AU2017232224A1 - Methods and systems for determining an energy performance measure for a property - Google Patents

Abstract

- 27 Methods and systems for determining an energy performance measure for a property Abstract Described herein are systems and methods for determining an energy efficiency rating or energy performance measure for a property. In one embodiment, the method includes: (a) receiving, from a first computer interface, a first request for an energy efficiency rating for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; (b) in response to the first request, configuring a server to determine the presence or absence of a current building plan for the property in a database; (c) upon identifying an absence of a current building plan for the property in the database: (i) issuing a second request to an expert building assessor to undertake an assessment of the property to obtain a building plan for the property; (ii) receiving, from a second computer interface, a building plan for the property prepared by the expert building assessor; and (iii) uploading the building plan to the database; (d) upon identifying a presence of the building plan for the property in the database: (i) inputting, at a third computer interface, data relating to consumable energy components of the property; (ii) configuring a processor to perform an energy rating analysis algorithm using the building plan, consumable energy component data; and (iii) outputting, from the algorithm, a standardised energy efficiency rating for the property. (Fig. 1) U, U, _0 co c-c C:/ a) -c a) CU) C)) C)~ ~~a) C)) 0: Cc U)a) a))C Ua)

Description

Methods and systems for determining an energy performance measure for a property

Field of the invention [0001 ] The present invention relates to the field of energy efficiencies of properties and materials and in particular to methods and systems for determining an energy performance measure for a property. While some embodiments will be described herein with particular reference to that application, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such a field of use, and is applicable in broader contexts.

Background [0002] Disclosure of energy efficiency information of a property at a point of sale or lease is desirable as it enables consumers to better judge the running costs and comfort of a home, and thereby make more informed decisions when buying a home. Research indicates that consumers want this information, and in many cases are willing to pay for this information. Research has also shown that providing this information increases the value of homes that are more energy efficient. Thus, provision of suitable energy efficiency information is a market based policy mechanism for incentivising refurbishment of homes to be more energy efficient.

[0003] Typically the information that would be provided to the consumer would relate to the energy impacts of: > The building design (materials of construction, solar gain, etc); > Energy consuming appliance stock and appliance efficiency; and > Renewable energy sources.

[0004] Many countries have implemented policies to encourage disclosure of this information. In some jurisdictions, this information is mandatory at a point of sale or lease. In many other jurisdictions, disclosure is encouraged through voluntary rating schemes (e.g. HERS).

[0005] Unfortunately, a link between a consumer’s desire for energy efficiency information and sales of ratings performed by assessors, has not been adequately established. Anecdotal evidence suggests that consumers do not ask for this information at the point of sale.

[0006] Possible reasons for the lack of adoption of voluntary disclosure schemes include (i) the cost of assessments, (ii) the complexity/ lack of explanation of what the assessments mean and (iii) the lack of trust in the information provided.

[0007] One of the key barriers to adoption of a voluntary energy efficiency disclosure scheme is the technical complexity of rating the thermal properties of a home. The thermal properties of a home are influenced by a huge variety of factors. These include, inter alia, the amount and placement of insulation and thermal mass, the size, the orientation and shading of the windows, the colour of the roof, the location of the public areas and bedrooms etc.

Modelling tools are typically required to evaluate the performance of the home. On the one hand, the more detailed (complex) models have more design options available for improving the performance, which gives the designer flexibility to find a greater variety of more cost effective energy saving solutions. On the other hand, more detailed models require skilled practitioners and more time and cost to use.

[0008] In comparison to the above energy efficiency information for a home, the collection of energy consuming appliance data and renewable energy generation sources data can be relatively simple.

[0009] In existing rating schemes an expert building assessor (who may or may not be accredited - depending on scheme design) must go to the house and conduct an assessment. This requires costly travel time for the expert. And experience has shown that expert building assessors are typically not well equipped to communicate the benefits of environmentally sustainable housing to the public.

[0010] The inventor has identified a need for improved systems and methods for determining an energy performance for a property.

[0011] Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

Summary of the Invention [0012] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining an energy performance measure for a property, the method including: receiving, at a user interface, a request for an energy performance measure for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; in response to the request, configuring a server to access a remote database or databases and use the identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including a) property layout data, b) consumable energy component data and c) material component data for the property; configuring a processor to perform an energy analysis algorithm using the property energy characteristics; and outputting, from the algorithm, an energy performance measure for the property.

