Abstract:
The preset invention is directed to a building energy management system and method, more specifically to a building energy management system and method that can quickly detect and control an abnormal situation or an emergency situation that may occur within a building.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0077497, filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jun. 21, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a system and a method for managing building energy, more specifically to a building energy management system and a method thereof that can quickly detect and control an abnormal or emergency situation that may be occurred within a building. 
       2. Background Art 
       [0003]    A building energy management system is a system for an optimal automated control of energy use by connecting various sensors connected to energy-consuming devices within a building through a communication network for real-time monitoring and analysis of collected data. The building energy management system manages the use of energy required by the building for heating and cooling, lighting, cooking, use of various appliances and machines, communication and ventilation, air conditioning, etc. 
         [0004]    Meanwhile, as buildings are used in more various ways, a greater variety of energy-consuming items has been introduced. Since it is normally not possible to calculate the energy use based on the data collected from the sensors, the building energy management system analyzes and projects energy consumption by the building more accurately by use of additional information, such as surrounding temperature, temperatures of rooms or sections and human traffic. The building energy management system is generally constituted with various sensors, server, sensor-server communication network and control equipment. The building energy management system allows the information on the sensors to be transferred to a central server for analysis and controls the energy use by controlling various devices based on the analyzed information. 
         [0005]    However, in the case of multiple buildings or an increased building size, a very large amount of data is generated, and thus an efficient, high-speed analysis or control is difficult for the building energy management system. This problem is expected to be magnified as there will be more cases of utilizing a large amount of sensor data, owing to the advancement of the Internet of Things technologies. Particularly, the centralized system of building energy management will face serious limitations if malfunctions or abnormal situations are to be detected and addressed. 
         [0006]    The prior art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication 2009-0066107 (laid open on Jun. 23, 2009). 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a building energy management system and method that can analyze sensor information in a building and designate an optimal edge device that performs an analysis for a quick detection and control of an abnormal situation or an emergency situation that may occur within the building by considering connectivity between required information and a control device. 
         [0008]    Objects of the present invention shall not be restricted to the above, and other objects not mentioned herein shall be apparent through the description provided below. 
         [0009]    An aspect of the present invention provides a building energy management system. 
         [0010]    The building energy management system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may include: a building energy management edge device, constituted with N levels, N being a natural number, and configured for generating analysis data based on collected control target sensor data, determining an abnormal or emergency situation based on the generated analysis data and transmitting control data to a building energy management control device; and a building energy management analysis server configured for determining an analysis structure for analysis and control of level cooperation of the building energy management edge device using connection structure information of the building energy management edge device. 
         [0011]    Another aspect of the present invention provides a building energy management method. 
         [0012]    The building energy management method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may include: receiving a variance analysis structure and selecting an analysis algorithm of a control target by receiving connection structure information of a building energy management edge device; determining sensor data for analysis of the control target; selecting a building energy management edge device at a lowest level collecting the determined sensor data; determining whether the building energy management edge device at the lowest level is connected with every building energy management sensor collecting the sensor data of the control target; selecting a building energy management edge device at a higher level connected with every building energy management sensor if it is determined that the building energy management edge device at the lowest level is not connected with every building energy management sensor; and configuring a communication channel for cooperative processing between the selected building energy management edge device and a building energy management analysis server. 
         [0013]    The present invention allows for a variance cooperative analysis of an abnormal situation or an emergency situation through a dynamic selection of an analysis edge device and thus can improve an availability ratio of resources of an overall system by utilizing unused resources. 
         [0014]    The present invention allows for a speedy detection and control of an abnormal situation or an emergency situation owing to the analysis and control at an edge device, enables an analysis algorithm to run effectively, and saves the costs of variance cooperative analysis through a reduction in the consumption amount of resources. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3  illustrate a building energy management system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  to  FIG. 7  illustrate a building energy management method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    A certain embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those who are ordinarily skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can readily work the invention. The present invention can be realized in various other forms and shall not be limited to the embodiment described herein. Moreover, when a portion is described to “include” or “comprise” an element, it shall mean that the portion can further include another element, rather than excluding any other element, unless otherwise described explicitly. 
         [0018]    Hereinafter, detailed description for embodying the present invention will be provided, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  illustrates a building energy management system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0020]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the building energy management system includes building energy management analysis server  100 , building energy management edge device  200 , building energy control device  300  and building energy management sensor  400 . 
         [0021]    The building energy management analysis server  100  manages energy consumption of a building. The building energy management analysis server  100  receives building energy analysis data based on building energy sensor data from the building energy management edge device  200  and generates control data for controlling the building energy control device  300  based on the received building energy analysis data to optimize building energy. The building energy management analysis server  100  may configure an analysis server with a plurality of server clusters. Here, the server clusters may be constituted with, for example, a front end server and a back end server. The building energy management analysis server  100  may be logically considered as a single server. 
