Technology Enablers for Next-Generation Economic Building Monitoring Systems

Abstract

The measurement of a building's electrical and thermal consumption provides the necessary data used to increase energy efficiency. Measurements typically range from hourly to monthly. Monthly data can be used to determine if savings are being maintained. Hourly data provides added detail for diagnostics. Currently, the cost of a complete monitoring system deters use in buildings under 30,000 to 50,000 square feet. Buildings can be optimized using techniques like Continuous CommissioningSM (CCSM) and experience a reduction in consumption ranging from 10% to 40% [1]. Using hourly data has proven to be very effective in maintaining the initial level of savings over an extended period of time [1]. The Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University (TAMU) has applied CCSM to over 100 buildings and obtained an average savings of 22 percent. Currently, wholebuilding and sub-metering relies on conventional dial-up based data logging systems. Development of a next-generation data acquisition system is essential to achieve a lower cost for building energy monitoring and analysis. The next-generation system discussed in this paper is a complete redesign. It will be Internet-enabled and secure; take advantage of current advances in smarter sensors, use embedded micro-controllers and mixed signal processors and use Java and XML.