FLOORPLAN-BASED RESIDENTIAL ENERGY AUDIT AND ASSET TRACKING
A method includes populating a touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms of a residential home, providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen select an asset for a visual representation of a room, facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset, and obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
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Typically, energy audit tablet or smart phone applications are list-based. That is, the user completes items within the energy audit in the order in which the application creator specifies them. Because not all assets in all homes are arranged in the order specified by the application creator, the user must either walk from room to room to accommodate the list or skip over items on the list to accommodate the layout of their home. Some existing audit applications include EcoInsight Mobile Audit for iPad, Energy Audit By Escogi3 Srl, and Verde Energy Audit
SUMMARYA device, computer readable storage device having code, and method includes populating a touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms of a residential home, providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen to drag a selected asset to a visual representation of a room, facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset, and obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments that may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following description of example embodiments is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.
The functions or algorithms described herein may be implemented in software or a combination of software and human implemented procedures in one embodiment. The software may consist of computer executable instructions stored on computer readable media such as memory or other type of storage devices. Further, such functions correspond to modules, which are software stored on storage devices, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Multiple functions may be performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples. The software may be executed on a digital signal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a computer system, such as a personal computer, server or other computer system.
To date, there is not an off-the-shelf residential energy audit smart phone or tablet application that would allow the user to perform an audit in a flexible, self-directed fashion using a visual interface. Rather, users complete items within the energy audit in the order specified by the creator of the application, resulting in the user either skipping items in a list until moving to a different room, or moving back and forth between rooms, visiting each room as many times as required to complete the items in the order listed. In various embodiments, a mobile device-based interface allows the user to perform an energy audit using a touchscreen tablet device (e.g., iPad, Android tablet), smart phone, or other touchscreen device. The user is able to perform the residential energy audit on a mobile platform while taking advantage of touchscreen capabilities. If a tablet is used, the tablet's larger display may provide further advantage in performing an audit. The application may be downloaded and installed on a camera-enabled mobile device. The application is intended to be a part of or complement an application that may collect information about the assets within a consumer's home (e.g., energy audit application).
The room-based asset reporting and audit interface may include various features to facilitate asset reporting and auditing. For example, the interface may enable a user to log into an account hosted by a utility company or other service provider. The interface may enable a user to view a bill, view energy consumption (e.g., current or historical data points or charts), view energy consumptions savings, view energy points accrued, or view bill-pay status or options. The interface may enable a user to initiate the energy audit process, or to view the results of the energy audit process. The interface may enable a user to view energy-related rebates, incentives, or tax credits available in the geographical area of the user, such as tax credits issued by a utility company, government agency, or store. The interface may enable a user to view tips and home improvement ideas that are customized to the user by results of the energy audit. For example, using the make and model of a refrigerator, an energy-related tip about that refrigerator may be made available to the user. The interface may also enable a user to sort tips and home improvement ideas based on cost to implement, cost savings, or other criteria.
The room-based asset reporting and audit interface application may store data locally or remotely. The application may connect to a server connected through a local network or remote network (e.g., the internet, or “the cloud”). Data captured using the application may be stored in the server. The application may run in an online mode while connected to the remote server, or the application may run in an offline mode while not connected to the remote server. When the application is run in offline mode, the information may synchronize when the mobile device is able to connect to the remote server (e.g., when wireless internet is reconnected). Data collected throughout the energy audit process may be stored. When the user exits the application in the middle of the audit, the information may be stored temporarily, and subsequently the user may continue when the user reopens the application. The application may make remotely stored information available for other purposes (e.g., utility company data analytics, utility company database, utility company energy audit applications, etc.) The user may access his or her audit information from a different device, and the information may be viewed or editing by downloading or accessing the information from a new device.