[0013] The consumable energy component data may include a number and a type of energy consuming or energy producing devices installed in the property. The consumable energy component data may also include a predefined energy efficiency rating for the energy consuming or energy producing devices installed in the property.

[0014] The material component data includes a number and type of material components used to construct the property. The material component data may also include a position of the material components on the property.

[0015] The property layout data may include a floorplan of the property. The property layout data may also include a three dimensional model of the property.

[0016] The request may include occupant data indicative of a current number of occupants of the property and the energy analysis algorithm incorporates the occupant data in generating the energy performance measure. The occupant data may include demographics of the occupants. The occupant data may also include energy preferences of the occupants.

[0017] The property layout data and material component data are preferably stored in a first database and the consumable energy component data is preferably stored in a second database.

[0018] The energy performance measure may include a standardised energy efficiency rating for comparison to other properties. The standardised energy efficiency rating may also include a first component indicative of a thermal comfort of occupants of the property and a second component indicative of an average energy consumption of the property when subject to a fixed standard user profile. The energy performance measure may further include a measure of passive energy efficiency of the property. The energy performance measure may also include a measure of the estimated energy consumption in the property over a predetermined period of time for the occupants. The energy performance measure may further include a three dimensional heat map of the property.

[0019] In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of simulating the indoor climate conditions for a property, the method including: receiving, at a user interface, a request for a simulation of a climate for the property, the request including an identifier of the property and one or more outside climate parameters; in response to the request, configuring a server to access a remote database or databases and use the identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including property layout data and material component data for the property; configuring a processor to generate a three dimensional climate model for the property using the property energy characteristics and the one or more outside climate characteristics as inputs; and displaying, to a user at a user interface, a visual simulation of the three dimensional climate model for the property.

[0020] The one or more climate characteristics may include a time of day of the simulation. The one or more climate characteristics may also include a date or season of the simulation. The one or more climate characteristics may further include an outdoor weather condition.

[0021 ] The property layout data may include a three dimensional model of the property.

[0022] The three dimensional climate model may include a three dimensional heat map of the property.

[0023] The visual simulation may include a three dimensional virtual walkthrough of the climate model for the property.

[0024] The three dimensional climate model may illustrate a temperature distribution within rooms of the property. The three dimensional climate model may illustrate thermal convection through the property.

[0025] In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining an energy efficiency rating for a property, the method including: receiving, from a first computer interface, a first request for an energy efficiency rating for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; in response to the first request, configuring a server to determine the presence or absence of a current building plan for the property in a database; upon identifying an absence of a current building plan for the property in the database: issuing a second request to an expert building assessor to undertake an assessment of the property to obtain a building plan for the property; receiving, from a second computer interface, a building plan for the property prepared by the expert building assessor; and uploading the building plan to the database; upon identifying a presence of the building plan for the property in the database: inputting, at a third computer interface, data relating to consumable energy components of the property; configuring a processor to perform an energy rating analysis algorithm using the building plan, consumable energy component data; and outputting, from the algorithm, a standardised energy efficiency rating for the property.

[0026] The first computer interface and the third computer interface may be the same interface.

[0027] The method may include inputting, at the third computer interface, occupant data indicative of a current number of occupants of the property and wherein the energy rating analysis algorithm incorporates the occupant data in generating the energy efficiency rating.

[0028] In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system for determining an energy performance measure for a property, the computer system including: a computer interface for receiving, from a user, a request for an energy performance measure for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; a server or system of servers connected to the computer interface and configured to: in response to the request, access a remote database or databases and use the input identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including a) property layout data, b) consumable energy component data and c) material component data for the property; perform an energy analysis algorithm using the property energy characteristics; and output, from the algorithm, an energy performance measure for the property.

[0029] In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system for simulating the indoor climate for a property, the computer system including: a computer interface for receiving, from a user, a request for a simulation of a climate for the property, the request including an identifier of the property and one or more outside climate parameters; a server or system of servers connected to the computer interface and configured to: in response to the request, access a remote database or databases and use the identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including property layout data and material component data for the property; generate a three dimensional climate model for the property using the property energy characteristics and the one or more outside climate characteristics as inputs; and display, to a user at the user interface, a visual simulation of the three dimensional climate model for the property.

