Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Domognostics (Intelligent Building Automation Diagnostics)
Reporting period: 2017-05-01 to 2018-10-31
Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project
The targets set in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy for reducing the energy consumption of buildings are based on two key directives: the 2010 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive. However, recent reports from most member states show that there is still a significant gap of 10-30% between these targets and current attainments. The emergence of networked cyber-physical systems, in which sensor/actuator networks are integrated with software algorithms, facilitates the development of advanced Building Management Systems (BMS) aimed at enhancing energy efficiency in buildings. Typically, BMS are computer-based systems that utilise data to monitor and control various subsystems within a large building, such as the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, lighting, security, etc. However, in situations where a fault arises in some of the components (e.g. sensors, actuators, communication links), or an unexpected event occurs in the building (e.g. duct leakage, thermostat sensor failure, increased humidity), this may lead to a serious degradation in performance or, even worse, to situations that would endanger the lives of occupants.
Buildings in EU-28 -as well as worldwide- are large consumers of energy. According to EU statistics regarding energy and buildings (https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-efficiency/buildings(opens in new window)) it is estimated that buildings are responsible for 40% of the total energy consumption and 36% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-28. It is also estimated that 5-20% of the energy consumed in commercial buildings for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and water heating can be attributed to various faults and inefficiencies of the building management systems. A study from the US Department of Energy shows that a combination of controls and diagnostics could reduce commercial building energy consumption by approximately 40%. The issues of fault detection, diagnosis and automatic recovery in buildings will become even more crucial in the future as Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices will be widely deployed in smart buildings and homes. Therefore, there is a market need for an intelligent building automation diagnostic system, which will integrate with existing BMS to facilitate continuous and effective monitoring of the buildings, to detect and isolate component faults or unexpected events as early as possible by utilising smart algorithms and machine learning methods.
In the framework of the ERC PoC “Intelligent Building Automation Diagnostics” project, the University of Cyprus and PHOEBE Research and Innovation Ltd (www.phoebeinnovations.com) have collaborated in developing the Domognostics™ platform (https://domognostics.com/(opens in new window)) a novel solution for monitoring building automation systems, detecting and diagnosing unexpected events, aiming at improving building operational efficiency. The Domognostics platform utilizes intelligent algorithms developed in the framework of the ERC Advanced Grant Fault-Adaptive at KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE) of the University of Cyprus. The Domognostics platform consists of a semantically-enhanced IoT platform which integrates with commercial and experimental devices monitoring environmental conditions in buildings, as well as with state-of-the-art algorithms which are utilizing model-based anomaly diagnosis for detecting faults in the heating/cooling system as well as in the air quality. Domognostics has the potential of integrating with existing Building Management Systems (BMS) and thus extending their overall monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities using physical and analytical redundancy.
The technical outputs of the Domognostics ERC Proof of Concept project are summarised as follows:
1. The design and development of the semantically-enhanced IoT Domognostics™ platform;
2. The integration of multiple type of commercial and experimental IoT sensors in the Domognostics platform measuring building states (temperature, humidity, CO2, door/window openings etc.);
3. The integration of published state-of-the-art research-based algorithms in the Domognostics platform for real-time anomaly diagnosis;
4. The pilot deployment and testing of the Domognostics platform in real operational conditions for within two building use-cases 1) within the KIOS CoE building of the University of Cyprus, and 2) within the PHOEBE offices;
5. The design and development of a prototype WiFi-enabled microcontroller-based hardware device that is able to integrate various sensors for measuring several features of the building;
6. The development of a back-end software operating on a low-cost computation device, to integrate sensors which communicate through various wireless protocols (e.g. Z-Wave).
The business outputs of the project are:
1. The survey of more than 15 commercial building engineers/managers to identify the customer needs;
2. The development of a complete market analysis and business case document, studying the commercialisation opportunities of the Domognostics platform;
3. The preparation of an investors’ package.
The business objective of the Domognostics ERC Proof of Concept was to provide evidence about the viability of the innovative idea and the existence of a market potential to make a sustainable business in line with the vision and goals of the team. In-line with this objective, a study has been conducted, which identified different market-segments and the competition within, investigated different business models, as well as produced estimates of the production and sales’ cost. An extensive review of the competition and its IPR has been conducted as well, and the different risks have been identified. The feasibility study has significantly improved our understanding of the envisioned market and its needs, allowing us to fine-tune the product for a more unique market niche, which is crucial for the next phase of the product development. The results of the feasibility study include a Market Analysis, a Competition Analysis, a Business Model Analysis, Production and Sales Costs, Intellectual Property Management, Technological and Financial Risk, as well as Financial Projections. Within the study, the buildings stock and energy consumption has been explored in a European and international setting (USA, China, Russia), focusing on residential and non-residential buildings. An EU market segmentation analysis has been conducted, identifying the energy prices and energy usage in both residential and non-residential buildings. The conducted study has significantly improved our understanding of the market and its needs, allowing as to plan the fine-tuning of the Domognostics platform for end-users in EU and beyond, which is crucial for the second phase of the commercialization. Based on the results of this study, the strategic vision of the team has evolved to address the identified challenges.