After the user has entered information about the asset (e.g., make or model) and this information is stored, then this information can be used to guide various post-audit actions. The asset profile post-audit actions GUI 1500 may display a message 1510 indicating whether the asset is energy efficient and a display of information contained within the asset profile. The asset profile options GUI 1500 may also include one or more post-audit actions buttons 1520. The buttons 1520 may include a button to edit or change the asset information, such as if he or she replaces the asset. The post-audit action buttons 1520 may include a button to order parts specific to the asset, either online or by locating a local repair shop or technician. For example, an HVAC system may require air filters, or some refrigerators may require water filters. The post-audit action buttons 1520 may include connecting to the manufacturer's website to find manuals, or connecting to the Energy Star's website to find out more about the asset's energy consumption.
As shown in
The system bus 2523 can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory can also be referred to as simply the memory, and, in some embodiments, includes read-only memory (ROM) 2524 and random-access memory (RAM) 2525. A basic input/output system (BIOS) program 2526, containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 2500, such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM 2524. The computer 2500 further includes a hard disk drive 2527 for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive 2528 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 2529, and an optical disk drive 2530 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 2531 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.
The hard disk drive 2527, magnetic disk drive 2528, and optical disk drive 2530 couple with a hard disk drive interface 2532, a magnetic disk drive interface 2533, and an optical disk drive interface 2534, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computer 2500. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any type of computer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), redundant arrays of independent disks (e.g., RAID storage devices) and the like, can be used in the exemplary operating environment.
A plurality of program modules can be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk 2529, optical disk 2531, ROM 2524, or RAM 2525, including an operating system 2535, one or more application programs 2536, other program modules 2537, and program data 2538. Programming for implementing one or more processes or method described herein may be resident on any one or number of these computer-readable media.
A user may enter commands and information into computer 2500 through input devices such as a keyboard 2540 and pointing device 2542. Other input devices (not shown) can include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 2521 through a serial port interface 2546 that is coupled to the system bus 2523, but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 2547 or other type of display device can also be connected to the system bus 2523 via an interface, such as a video adapter 2548. The monitor 2547 can display a graphical user interface for the user. In addition to the monitor 2547, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.
The computer 2500 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers or servers, such as remote computer 2549. These logical connections are achieved by a communication device coupled to or a part of the computer 2500; the invention is not limited to a particular type of communications device. The remote computer 2549 can be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above I/O relative to the computer 2500, although only a memory storage device 2550 has been illustrated. The logical connections depicted in
When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computer 2500 is connected to the LAN 2551 through a network interface or adapter 2553, which is one type of communications device. In some embodiments, when used in a WAN-networking environment, the computer 2500 typically includes a modem 2554 (another type of communications device) or any other type of communications device, e.g., a wireless transceiver, for establishing communications over the wide-area network 2552, such as the internet. The modem 2554, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 2523 via the serial port interface 2546. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 2500 can be stored in the remote memory storage device 2550 of remote computer, or server 2549. It is appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of, and communications devices for, establishing a communications link between the computers may be used including hybrid fiber-coax connections, T1-T3 lines, DSL's, OC-3 and/or OC-12, TCP/IP, microwave, wireless application protocol, and any other electronic media through any suitable switches, routers, outlets and power lines, as the same are known and understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
The following statements are potential examples that may be converted to claims in a future application. No modification of the following statements should be allowed to affect the interpretation of claims that may be drafted when this provisional application is converted into a regular utility application.
1. A method comprising:
populating a touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms of a residential home;
providing a list of assets from which to select;
facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset; and
obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
The touchscreen may be part of a tablet device or a mobile telephone type device in various embodiments. In the case of a tablet device, the user interface may facilitate selection of an asset in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen to drag a selected asset to a visual representation of a room. An add object button or other indication may be provided for smaller touchscreen devices, such as smart phones.
2. The method of example 1 wherein populating the touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms includes retrieving tax records to identifying rooms to include.
The user may change the information drawn from the tax records in instances where updates or additions have been made to the house. For example, tax records may indicate that there are three bedrooms and 1 bathroom. However, the homeowner may have added a second bathroom. Permitting changing the information allows the capture of such additions.