[0030] In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system for determining an energy efficiency rating for a property, the computer system including: a computer interface for receiving, from a user, a first request for an energy efficiency rating for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; a server or system of servers connected to the computer interface and configured to: in response to the first request, determine the presence or absence of a current building plan for the property in a database; upon identifying an absence of a current building plan for the property in the database: prompt a second request to an expert building assessor to undertake an assessment of the property to obtain a building plan for the property; receive, from a second computer interface, a building plan for the property prepared by the expert building assessor; and upload the building plan to the database; upon identifying a presence of the building plan for the property in the database: receive, from a third computer interface, data relating to consumable energy components of the property; configure a processor to perform an energy rating analysis algorithm using the building plan, consumable energy component data; and output, from the algorithm, a standardised energy efficiency rating for the property.

[0031] In accordance with a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining an energy performance measure for a property. The method includes receiving, at a user interface, a request for an energy performance measure for the property, the request including an identifier of the property. The request is digitised into a digital request signal by a digital computer processor that is operatively associated with the user interface. The digital request signal is transmitted to a server. In response to the digital request signal, the server accesses a remote database or databases and uses the identifier contained within the digital request signal as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table. The property energy characteristics include a) property layout data, b) consumable energy component data and c) material component data for the property. The obtained property energy characteristics data is packaged into a data packet by the server and transmitted to a computer processor for subsequent processing. The processor is preconfigured to, upon receipt of the data packet, perform an energy analysis algorithm using the property energy characteristics. The algorithm outputs an energy performance measure for the property.

Brief Description of the Figures [0032] Preferred embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic system level diagram of a computer system for determining an energy efficiency rating for a property;

Figure 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating the primary steps in a method for determining an energy efficiency rating for a property;

Figure 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating the role of the key parties in populating the Thermal Shell and Appliance and Renewables databases of the present invention; and

Figure 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating the flow of data/control in a system for determining an energy performance measure for a property.

Detailed description

System Overview [0033] Referring initially to Figure 1, there is illustrated a computer system 100 for determining an energy performance measure for a property. The computer system is configured to perform a method as illustrated in Figure 2. System 100 includes a first computer interface in the form of a real estate terminal 102 for enabling a real estate or other user to input a request 104 for an energy efficiency rating for the property. Terminal 102 may be a desktop computer or an internet enabled mobile device such as a laptop, smartphone or tablet computer. The request 104 includes an identifier of the property such as the physical property address or an internal reference associated with that property sufficient for uniquely identifying the property from among many properties stored in a database. In some embodiments, the request is digitised into a digital request signal by a digital computer processor that is operatively associated with the user interface.

[0034] The request 104 is sent to a server 106 (or system of servers) connected to the real estate terminal 102 via an internet connection. Server 106 is preferably a remotely located computing device connected indirectly to terminal 102 through the internet using the Internet Protocol. However, in some embodiments, server 106 may be located within a local area network in which terminal 102 is also located. In these other embodiments, communication between terminal 102 and server 106 may be via the Ethernet protocol.

[0035] Server 106 is in communication with two remote data sources in the form of a Thermal Shell database 108 and an Appliance and Renewables database 110. Databases 108 and 110 may be remotely located from each other or co-located within a common data storage facility. In some embodiments, databases 108 and 110 may form separate parts of a single data source. The Thermal Shell database 108 stores information relating to building design and passive thermal characteristics of the property such as: > A property floorplan or layout; > A physical property model (two or three dimensional); > A property aspect or orientation; > A number, location and type of construction materials used in the construction of the property and their associate thermal properties; and > Thermal models of the property generated based on the above property characteristics.

[0036] The above information is collectively referred to herein as a 'building plan’ for the property. Building design information can be stored in the Thermal Shell database 108 in a wide variety of formats, including (i) thermal physics modelling tool data files, (ii) 2D floor plans with associated construction data, (iii) 3D CAD/BIM designs with bill of materials, etc. More preferably, building design information can be stored in Building Information Model (BIM) format, to enable 3D visualisation of the home.

[0037] The Appliance and renewable database 110 stores information relating to energy consuming and generation devices such as: > The presence and characteristics of air conditioning or cooling devices; > The presence and characteristics of heating devices; > The presence and characteristics of renewable energy generation devices such as Solar Photovoltaic panels; > Electrical appliances and their associated energy performance characteristics; > Gas appliances and their associated energy performance characteristics; and > Performance characteristics of a hot water system.

[0038] The characteristics of the consuming devices include, for example, an associated energy rating or water usage rating.

