Smart building energy management based on network occupancy sensing

Abstract

To meet environmental-friendly requirements, Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) is required for energy consumption monitoring and management. A new energy reducing strategy based on BEMS is proposed in this paper. First, the concept of BEMS monitoring is presented and the communication protocol of BEMS is discussed. Then, implicit occupancy detection method is used to calculate the number of people in the building. This method, which is largely based on existing IT infrastructure that already installed for non-energy purpose, can gather data inexpensively and has a high accuracy compared with traditional method. Finally, the strategy for energy reducing is proposed based on the occupancy data. Building electric devices like HVAC, lighting are monitored and controlled to improve building functionality and reduce energy. Simulation based on MATLAB is carried out to test the implicit occupancy method and energy control strategy. The result shows that the methods have a significant effect on reducing the energy consumption of the building.