         [0022]    The building energy management edge device  200  collects sensor data from the building energy management sensor  300  in order to analyze an abnormal or emergency situation in building energy management. The building energy management edge device  200  processes the collected sensor data and performs an analysis algorithm with the processed sensor data to analyze the abnormal or emergency situation. The building energy management edge device  200  determines the abnormal or emergency situation based on the analyzed result and performs a proper building energy control. Analyzing the abnormal or emergency situation and performing the building energy control will be described later in detail with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
         [0023]    Moreover, the building energy management edge device  200  may transfer the sensor data to the building energy management analysis server  100  or transfer a control command to the building energy control device  300 . The building energy management edge device  200  provides computing for analysis based on computing resources. The building energy management edge device  200  may be any one of, for example, an Internet of Things (IoT) gateway, a bridge and a communication router. 
         [0024]    Moreover, the building energy management edge device  200  may be connected in a tree structure having N levels, N being a natural number. The building energy management edge device  200  may collect building energy management sensor data and transmit the collected building energy management sensor data to the building energy management edge device  200  at an upper level or to the building energy management analysis server  100 . 
         [0025]    The building energy control device  300  controls production or consumption of building energy. The building energy control device  300  may be, for example, a lighting control device, a heating control device or an air-conditioning control device. The building energy control device  300  receives control data from the building energy management edge device  200  and performs energy control based on the received control data. 
         [0026]    The building energy management sensor  400  senses production or consumption of building energy. The building energy management sensor  400  may be, for example, a light sensor, a temperature sensor or a carbon monoxide sensor. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  are provided to illustrate the building energy management analysis server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the building energy management analysis server  100  includes a sensor data collecting unit  110 , an abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120 , a device controlling unit  130 , an edge connection structure management unit  140 , a level analysis and control structure determining unit  150 , a control rules storage unit  160 , an abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm storage unit  170  and an edge connection structure storage unit  180 . 
         [0029]    The sensor data collecting unit  110  collects sensor data from the building energy management sensor  400  or receives the sensor data from the building energy management edge device  200  at a lower level. The sensor data collecting unit  110  may collect the sensor data in a streaming or polling form and provide the collected sensor data to the abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120 . 
         [0030]    The abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120  analyzes an abnormal or emergency situation using an abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm based on the sensor data. Here, the abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm may be selected from the abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm storage unit  170 . The abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120  performs the analysis algorithm for level analysis using the structure determined by the level analysis and control structure determining unit  150 . According to this structure, a preprocessing result or a variance analysis result is received through communication with an edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  in the building energy management edge device  200  and utilized for final analysis, or an analysis result at the server is transferred to the edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  of the building energy management edge device  200  and utilized for edge analysis. 
         [0031]    The device control unit  130  generates control data for controlling the building energy control device  300  according to control rules predetermined based on the analysis result. The device control unit  130  controls the building energy control device  300  using control rules stored in the control rules storage unit  160 . The device control unit  130  generates the control data by applying the analysis result of the abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120  and the sensor data collected by the sensor data collecting unit  110  to the control rules, and transfers the generated control data to the building energy control device  300 . 
         [0032]    The edge connection structure management unit  140  monitors connection and status information between the building energy management sensor  400  and the building energy management edge device  200 , between the building energy control device  300  and the building energy management edge device  200 , between the building energy management edge device  200  and another building energy management edge device  200 , and between the building energy management edge device  200  and the building energy management analysis server  100 . The edge connection structure management unit  140  generates building energy management edge connection structure information containing at least one of connection information and status information and stores the generated building energy management edge connection structure information in the edge connection structure storage unit  180 . The edge connection structure management unit  140  transfers the building energy management edge connection structure information to the level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  and the abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120  for level analysis and control structure determination and allows the building energy management analysis server  100  and the building energy management edge device  200  to facilitate cooperative analysis. With the determination of the level analysis and control structure determining unit  150 , the edge connection structure management unit  140  sends an algorithm in building energy management abnormal or emergency situation algorithm to the building energy management edge device  200  and downloads the control rules in the control rules storage unit  160  to the building energy management edge device  200 . 
         [0033]    The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  determines a variance structure of an algorithm for analyses for level cooperation and control. The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  determines an optimal variance analysis structure by receiving the building energy management edge connection structure information from the edge connection structure management unit  140 . The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  selects an analysis algorithm of a control device to be controlled first and determines required sensor data. The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  selects a building energy management edge device  200  that includes all of the sensor data and can provide a computing capability at a closest distance from the building energy control device  300  and loads a main analysis algorithm therein. The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  may utilize, for example, the Hamming distance measuring method for the measurement of distance. 
