Abstract: A central plant includes storage devices configured to store resources purchased from a utility or generated by the central plant and to discharge the one or more resources. The central plant includes a controller configured to obtain a cost function comprising a peak load contribution (PLC) term representing a cost based on an amount of the one or more resources purchased during coincidental peak (CP) subperiods. The controller is configured to modify the cost function by applying a peak subperiods mask to the PLC term, wherein, for each subperiod, the peak subperiods mask modifies a portion of the PLC term corresponding to the subperiod based on a probability that the subperiod will be one of the CP subperiods. The controller is also configured to perform an optimization of the modified cost function.

Abstract: An energy storage system for a building includes a battery and an energy storage controller. The battery is configured to store electrical energy purchased from a utility and to discharge stored electrical energy for use in satisfying a building energy load. The energy storage controller is configured to generate a cost function including a peak load contribution (PLC) term. The PLC term represents a cost based on electrical energy purchased from the utility during coincidental peak hours in an optimization period. The controller is configured to modify the cost function by applying a peak hours mask to the PLC term. The peak hours mask identifies one or more hours in the optimization period as projected peak hours and causes the energy storage controller to disregard the electrical energy purchased from the utility during any hours not identified as projected peak hours when calculating a value for the PLC term.

Abstract: In an operation control device (10), a plan selection unit (15) determines, at a time point midway through a time zone where an operation of an air conditioner (54) is controlled along one control plan among a plurality of control plans, whether a weather change pattern corresponding to the one control plan deviates from an actual weather change pattern, based on weather data. If deviates, the plan selection unit (15) selects a weather change pattern that is different from the weather change pattern corresponding to the one control plan, from among a plurality of weather change patterns, in accordance with the weather data. During a rest of the time zone, the plan selection unit (15) controls the operation of the air conditioner (54) along a control plan corresponding to the different weather change pattern, among the plurality of control plans.

Abstract: A power usage prediction system implements a long short term memory (LSTM) neural network to receive power usage inputs and generate predicted values of power consumption for a plurality of devices. A user provides configuration input regarding the time steps at which the predicted values are to be generated and the various devices for which the predicted values of power consumption are desired. Whenever a power usage input is received, the LSTM neural network outputs the corresponding hidden state values for a plurality of time steps as the predicted values. The hidden state values are each compared to a final cell state value corresponding to a power consumption threshold of the time interval which includes the time steps. Based on the comparison, a power usage condition is recorded. Various actions to mitigate the high power consumption can be implemented in response to recording the power usage condition.

Abstract: A system and method for creating and making use of customer profiles, including energy consumption patterns. Devices within a service point, using the active load director, may be subject to control events, often based on customer preferences. These control events cause the service point to use less power. Data associated with these control events, as well as related environment data, are used to create an energy consumption profile for each service point. This can be used by the utility to determine which service points are the best targets for energy consumption. In addition, an intelligent load rotation algorithm determines how to prevent the same service points from being picked first each time the utility wants to conserve power.

Abstract: Apparatus are provided for medical devices and related operating systems and methods. An exemplary medical device includes a motor, one or more data storage elements to maintain control information, and a control module coupled to the motor and the one or more data storage elements. The control module is configured to obtain updated control information via a peer-to-peer communication session over a network, store the updated control information in the one or more data storage elements, and thereafter operate the motor based at least in part on the updated control information.

Abstract: A building energy system includes a controller configured to obtain representative loads and rates for a plurality of scenarios and generate a cost function comprising a risk attribute and multiple demand charges. Each of the demand charges corresponds to a demand charge period and defines a cost based on a maximum amount of at least one of the energy resources purchased within the corresponding demand charge period. The controller is configured to determine, for each of the multiple demand charges, a peak demand target for the corresponding demand charge period by performing a first optimization of the risk attribute over the plurality of the scenarios, allocate an amount of the one or more energy resources to be consumed, produced, stored, or discharged by the building equipment by performing a second optimization subject to one or more constraints based on the peak demand target for each of the multiple demand charges.

Abstract: A programmable discrete input module is described. In one or more implementations, the programmable discrete input module comprises a pulse width modulation module configured to generate a pulse width modulated signal based upon an input signal and a pulse width demodulation module configured to generate a demodulated pulse width signal. An isolator is configured to isolate the pulse width modulation module and the pulse width demodulation module and to generate isolated modulated pulse width signal based upon the pulse width modulated signal for the pulse width demodulation module to generate the demodulated pulse width signal. The programmable discrete input module also includes a first comparator and a second comparator for comparing the demodulated pulse width signal with a respective programmable reference and a digital filter configured to filter a comparison signal output by the first comparator or the second comparator to generate a discrete input signal.

Abstract: A facility for automated modelling of the cutting process for a particular material to be cut by a beam cutting tool, such as a waterjet cutting system, from empirical data to predict aspects of the waterjet's effect on the workpiece across a range of material thicknesses, across a range of cutting geometries, and across a range of cutting quality levels, all of which may be broader than, and independent of the actual requirements for a target workpiece, is described.

Abstract: A system and method for creating and making use of customer profiles, including energy consumption patterns. Devices within a service point, using the active load director, may be subject to control events, often based on customer preferences. These control events cause the service point to use less power. Data associated with these control events, as well as related environment data, are used to create an energy consumption profile for each service point. This can be used by the utility to determine which service points are the best targets for energy consumption. In addition, an intelligent load rotation algorithm determines how to prevent the same service points from being picked first each time the utility wants to conserve power.

