In this presentation, an energy management system has been introduced to reduce the energy consumption of regular households. A thermal mathematical model was introduced first to evaluate the energy losses/gains of various residential and industrial buildings with different weather conditions. A wireless thermostat system was then developed to monitor and precisely control the energy consumptions of high load appliances of these buildings such as air conditioners, home furnaces, pool heaters, hot water boilers etc. Due to the different rates of energy costs between peak and off-peak hours, a smart schedule finally can be programmed and integrated with the thermostat system and the clients thus can significantly reduce their energy consumptions and costs with this intelligent system.
Energy consumption in residential and industrial buildings accounts for over 40% of primary energy used in US and has been a significant contributor of the country's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which accounts for 40% of CO2 emissions or about 2300 MMT CO2 equivalent. [1] Buildings also consume over 70% of electricity in North America, and this consumption varies a lot during different time periods. During the peak hours, there is high demand of electricity and it always causes power shortage, while during the off-peak hours, the utility companies have to take a loss to dump their surplus power. [2] This market characteristic has led to a double pricing system for the electricity in many provinces and states. [3] In this paper, an energy management system adapted to this double pricing system has been introduced.
This management system can receive the users' preferred room temperature inputs and the energy demand response events from the house appliances. It can work with the thermostat system to setback or set forward a temperature change, pre-cool or pre-heat the buildings ahead of the time so that the high load appliance is off or less-operated during the peak hours.