[0039] At step 201 of method 200, in response to the request 104, server 106 accesses the Thermal Shell database 108 to determine the presence or absence of a building plan for the property. If, at step 202, an absence of a building plan for the property is identified, at step 203A, server 106 sends a second request 112 to a second computer interface in the form of an expert building assessor terminal 114. The request 112 requests an expert building assessor to undertake an assessment of the property to obtain a building plan for the property. Preferably, the request 112 is sent as an electronic request such as an email and includes relevant information on the property to allow the expert building assessor to undertake the assessment. However, in other embodiments, the request 112 may be indirectly provided to the expert building assessor through the real estate agent. By way of example, upon identifying an absence of a building plan in the Thermal Shell database 108, server 106 may issue an alert to the real estate agent through terminal 102 thereby allowing the real estate agent to contact the expert building assessor directly by telephone, email or other communication means.

[0040] In response to the request 112, the expert building assessor carries out a detailed building inspection of the property and prepares a building plan for the property. The expert building assessor uploads the building plan to terminal 114 (or to another internet connected computer terminal or mobile device), which sends the building plan to server 106 for storage in the Thermal Shell database 108 with an associated identifier of the property.

[0041] If, at step 202, an existing building plan for the property is identified in the Thermal Shell database 108, at step 203B, server 106 performs a check to identify whether the existing building plan is current. This check may include one or both of accessing/checking online council or government databases of building development proposals and records for the property and/or transmitting the building plan to the real estate agent requesting the agent check for renovations to the property since the date of the existing building plan.

[0042] If the result of the check at step 203B is that the existing building plan is not current, then control progresses to step 203A as described above wherein a request is sent for the preparation of a current building plan. If the result of the check at step 203B is that the existing building plan is current, or after a current building plan has been prepared at step 203A, control progresses to step 204. At step 204 server 106 accesses the Appliance and Renewables database 110 to obtain consumable energy component data relating to the energy consuming and generating devices installed in the property. If the consumable energy component data is not available, the real estate agent is able to visit the property and perform a survey to input the consumable energy component data based on the appliances present. Before undertaking such a survey, the real estate agent may be required to undertake appropriate training. In some embodiments, the survey performed here may be performed in conjunction with the building assessment performed at step 203A.

[0043] The data is passed to real estate terminal 102 or a similar internet connected terminal/device for viewing by the real estate agent. As this data is more dynamic than the overall building plan, the real estate agent will typically review the records stored in the Appliance and Renewables database 110 and conduct their own survey of the property and update the details of the consumable energy component data devices installed in the property. To assist with this process, the real estate agent may leverage dedicated software tools which access consumer product energy efficiency/rating databases and enter the required data into a user interface.

[0044] At step 205, server 106 inputs the current building plan and consumable energy component data to an energy rating analysis algorithm to output a standardised energy efficiency rating for the property. The algorithm is executed by a computer processor separate to or associated with server 106. For the algorithm to execute properly, the current building plan and consumable energy component data may be organised into a data structure of predetermined form. Alternatively, the current building plan and consumable energy component data can be exported in IFC, XML/GBXML or other file format to enable a third party to perform the final rating service.

[0045] In step 205, building design information (property layout, material components etc), collected in the Thermal Shell database 108, is used to calculate the heat flows going into and out of the property. This calculation can be performed by an expert building assessor using an appropriate building thermal physics modelling tool such as the open source software tool EnergyPlus or AccuRate. This calculated house energy flow information is then passed, with the house floor plan, to the Appliance and Renewables Database 110 where consumable energy components such as air conditioning appliance(s) can be selected to provide the heating and cooling to overcome these heat flows and maintain a comfortable indoor environment. The energy consumed to maintain comfort is then the product of the heat to be added/removed (from the Thermal Shell Database) and the inverse of the energy efficiency ratio (EER) of the air conditioning appliance (from the Appliance and Renewables Database). Air conditioning energy consumption is then combined with the energy consumption of other fixed household appliances, under standardized usage assumptions, to determine an overall annual house energy consumption. This can be benchmarked against expected best practice values either as absolute energy consumption values, specific energy consumption values or as climate-zone dependent “star ratings”.

[0046] In some embodiments, step 205 may include accessing past energy usage records for the property from registered energy providers. These past actual data may be input to the building model as test or training data and the models may incorporate machine learning techniques which incorporate learning patterns from other similar properties.

[0047] In some embodiments, a real-time assessment of the property may be performed using sensors installed in the property. Such an assessment may include monitoring the indoor and outdoor temperatures across a predetermined time period (such as a day) and while different appliances are activated (e.g. heaters and air conditioners). The data from this assessment can be transmitted to the Thermal Shell database 108 and input to the building thermal model to improve the thermal model of the property.

