I-Corps: Measuring thermal efficiency in buildings using a thermal energy imaging platform with AI and thermodynamic analysis

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发与热效率相关的能源评估自动化技术。基础设施老化和气候变化措施不足增加了电力和天然气的消耗水平和排放量。控制消耗率的最佳手段是提高能源效率，并通过适当的量化能源评估实现风化。拟议的技术使住宅和商业建筑的热评估更快、更安全、更准确，为识别最大能耗点和提高结构热效率的措施提供了丰富的数据来源。这种技术的主要市场是公立和私立教育机构，如高等教育大学和K-12机构。设施和工厂经理可能能够使用该技术快速确定降低公用事业费用和延长结构寿命的措施。能源消耗的量化也可能使这些管理者能够获得进一步的州或联邦资金，用于结构改进。此外，拟议的技术可能对从事建筑项目的风化专家和结构工程师有用，并有助于公用事业公司进行能源基础设施检查。这个i-Corps项目基于一项技术的开发，该技术可以将从安装在UAS上的辐射红外传感器捕获的热图像快速转换为使用人工智能、数据分析和热力学进行的能源利用估计。红外传感器捕获的热图像经过大气衰减校正，并由人工智能进行处理，以识别建筑立面的单个组件和任何热异常。利用热力学程序计算每个构件的导热系数或U值，并根据所考虑的构件的尺寸以及用于空间供暖/制冷的公用事业类型来计算建筑物热损失的财务影响。与传统的评估技术相比，这一技术解决方案将使建筑物的热评估流程自动化，并将整体处理时间减少90%，现场检查时间减少60%。这项技术的初步研究历时三年，对整个北达科他州不同结构的热图像进行了分析，并对其热分布进行了交叉参考。自那以后，通过增加财务影响计算和相应的建模工具以及更结构化的数据工作流程，该技术得到了改进。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of automation technology for energy assessment related to thermal efficiency. Aging infrastructure and insufficient weatherization measures have increased power and natural gas consumption levels and emissions. The best means of reigning in consumption rates are improved energy efficiency and weatherization enabled through proper quantified energy assessments. The proposed technology enables faster, safer, and more accurate thermal assessments for residential and commercial buildings, providing a data-rich source for identification of points of largest energy consumption and measures to improve thermal efficiency of structures. The primary market this technology is public and private educational institutions like higher-education universities and K-12 institutions. Facility and Plant Managers may be able to use the technology to rapidly identify measures to reduce utility charges and increase the lifespan of structures. The quantification of energy consumption also may enable these mangers to access further state or federal funding for structural improvements. In addition, the proposed technology may be useful for weatherization experts and structural engineers working on construction projects and aiding utility providers for energy infrastructure inspection. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a technology to quickly convert thermal images captured from a UAS mounted radiometric infrared sensor to energy utilization estimations using artificial intelligence, data analytics, and thermodynamics. The thermal images captured by the infrared sensors are corrected for atmospheric attenuation and processed by the artificial intelligence to identify individual components of a building’s façade and any thermal anomalies. Thermodynamic procedures are utilized to calculate the heat conductance or the U-value of each element and calculate the financial impact of heat loss from the building depending on the dimensions of the elements being considered along with the type of utility used for space heating/cooling. This technology solution is slated to automate thermal assessment processes for buildings and reduce the overall processing time by 90% and on-site inspection time by 60% compared to traditional assessment techniques. The initial research for the technology was performed over a three-year period where thermal images of various structures throughout North Dakota were analyzed and cross-referenced for their thermal profiles. The technology has since been improved by adding financial impact calculations and corresponding modeling tools along with a more structured data workflow process.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.