Community Energy Labs (CEL) has been awarded a U.S. patent for “Systems and Methods for Monitoring and Control of Energy Consumption for a Structure,” a thermal software modeling method that achieves the validated output of a traditional building thermodynamics models with fewer data inputs.
The newly issued patent covers a breakthrough approach to building energy control that dramatically simplifies how buildings are modeled, configured, and controlled. The patented system intelligently determines which data actually matters—using sensitivity analysis to reduce complexity, time, and cost—then guides streamlined, site-specific data collection. By seamlessly connecting sensors, software, and HVAC actuators, the invention enables faster deployment, smarter control decisions, and measurable improvements in comfort and energy performance across real-world buildings.
Community Energy Labs has been awarded a U.S. patent for HVAC optimization software that delivers accurate building energy models with fewer data inputs.
“A typical Energy Plus model for a K12 school requires more than 400 data inputs, both derived and measured. Our models uses fewer than 50 with equivalent levels of accuracy, which means we can generate models for use in model predictive control more quickly and cheaply for our customer. Model Predictive Control using thermal models is both the holy grail and the gold standard for building energy efficiency and CEL is incredibly proud to bring a faster, more affordable version of MPC to market for more than just the largest and richest building portfolio owners ” said Tanya Barham, CEL CEO.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted allowance of all 20 claims submitted, including claims related to data collections for use by an energy control model and electronic processors configured to execute a set of computer instructions to reduce the number of required parameters.
The intellectual property contained in the patent forms the basis of CEL’s flagship solution, a building management system that achieves up to 30% reduction in HVAC energy demand charges by strategically balancing HVAC system operation with thermal comfort in mid- to large-size buildings.