[0048] Example energy ratings could include the Victorian Energy Efficiency Scorecard standardised in the state of Victoria, Australia, BASIX standardised in the state of New South Wales, Australia and NatHERS standardised in other jurisdictions across Australia. Preferably, the energy rating analysis algorithm is configured to formulate the data into one or more formats such that it can plug into one or more of the standardised energy rating algorithms currently in existence to output a rating in a standardised format. Thus, the core databases can be accessed nationwide or worldwide and the data applied to state, country or even region-based energy rating scales. Furthermore, the present invention provides for simple comparison of different ratings systems for a single property. The present invention also provides capability for feeding back the output energy rating for a property for subsequent use in comparing ratings of similar types of properties in other locations. This feedback can be used to harmonise over time discrepancies between different standards and energy algorithms in different regions/states around Australia.

[0049] The energy efficiency rating generated for the property is, in one embodiment, stored in the Thermal Shell database 108 and can be displayed in a user interface upon request. However, in other embodiments, the energy efficiency rating data can be stored in other databases such as official council and government databases together with other records of the property.

[0050] The present invention is able to build on existing energy rating analysis algorithms for consistency with current energy efficiency ratings. An exemplary energy rating analysis algorithm for calculating the heating and cooling demand of a house is the AccuRate software tool, developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). AccuRate is used to predict the annual space heating and cooling requirements of residential homes (expressed as mega joules per square metre of floor area). The space heating and cooling requirement is then compared against specified star band levels to determine a star rating for a proposed house design. The star rating is used for compliance with the Australian Building Code to regulate the energy efficiency of new homes.

[0051] AccuRate includes a modelling engine for thermal heat flows in the house. This model, known as the Chenath engine, has been developed by CSIRO from decades of research.

[0052] Other commercial software products, First Rate5 and BERS Pro, also interface with the Chenath engine but have different graphic user interfaces which capture the information used to calculate the energy performance of the house design.

[0053] The core Chenath engine codes the detailed physics of thermal flows in a home. The heat flow into and out of the occupied space is calculated for each heating and cooling source for every hour of the year, and the resulting hourly heating or cooling requirement is evaluated to maintain the temperature inside the home at acceptable comfort levels.

[0054] The Chenath engine described above in relation to the AccuRate software is capable of accounting for the following energy flows: > Solar radiation in through windows, roof windows and skylights. The position, angle and intensity of the sunlight entering the building is evaluated for each hour of the year. This determines the amount of sunlight that will fall on defined windows at any given time. Shading and alternative glazing systems are also taken into account. > Convective and conductive heat transfer. The hour by hour rate of heat transfer through the building’s fabric material is considered whenever there is a temperature difference across building elements such as walls and windows. > Thermal storage. Changes in the heat stored in the building’s structure are calculated using a thermal capacitance model. > Long wave thermal radiation. Thermal radiation of heat between surfaces within the building is evaluated. Radiation to the sky from the roof at night is also evaluated. > Air exchange. Ventilation air flow brings hot or cold air into the building. Air exchange may also bring moisture into the building which may need to be removed by additional cooling. The Chenath engine considers both unintended buoyancy and wind induced air leakage, and intended ventilation with predefined occupant behaviours. > Internal gains. Heat from cooking, lights, appliances and people all ends up inside the occupied space and affects the thermal balance. The Chenath engine evaluation is based on assumed hourly usage and behavior patterns of the occupants.

[0055] The data produced by the AccuRate software tool can be fed into a further subroutine such as a plugin to combine the efficiency with which the fixed appliances in the property deliver the heating and cooling of the property and other energy demands by occupants of the property to produce a more comprehensive energy efficiency rating for the property. Thus, while existing software like AccuRate consider the passive energy components of the property stored in the Thermal Shell database 108, the present invention also considers the dynamic energy components of the Appliance and Renewables database 110.

[0056] In some embodiments, rather than providing a single overall energy rating for a property, air conditioning energy consumption is separated from total appliance energy consumption to provide two ratings for the property; one for the passive energy efficiency of the house design (using components from the Thermal Shell database 108) and one for the efficiency of the appliances (using the components from the Appliance and Renewables database 110).