3. The method of example 2 and further comprising facilitating selection of additional rooms from a rooms menu to drag to a room workspace. Such rooms may also be added via an add object button or equivalent on devices with smaller touchscreens, such as smart phone devices.
4. The method of example 1 and further comprising including representations of predefined assets with visual representations of rooms as a function of assets likely to be found in each type of room.
5. The method of example 1 wherein the assets include energy consuming assets.
6. The method of example 1 and further comprising providing an interface to facilitate entry of asset types not found in the provided list of assets.
7. The method of example 1 wherein data identifying the rooms and assets is stored in cloud storage via the network connection.
8. The method of example 1 and further comprising providing an interface to facilitate capture of make and model information via a camera using a scanned code or image recognition. Such information may also be manually entered in some embodiments, such as when it is not easily captured automatically otherwise.
9. The method of example 1 and further comprising performing an energy audit based on collected data identifying the rooms and assets.
10. The method of example 9 wherein the energy audit includes a connection to a utility company to view a utility bill, an energy analysis, and energy saving tips based on the collected data.
11. The method of example 9 wherein the energy audit includes identification of local rebates available.
12. A computer readable storage device having instructions for causing a mobile device to execute a method, the method comprising:
populating a touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms of a residential home;
providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen to select an asset;
facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset; and
obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
13. A device comprising:
a processor;
a storage device to store code to execute on the processor;
a touchscreen to display graphical representations of rooms and assets and to facilitate user input via screen touches and gestures;
wherein the code executing on the processor causes the device to perform a method comprising:
populating the touchscreen with visual representations of rooms of a residential home;
providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen to select an asset;
facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset; and
obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- populating a touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms of a residential home;
- providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating selection of an asset for a room;
- facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset; and
- obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein populating the touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms includes retrieving tax records to identifying rooms to include.
3. The method of claim 2 and further comprising facilitating selection of additional rooms from a rooms menu to drag to a room workspace.
4. The method of claim 1 and further comprising including representations of predefined assets with visual representations of rooms as a function of assets likely to be found in each type of room.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the assets include energy consuming assets.
6. The method of claim 1 and further comprising providing an interface to facilitate entry of asset types not found in the provided list of assets.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein data identifying the rooms and assets is stored in cloud storage via the network connection.
8. The method of claim 1 and further comprising providing an interface to facilitate capture of make and model information via a camera using a scanned code or image recognition.
9. The method of claim 1 and further comprising performing an energy audit based on collected data identifying the rooms and assets.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the energy audit includes a connection to a utility company to view a utility bill, an energy analysis, and energy saving tips based on the collected data.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the energy audit includes identification of local rebates available.
12. A computer readable storage device having instructions for causing a mobile device to execute a method, the method comprising:
- populating a touchscreen interface with visual representations of rooms of a residential home;
- providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen to selected an asset;
- facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset; and
- obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
13. A device comprising:
- a processor;
- a storage device to store code to execute on the processor;
- a touchscreen to display graphical representations of rooms and assets and to facilitate user input via screen touches and gestures;
- wherein the code executing on the processor causes the device to perform a method comprising:
- populating the touchscreen with visual representations of rooms of a residential home;
- providing a list of assets in a manner facilitating use of the touchscreen to select an asset for a visual representation of a room;
- facilitating entry of make and model information of the selected asset; and
- obtaining and storing energy audit information regarding the selected asset via a network connection.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 10, 2013
Publication Date: Jan 16, 2014
Applicant: Honeywell International Inc. (Morristown, NJ)
Inventors: Paul Derby (Lubbock, TX), Hari Thiruvengada (Plymouth, MN), Henry Chen (Beijing)
Application Number: 13/938,861
International Classification: G06Q 40/00 (20060101); G06F 3/0488 (20060101);