         [0034]    The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  determines whether the analysis algorithm is operable in the computing resources of the building energy management edge device  200  according to the structural level of the building energy management edge device and determines the building energy management edge device to run the main analysis algorithm. The level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  determines in the searched result whether the analysis algorithm is sufficient for operation in the computing resources of the pertinent building energy management edge device  200  and, if it is determined that operation is difficult, elevates the level by one step to continue to check. When the building energy management edge device  200  to run the main analysis algorithm is finally determined, the level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  selects a building energy management edge device  200  to preprocess the determined lower level of building energy management edge device  200  most effectively. In the case of control rules utilizing the analysis result in the building energy management analysis server  100 , the level analysis and control structure determining unit  150  configures a communication channel for allowing the analysis result of the building energy management analysis server  100  to be considered in the abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120  for connection with the abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120 . 
         [0035]    The control rules storage unit  160  stores rules for controlling the building energy management control device. The control rules storage unit  160  provides building energy management control rules to the device controlling unit  130  or to the building energy management edge device  200 . 
         [0036]    The abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm storage unit  170  stores an abnormal or emergency situation algorithm for determining the building energy management abnormal or emergency situation. The abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm storage unit  170  is configured with a code library to allow an algorithm to be executed in a downloaded module. The abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm storage unit  170  may include a machine learning algorithm, such as linear regression or clustered sampling, or an algorithm for extracting a statistical value, such as a mean value or standard deviation. The abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm storage unit  170  provides the abnormal or emergency situation algorithm to the abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  120  or to the building energy management edge device  200 . 
         [0037]    The edge connection structure storage unit  180  stores edge connection structure information received from the edge connection structure management unit  140 . The edge connection structure storage unit  180  may be configured with database. The edge connection structure storage unit  180  may provide a required connection structure in response to a query of the edge connection structure management unit  140 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  illustrate a building energy management edge device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0039]    Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a building energy management edge device  200  includes an edge communication unit  210 , an edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220 , an edge sensor data collecting unit  230  and an edge device controlling unit  240 . 
         [0040]    The edge communication unit  210  handles communication with an external device at a higher level in the building energy management edge device  200 . The edge communication unit  210  exchanges sensor data, control rules, analysis algorithm or device control signals with the building energy management analysis server  100 . The edge communication unit  210  manages each of the sensor data with information on the building energy management edge device  200  at an upper level or the building energy management analysis server  100  and transfers the sensor data elevated from a lower level to the pertinent building energy management edge device  200  or the building energy management analysis server  100 . Moreover, the edge communication unit  210  may also include information on the type of sensor and information for communication with the building energy management edge device  200  at a lower level, in addition to the sensor data. 
         [0041]    The edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  analyzes the sensor data in order to determine an abnormal or emergency situation. The edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  may download and use an analysis algorithm from the building energy management analysis server  100 . Here, the analysis algorithm may be run in the form of an application program. If the main analysis algorithm is loaded, the actual analysis algorithm is run, but in the case of a building energy management edge device at a lower level of the building energy management edge device  200  that has loaded the main analysis algorithm, the edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  may perform a preprocessing. The edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  may receive data required for analysis from the edge sensor data collecting unit  230  and transfer the analysis result to the edge device controlling unit  240  for utilization in the control rules. 
         [0042]    The edge sensor data collecting unit  230  collects the sensor data. The edge sensor data collecting unit  230  may transfer the sensor data to the building energy management edge device  200  at an upper level or the building energy management analysis server through the edge communication unit  210 . For an edge analysis, if necessary, the edge sensor data collecting unit  230  may transfer the sensor data to the edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  to have the analysis algorithm run. The edge sensor data collecting unit  230  transfers the sensor data for the control rules of the edge device controlling unit  240 . The edge sensor data collecting unit  230  may manage, or share with the edge communication unit  210 , information on the type of sensor and information on the building energy management edge device  200  at a lower level, in addition to the received sensor data. 
         [0043]    The edge device controlling unit  240  runs the control rules based on the analysis result of the edge abnormal or emergency situation analyzing unit  220  and the sensor data of the edge sensor data collecting unit  230  to control the building energy management control device. In the case where the edge device controlling unit  240  is selected as the building energy management edge device  200  for main analysis, the edge device controlling unit  240  downloads and runs the pertinent control rules from the building energy management analysis server  100 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7  illustrate a building energy management method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , in step S 610 , the building energy management system collects sensor data. Specifically, the building energy management sensor  400  collects sensor data of a control target. 