[0057] The significance of the two-database system is that the less-technical minded real estate agents can access and modify the Appliance and Renewables database 110 but only access the Thermal Shell database 108. Only a more technically qualified expert building assessor is able to upload data to the Thermal Shell database 108 to modify structural details of the property.

[0058] Although the example of a real estate agent is used in the present description, it will be appreciated that the first computer interface could be accessed by other interested parties such as property buyers, property developers and buyer’s advocates. More generally, the parties accessing the first computer interface 102 represent parties who are not formally trained in building assessments while the parties accessing the second computer interface 114 have undertaken formal training as an expert building assessor. Although expert building assessors may have undertaken different levels and types of training, they have all reached some level of professional accreditation which allows them access to the Thermal Shell database 108 and to update that database. In facilitating system 100, calibration/validation testing may be provided to ensure quality assurance. For example, expert building assessors may be required to pass training assessments that are based on theoretical homes, with expert building assessors required to generate ratings within a target range. Similar training assessments may be provided to real estate agents for undertaking the property surveys to gather the consumable energy component data.

[0059] Splitting the task between the trained expert building assessor and the real estate agent means that the additional cost of separately bringing in an expert is only incurred when required and the primary push to obtain the energy efficiency rating is left in the hands of the real estate agent with marketing (rather than technical) skills. In many cases the energy efficiency rating can be built into the role of the real estate agents with minimal additional cost. A System administrator maintains the databases and manages associated privacy issues.

[0060] Use of trained expert building assessors and real estate agents ensures that the system can achieve better quality control and trustworthiness than alternative systems. The rating databases continuously grows as ratings are added, and there is no need to rerate the house (at additional cost) on subsequent resale. Consistency between rating events is also maintained.

[0061] The role of the key parties in populating the databases is illustrated in Figure 3.

Additional embodiments [0062] A number of variations to the above described embodiment of the invention have been developed. In particular, in some embodiments, system 100 is able to provide more advanced outputs than a single energy efficiency rating for a property.

[0063] In one embodiment system 400, illustrated schematically in Figure 4, occupant data 402 indicative of a current number of occupants of the property is also input in addition to inputting building plan data 404 and consumable energy component data 406. These three inputs are provided to an energy analysis algorithm 408 executed on one or more computer processors such as server 1086 to output a more sophisticated energy performance measure 410. The addition of the occupant data allows for tailoring the energy efficiency measure to fit the current property occupancy and also enables a building owner to conduct a financial viability (payback) analysis for investing in energy efficiency retrofits. The output energy performance measure 410 may include a measure of the thermal comfort of occupants of the property and/or a measure of an average energy consumption of the property over a predetermined period of time when inhabited by the current number of occupants. The occupant data 402 may be a simple number of current occupants or may include more detailed information such as the demographics and energy preferences of the current occupants.

[0064] As mentioned above, building design information can be stored in Building Information Model (BIM) format, to enable 3D visualisation of the home. In further embodiments, the system is able to output energy performance measures that include a three dimensional heat map of the property, and even provide a simulation of the indoor comfort conditions inside the property at different times of day, seasons and weather conditions.

[0065] Where BIM format data is available, it can be further processed with building thermal physics modelling tools to provide transient heat maps of hot and cold zones inside the house, at different times of the year and day. This information can be provided to real estate agents as a visual communication aid such as a virtual walkthrough of the property that illustrates thermal comfort levels of the property on a room-by room basis to communicate the comfort advantages of a thermally efficient house, and thereby attract a premium price for high performance homes. By way of example, the thermal comfort may be displayed as graphical temperature distributions within rooms and thermal convections through rooms of the property.

[0066] The above described invention provides (i) the flexibility of obtaining information from more detailed thermal models, (ii) quality assurance processes for rating consistency and concomitant consumer trust, (iii) increased communication skill and face to face engagement with the prospective buyer/ tenant, and (iv) low transactional delivery cost.

[0067] Advantages of the present invention include: • Separating out the complex and more straightforward aspects of the rating process so that the expert building assessor is only required for the more complex aspects and the real estate agent is able to perform the more straightforward aspects. • Utilizing floor plans, or similar building information object(s), as the tangible artefact of the transaction for simplified cloud based distribution of thermal design information between real estate agents and expert building assessors. • A database structure which facilitates the above two points and enables pre-populated information to be better shared for reduced cost and increased consistency between ratings. • A business process which incentivises and utilises the skills of real estate agents to increase the market appeal for environmental ratings, while capturing some part of the inherent transaction cost inside the real estate agents traditional fee. • Separating the more difficult/complex building assessment activity from the much easier appliance recording activity also allows the public to do self-assessment of their home (where the building assessment is available) to determine if their home is likely to get a good rating. This will make it easier for them to explore options for saving energy at no cost.

