade group certifications.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:
 determine one or more thermal properties of an envelope of the facility.   
     
     
         15 . One or more non-transitory computer readable medium having executable instructions stored thereon, that when executed by one or more processors within a system, cause the system to:
 identify at least one building component associated with a facility;   electronically retrieve an energy signature from a database related to the at least one building component; and   display on a display an estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component based on the energy signature.   
     
     
         16 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the system to:
 generate a report detailing the estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component.   
     
     
         17 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the report comprises an estimated cost corresponding to the estimate of consumption of energy by the at least one building component. 
     
     
         18 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the report comprises an estimated greenhouse gas emission by the at least one building component. 
     
     
         19 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the system to:
 retrieve characteristics of the facility from the database, wherein the characteristics of the facility comprise at least one of: insulation factors of walls in the facility; insulation factors of windows in the facility; load factors of the facility; and historical seasonal usage information of the facility.   
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the system to:
 determine at least one of: one or more energy ratings of the facility; compliance of the facility with one or more governmental regulations; compliance of the facility with one or more trade group certifications; and one or more thermal properties of an envelope of the facility.