Abstract: A design support device includes: a memory; and a processor configured to execute a process, the process including: receiving a precedence restriction, a work time and advisability of a robot work, with respect to a product; calculating, as a first index, a continuous work number in a case where each work which a robot cannot perform is changed to a work which the robot can perform, on a basis of the precedence restriction and the advisability of the robot work; calculating, as a second index, an arrangement freedom in the case on a basis of the precedence restriction, the work time and the advisability of the robot work; associating information according to the first index and the second index with an object work of the first index and the second index; and presenting the information and the object work.

Abstract: A system and method are described for self-diagnosing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The system and method correlate an HVAC control mode of a particular HVAC unit with an energy usage for the particular HVAC unit in order to match normal patterns in energy usage with the HVAC control mode. This correlation allows the system and method to identify potential problems with the particular HVAC unit based on deviations from normal patterns.

Abstract: A plant control system comprises a feedback controller 5 configured to determine a control input of a plant 6 so that one control output of the plant approaches a target value, a provisional target value calculating part 2 configured to calculate a provisional target value based on a predetermined parameter of the plant, and a reference governor 3 configured to perform a minimum value search of an object function by updating a corrected target value to thereby derive the target value from the provisional target value. The reference governor is configured to update the corrected target value only between r?0.5Rr and “r”. Rr is a value of a partial differential for the corrected target value “w” of the object function when the corrected target value “w” is the provisional target value “r”.

Abstract: An air conditioner includes: a heat source unit including a compressor and a heat source-side heat exchanger; and a plurality of utilization units each including a decompressing device and a utilization-side heat exchanger. The utilization units are connected in parallel to the heat source unit to form a refrigerant circuit. The air conditioner performs a cooling operation using the heat source-side heat exchanger as a condenser and the utilization-side heat exchanger as an evaporator. The air conditioner further includes: a detection sensor that detects a state of air related to a required capacity of each of the utilization units; and a control apparatus that acquires the required capacity of each of the utilization units based on a detection result of the detection sensor.

Abstract: A method to assist in identifying a spectral feature and a characteristic of the selected spectral feature to monitor during polishing includes polishing a test substrate and measuring a sequence of spectra of light reflected from a substrate while the substrate is being polished, where at least some of the spectra of the sequence differ due to material being removed during the polishing. The sequence of spectra are visually displayed as a contour plot.

Abstract: A method of measuring people flow through a doorway using a low-resolution, low-cost infrared array is disclosed. The method includes reading a sequence of sensor data frames from the infrared array; determining a background temperature frame; determining whether sensor data frames include at least one person using noise filtering techniques; identifying at least one group of adjacent pixels corresponding to the at least one person; determining at least one location corresponding to the at least one person; and determining whether the at least one person is a same person as a person in a previous sensor data frame. Based on the matching of a same person through multiple sensor data frames, direction of movement and entry/exit events can be determined. The entry/exit events can advantageously be used to operate and HVAC system, security system, or other such system more efficiently and effectively.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for optimizing the productivity of a machining process of at least one CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine, the CNC machine comprising at least one machining tool movable by one or a plurality of drive axes, the machining process being controlled by a given NC (Numerical Control) program defining at least a tool path for the at least one machining tool and a path velocity profile along the tool path, wherein the method includes increasing the path velocity along the tool path as compared to the path velocity profile defined by the given NC program, wherein increasing the path velocity along the tool path is effected in due consideration of the respective dynamical limit of each of the one or the plurality of drive axes, in particular in due consideration of the maximum axis-velocity and the maximum axis-acceleration of each of the one or the plurality of drive axes, and in due consideration of processing limits affecting the path velocity due to the machining cap

Abstract: A water tank management system that connects either to a hot water tank directly or to an electric panel connected to the tank. The system comprises at least two temperature sensors, each of which is attached on the surface of the hot water tank near respective heating elements. The system comprises a control box which includes a solid-state relay that modulates the flow of electrical power to the heating elements in order to lower the energy used by the tank. The modulation is controlled by a program stored in a memory in the control box or communicated to the control box via an external controller. The system optionally comprises a third temperature sensor placed outdoors to measure the ambient outdoor temperature. With this feature, the system can activate a program to reduce energy consumption when the outdoor ambient temperature is outside a critical temperature range.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to systems and methods for determining airflow in a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) system to reduce overall power consumption. Methods include receiving efficiency data for one or more compressors of the HVACR system, receiving airflow power consumption data, determining, using a processor, a flow rate based on the efficiency data for the one or more compressors and the airflow power consumption data, and when the HVACR system is in a partial load condition and at least one of the one or more compressors are in operation, operating the HVACR system at the determined flow rate. Systems include one or more compressors, one or more blower fans, and a processor configured to determine an airflow rate for the one or more blower fans based on efficiency data for the one or more compressors and airflow power consumption data.

Abstract: A method of supplying power in a power grid, a system supplying power in a power grid, a method of consolidating power injection and consumption in a power grid, a system for consolidating power injection and consumption in a power grid, a metering system for a power grid, and a metering method for a power grid. The method of supplying power in a power grid, the method comprises determining an initial forward probabilistic power supply time profile of an aggregate intermittent power source connected to the power grid; determining a target power demand time profile of at least one load connected to the power grid; and associating at least respective portions of the initial forward probabilistic power supply time profile and the target demand time profile such that a probability of supply of power from the intermittent power source to the load meets a specified criterion.