Interpretation [0068] Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," “determining”, analyzing” or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities into other data similarly represented as physical quantities.

[0069] In a similar manner, the term “server” or "processor" may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data, e.g., from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that, e.g., may be stored in registers and/or memory. A “computer” or a “computing machine” or a "computing platform" may include one or more processors.

[0070] The methodologies described herein are, in one embodiment, performable by one or more processors that accept computer-readable (also called machine-readable) code containing a set of instructions that when executed by one or more of the processors carry out at least one of the methods described herein. Any processor capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken are included. Thus, one example is a typical processing system that includes one or more processors. Each processor may include one or more of a CPU, a graphics processing unit, and a programmable DSP unit. The processing system further may include a memory subsystem including main RAM and/or a static RAM, and/or ROM. A bus subsystem may be included for communicating between the components. The processing system further may be a distributed processing system with processors coupled by a network. If the processing system requires a display, such a display may be included, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display. If manual data entry is required, the processing system also includes an input device such as one or more of an alphanumeric input unit such as a keyboard, a pointing control device such as a mouse, and so forth. The term memory unit as used herein, if clear from the context and unless explicitly stated otherwise, also encompasses a storage system such as a disk drive unit. The processing system in some configurations may include a sound output device, and a network interface device. The memory subsystem thus includes a computer-readable carrier medium that carries computer-readable code (e.g., software) including a set of instructions to cause performing, when executed by one or more processors, one of more of the methods described herein. Note that when the method includes several elements, e.g., several steps, no ordering of such elements is implied, unless specifically stated. The software may reside in the hard disk, or may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the RAM and/or within the processor during execution thereof by the computer system. Thus, the memory and the processor also constitute computer-readable carrier medium carrying computer-readable code.

[0071 ] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “some embodiments” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in some embodiments” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

[0072] As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives "first", "second", "third", etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate that different instances of like objects are being referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0073] It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, various features of the disclosure are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, Fig., or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this disclosure.

[0074] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the disclosure, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0075] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

[0076] Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term coupled, when used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being limited to direct connections only. The terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Thus, the scope of the expression a device A coupled to a device B should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. "Coupled" may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical, electrical or optical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still cooperate or interact with each other.

[0077] It will also be understood that the invention is not limited to any particular implementation or programming technique and that the invention may be implemented using any appropriate techniques for implementing the functionality described herein. The invention is not limited to any particular programming language or operating system.

[0078] Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be the preferred embodiments of the disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the disclosure, and it is intended to claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the disclosure. Functionality may be added or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods described within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (31)