Buildings in EU-28 -as well as worldwide- are large consumers of energy. According to EU statistics regarding energy and buildings (https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-efficiency/buildings(opens in new window)) it is estimated that buildings are responsible for 40% of the total energy consumption and 36% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-28. It is also estimated that 5-20% of the energy consumed in commercial buildings for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and water heating can be attributed to various faults and inefficiencies of the building management systems. A study from the US Department of Energy shows that a combination of controls and diagnostics could reduce commercial building energy consumption by approximately 40%. The issues of fault detection, diagnosis and automatic recovery in buildings will become even more crucial in the future as Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices will be widely deployed in smart buildings and homes. Therefore, there is a market need for an intelligent building automation diagnostic system, which will integrate with existing BMS to facilitate continuous and effective monitoring of the buildings, to detect and isolate component faults or unexpected events as early as possible by utilising smart algorithms and machine learning methods.
In the framework of the ERC PoC “Intelligent Building Automation Diagnostics” project, the University of Cyprus and PHOEBE Research and Innovation Ltd (www.phoebeinnovations.com) have collaborated in developing the Domognostics™ platform (https://domognostics.com/(opens in new window)) a novel solution for monitoring building automation systems, detecting and diagnosing unexpected events, aiming at improving building operational efficiency. The Domognostics platform utilizes intelligent algorithms developed in the framework of the ERC Advanced Grant Fault-Adaptive at KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE) of the University of Cyprus. The Domognostics platform consists of a semantically-enhanced IoT platform which integrates with commercial and experimental devices monitoring environmental conditions in buildings, as well as with state-of-the-art algorithms which are utilizing model-based anomaly diagnosis for detecting faults in the heating/cooling system as well as in the air quality. Domognostics has the potential of integrating with existing Building Management Systems (BMS) and thus extending their overall monitoring and anomaly detection capabilities using physical and analytical redundancy.
The technical outputs of the Domognostics ERC Proof of Concept project are summarised as follows:
1. The design and development of the semantically-enhanced IoT Domognostics™ platform;
2. The integration of multiple type of commercial and experimental IoT sensors in the Domognostics platform measuring building states (temperature, humidity, CO2, door/window openings etc.);
3. The integration of published state-of-the-art research-based algorithms in the Domognostics platform for real-time anomaly diagnosis;
4. The pilot deployment and testing of the Domognostics platform in real operational conditions for within two building use-cases 1) within the KIOS CoE building of the University of Cyprus, and 2) within the PHOEBE offices;
5. The design and development of a prototype WiFi-enabled microcontroller-based hardware device that is able to integrate various sensors for measuring several features of the building;
6. The development of a back-end software operating on a low-cost computation device, to integrate sensors which communicate through various wireless protocols (e.g. Z-Wave).
The business outputs of the project are:
1. The survey of more than 15 commercial building engineers/managers to identify the customer needs;
2. The development of a complete market analysis and business case document, studying the commercialisation opportunities of the Domognostics platform;
3. The preparation of an investors’ package.
The business objective of the Domognostics ERC Proof of Concept was to provide evidence about the viability of the innovative idea and the existence of a market potential to make a sustainable business in line with the vision and goals of the team. In-line with this objective, a study has been conducted, which identified different market-segments and the competition within, investigated different business models, as well as produced estimates of the production and sales’ cost. An extensive review of the competition and its IPR has been conducted as well, and the different risks have been identified. The feasibility study has significantly improved our understanding of the envisioned market and its needs, allowing us to fine-tune the product for a more unique market niche, which is crucial for the next phase of the product development. The results of the feasibility study include a Market Analysis, a Competition Analysis, a Business Model Analysis, Production and Sales Costs, Intellectual Property Management, Technological and Financial Risk, as well as Financial Projections. Within the study, the buildings stock and energy consumption has been explored in a European and international setting (USA, China, Russia), focusing on residential and non-residential buildings. An EU market segmentation analysis has been conducted, identifying the energy prices and energy usage in both residential and non-residential buildings. The conducted study has significantly improved our understanding of the market and its needs, allowing as to plan the fine-tuning of the Domognostics platform for end-users in EU and beyond, which is crucial for the second phase of the commercialization. Based on the results of this study, the strategic vision of the team has evolved to address the identified challenges.