         [0046]    In step S 620 , the building energy management system preprocesses the sensor data. The building energy management edge device  200  performs the preprocessing of the sensor data by being connected with the building energy management sensor  40  that has collected the sensor data. Here, the preprocessing may be at least one of conversion and operation of the sensor data for analysis of the control target. 
         [0047]    In step S 630 , the building energy management system runs an abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm to generate analysis result information. The building energy management edge device  200  runs the analysis algorithm by being configured based on the amount of provided resources and the amount of calculation of analysis algorithm. The building energy management edge device  200  may be a building energy management edge device at a level that can receive all of the sensor data of the control target. The building energy management analysis server  100  may cooperatively perform analysis of the control target if the building energy management edge device  200  has an insufficient amount of provided resources or is not able to receive all of the sensor data of the control target. 
         [0048]    In step S 640 , the building energy management system determines whether an abnormal or emergency situation has occurred. The building energy management edge device  200  determines the abnormal or emergency situation by comparing predetermined criteria with the analysis result information. 
         [0049]    In step S 650 , the building energy management system control the building energy control device  300  if an abnormal or emergency situation has occurred. The building energy management edge device  200  controls the building energy control device  300  according to a predetermined control algorithm if an abnormal or emergency situation has occurred. 
         [0050]    In step S 660 , the building energy management system determines whether the abnormal or emergency situation has been terminated. The building energy management edge device  200  may repeat the above-described steps S 610  to S 650  until the abnormal or emergency situation is terminated. 
         [0051]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , in step S 710 , the building energy management analysis server  100  determines an optimal variance analysis structure by receiving connection structure information of the building energy management edge device  200 , and selects the abnormal or emergency situation analysis algorithm of the control target. 
         [0052]    In step S 720 , the building energy management edge device  200  determines sensor data for analyzing the selected control target. 
         [0053]    In step S 730 , the building energy management analysis server  100  selects the building energy management edge device  200  at the lowest level that is connected with the building energy management sensor  400  collecting the determined sensor data. 
         [0054]    In step S 740 , the building energy management analysis server  100  selects a building energy management edge device  200  that contains every building energy management sensor  400  at a same level and is at a closest distance from the building energy control device associated with the control target. Here, the measurement of the distance may be made by, for example, the Hamming distance measuring method. 
         [0055]    In step S 750 , the building energy management analysis server  100  determines whether the selected building energy management edge device  200  is connected with every building energy management sensor  400  collecting the sensor data associated with the control target. 
         [0056]    In step S 760 , if not every building energy sensor  400  is connected, the building energy management analysis server  100  selects the building energy management edge device  200  at a higher level of the initially-selected building energy management edge device  200 . 
         [0057]    In step S 770 , the building energy management analysis server  100  compares the amount of calculation of analysis algorithm with computing resources of the selected building energy management edge device  200  connected with every building energy management sensor  400 . 
         [0058]    In step S 780 , the building energy management analysis server  100  determines whether the pertinent analysis algorithm is operable in the computing resources of the selected building energy management edge device  200 , and, if it is determined that operation is difficult, elevates the level by one step to continue to check. 
         [0059]    In step S 790 , the building energy management analysis server  100  loads the main analysis algorithm if the pertinent analysis algorithm is operable with the computing resources of the selected building energy management edge device  200 . 
         [0060]    In step S 800 , the building energy management analysis server  100  assigns a preprocessing of sensor data to the building energy management edge device  200  at a lower level that is connected with the building energy management sensor  400 . 
         [0061]    In step S 810 , the building energy management analysis server  100  configures a communication channel through cooperative analysis with the building energy management edge device  200 . If the control rules allow for utilization of an analysis result from the building energy management server  100 , the building energy management edge device  200  may configure a communication channel that allows the analysis result of the building energy management analysis server  100  to be considered. 
         [0062]    The building energy management method in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that are executable through various computer means and written in a computer-readable medium, which may include program instructions, data files, data structures, or the like, in a stand-alone form or in a combination thereof. The program instructions stored in the computer readable medium can be designed and configured specifically for the present invention or can be publically known and available to those who are skilled in the field of software. Examples of the computer readable medium can include magnetic media, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, optical media, such as CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical media, such as a floptical disk, and hardware devices, such as ROM, RAM and flash memory, which are specifically configured to store and run program instructions. 
         [0063]    Hitherto, certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, and it shall be appreciated that a large number of permutations and modifications of the present invention are possible without departing from the intrinsic features of the present invention by those who are ordinarily skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the disclosed embodiments of the present invention shall be appreciated in illustrative perspectives, rather than in restrictive perspectives, and the scope of the technical ideas of the present invention shall not be restricted by the disclosed embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be interpreted through the claims appended below, and any and all equivalent technical ideas shall be interpreted to be included in the claims of the present invention.