1. Claims

   1. A method of determining an energy performance measure for a property, the method including: receiving, at a user interface, a request for an energy performance measure for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; in response to the request, configuring a server to access a remote database or databases and use the identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including a) property layout data, b) consumable energy component data and c) material component data for the property; configuring a processor to perform an energy analysis algorithm using the property energy characteristics; and outputting, from the algorithm, an energy performance measure for the property.
2. 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the consumable energy component data includes a number and a type of energy consuming or energy producing devices installed in the property.
3. 3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the consumable energy component data includes a predefined energy efficiency rating for the energy consuming or energy producing devices installed in the property.
4. 4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the material component data includes a number and type of material components used to construct the property.
5. 5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the material component data includes a position of the material components on the property.
6. 6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the property layout data includes a floorplan of the property.
7. 7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the property layout data includes a three dimensional model of the property.
8. 8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the request includes occupant data indicative of a current number of occupants of the property and the energy analysis algorithm incorporates the occupant data in generating the energy performance measure.
9. 9. A method according to claim 8 wherein the occupant data also includes demographics of the occupants.
10. 10. A method according to claim 9 wherein the occupant data includes energy preferences of the occupants.
11. 11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the property layout data and material component data are stored in a first database and the consumable energy component data is stored in a second database.
12. 12. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energy performance measure includes a standardised energy efficiency rating for comparison to other properties.
13. 13. A method according to claim 12 wherein the standardised energy efficiency rating includes a first component indicative of a thermal comfort of occupants of the property and a second component indicative of an average energy consumption of the property when subject to a fixed standard user profile.
14. 14. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energy performance measure includes a measure of passive energy efficiency of the property.
15. 15. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energy performance measure includes a measure of the estimated energy consumption in the property over a predetermined period of time for the occupants.
16. 16. A method according to claim 7 wherein the energy performance measure includes a three dimensional heat map of the property.
17. 17. A method of simulating the indoor climate conditions for a property, the method including: receiving, at a user interface, a request for a simulation of a climate for the property, the request including an identifier of the property and one or more outside climate parameters; in response to the request, configuring a server to access a remote database or databases and use the identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including property layout data and material component data for the property; configuring a processor to generate a three dimensional climate model for the property using the property energy characteristics and the one or more outside climate characteristics as inputs; and displaying, to a user at a user interface, a visual simulation of the three dimensional climate model for the property.
18. 18. A method according to claim 16 wherein the one or more climate characteristics include a time of day of the simulation.
19. 19. A method according to claim 16 or claim 17 wherein the one or more climate characteristics include a date or season of the simulation.
20. 20. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 18 wherein the one or more climate characteristics include an outdoor weather condition.
21. 21. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 19 wherein the property layout data includes a three dimensional model of the property.
22. 22. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 20 wherein the three dimensional climate model includes a three dimensional heat map of the property.
23. 23. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 21 wherein the visual simulation includes a three dimensional virtual walkthrough of the climate model for the property.
24. 24. A method according to claim 22 wherein the three dimensional climate model illustrates a temperature distribution within rooms of the property.
25. 25. A method according to claim 22 or claim 23 wherein the three dimensional climate model illustrates thermal convection through the property.
26. 26. A method of determining an energy efficiency rating for a property, the method including: receiving, from a first computer interface, a first request for an energy efficiency rating for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; in response to the first request, configuring a server to determine the presence or absence of a current building plan for the property in a database; upon identifying an absence of a current building plan for the property in the database: issuing a second request to an expert building assessor to undertake an assessment of the property to obtain a building plan for the property; receiving, from a second computer interface, a building plan for the property prepared by the expert building assessor; and uploading the building plan to the database; upon identifying a presence of the building plan for the property in the database: inputting, at a third computer interface, data relating to consumable energy components of the property; configuring a processor to perform an energy rating analysis algorithm using the building plan, consumable energy component data; and outputting, from the algorithm, a standardised energy efficiency rating for the property.
27. 27. A method according to claim 25 wherein the first computer interface and the third computer interface are the same interface.
28. 28. A method according to claim 26 or claim 27 including inputting, at the third computer interface, occupant data indicative of a current number of occupants of the property and wherein the energy rating analysis algorithm incorporates the occupant data in generating the energy efficiency rating.
29. 29. A computer system for determining an energy performance measure for a property, the computer system including: a computer interface for receiving, from a user, a request for an energy performance measure for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; a server or system of servers connected to the computer interface and configured to: in response to the request, access a remote database or databases and use the input identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including a) property layout data, b) consumable energy component data and c) material component data for the property; perform an energy analysis algorithm using the property energy characteristics; and output, from the algorithm, an energy performance measure for the property.
30. 30. A computer system for simulating the indoor climate for a property, the computer system including: a computer interface for receiving, from a user, a request for a simulation of a climate for the property, the request including an identifier of the property and one or more outside climate parameters; a server or system of servers connected to the computer interface and configured to: in response to the request, access a remote database or databases and use the identifier as a filter parameter to obtain property energy characteristics from a lookup table, the property energy characteristics including property layout data and material component data for the property; generate a three dimensional climate model for the property using the property energy characteristics and the one or more outside climate characteristics as inputs; and display, to a user at the user interface, a visual simulation of the three dimensional climate model for the property.
31. 31. A computer system for determining an energy efficiency rating for a property, the computer system including: a computer interface for receiving, from a user, a first request for an energy efficiency rating for the property, the request including an identifier of the property; a server or system of servers connected to the computer interface and configured to: in response to the first request, determine the presence or absence of a current building plan for the property in a database; upon identifying an absence of a current building plan for the property in the database: prompt a second request to an expert building assessor to undertake an assessment of the property to obtain a building plan for the property; receive, from a second computer interface, a building plan for the property prepared by the expert building assessor; and upload the building plan to the database; upon identifying a presence of the building plan for the property in the database: receive, from a third computer interface, data relating to consumable energy components of the property; configure a processor to perform an energy rating analysis algorithm using the building plan, consumable energy component data; and output, from the algorithm, a standardised energy efficiency rating for the property.