As China's economy rapidly grows and urbanization accelerates, there's a corresponding surge in energy consumption. Building, industrial, and transportation energy use are the three major drivers of energy consumption in our country, with building energy use accounting for about 30% of the total.

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed the goal of building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society. Against this backdrop, seeking new methods and technologies for building energy management and overall optimization of energy-consuming equipment is the current trend in energy conservation efforts. Currently, with the rapid development of information technology in our country, internet technology has become a breakthrough point and driving force for the transformation and reform of various industrial structures in the national economy. The research on the Internet of Things (IoT), based on the development of internet technology, is gradually becoming a focus of attention across all fields. As a crucial part of information technology, the application of IoT technology in the research of building energy management platforms allows for real-time collection and management of energy data from energy-consuming equipment. This can more effectively achieve fine management of building energy and provide technical support for energy conservation and emission reduction in large public buildings.

Building Energy Management Needs in the New Era

Multiple studies indicate that among all building energy consumption, large public buildings have high energy consumption and low energy utilization rates, particularly with the overall control level of operational energy consumption being relatively low, which has gradually become a key issue in China's current energy situation. Building energy management refers to strategies for systematically controlling the energy consumption and consumption patterns of buildings, aiming to minimize energy consumption and costs while meeting the comfort and other requirements within the building.

The foundation of building energy management lies in the monitoring and statistics of building energy consumption. Effective energy management must be based on comprehensive energy consumption monitoring and accurate energy statistics. This includes monitoring of building energy systems such as HVAC, water supply and drainage, and electrical systems, as well as the collection, organization, and analysis of energy consumption data for various equipment, categorized and itemized. Historically, traditional methods of energy consumption statistics and analysis have been hindered by the diverse number and types of equipment in public buildings, each with varying quantities, specifications, models, and power ratings (see Tables 1 and 2). This results in a large volume of data and a wide variety of data types, making energy auditing a labor-intensive and challenging task. This, to some extent, hinders the progress of energy management efforts. Particularly for building clusters, traditional building energy consumption statistics are insufficient to support comprehensive energy management across multiple buildings simultaneously.

Table 1: List of Main Equipment for HVAC Systems

Table 2: List of Main Electrical System Equipment

Therefore, with the increasing variety and scale of public buildings, there is an urgent need for a new technology that is cost-effective and capable of providing real-time monitoring and data collection of energy consumption for large-scale building clusters in the system of building energy management. As modern network technology rapidly advances, the Internet of Things (IoT) emerges as a crucial solution to this issue. IoT technology can monitor and collect extensive energy consumption data from various equipment within buildings in real-time, integrate it into a unified energy management platform, process and analyze it, thereby assisting managers in carrying out comprehensive energy consumption management for regional building clusters.

Concept of Internet of Things Technology

The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced by Peter T. Lewis in 1985 and has since matured over the years. The Internet of Things, or IoT, is essentially a network formed by the interconnection of objects, which is part of the internet and can be interconnected with it. IoT technology can collect real-time data from various sensor modules for devices requiring monitoring, connection, and interaction, primarily used for close corporate communication. It enables network connections and information sharing across all nodes in the supply chain, including those between objects and between objects and people, thereby facilitating efficient management.

The Internet of Things (IoT) fundamentally involves the identification and data exchange of devices within local area networks, implying that IoT inherently relies on the internet infrastructure. It also extends beyond this foundation. The user base of IoT has expanded to include devices within the internet, where these devices can also engage in data exchange within the same network. In essence, IoT is an aggregated complex system that connects objects and integrates various sensing and transmission devices. Technically, its architecture consists of three layers: the sensing layer, the transmission network layer, and the application network layer. The sensing layer serves as the foundational level, encompassing a variety of sensor devices and providing an omnipresent perception network. The transmission network layer is positioned in the middle of the IoT hierarchy, comprising information and management centers. The application network layer constitutes the top layer of IoT, acting as the user terminal, enabling information exchange between devices in the network through user operations.

Application of Internet of Things Technology in Building Energy Management

The Public Building Energy Management System includes Internet of Things (IoT) terminals located at various positions within the building, an IoT energy management platform, and communication facilities. The unique architecture of the IoT perfectly aligns with the multi-layered requirements of the building energy management system (refer to Figure 1).

The sensing layer primarily collects real-time data on building energy consumption through various terminal devices, serving as the premise and foundation for Internet of Things energy management. It completes the collection of energy consumption data through sensors. For building energy management systems, the prerequisite for the collection and fine management of sensing layer data is the itemized measurement of energy consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to complete the relevant equipment for itemized energy consumption measurement from the outset of establishing the energy management system. The measurement objects include electricity consumption, water consumption, heat consumption, cooling consumption, gas consumption, etc., with electricity consumption being the main energy consumption in public buildings. It requires further segmentation based on energy-consuming equipment, and can also be measured by time periods according to actual operational conditions [2].

Currently, there is generally no itemized measurement function in the design of building intelligent systems, making it difficult to achieve fine management of energy consumption. Therefore, the implementation of itemized energy consumption measurement is an important requirement for building an intelligent building energy management platform with the Internet of Things. Itemized measurement requires the installation of itemized measurement devices using technologies such as the Internet of Things, categorizing energy by forms like electricity, water, oil, and gas, and then conducting itemized measurement based on different energy uses and consumption areas. It is also possible to meter energy consumption by time periods according to actual needs. Once the itemized data is transmitted to the energy management platform, it allows for real-time monitoring of the operating status of energy-consuming equipment; by comparing energy consumption between different office areas or time periods based on the itemized data, an accurate and detailed understanding of an organization's or system's energy consumption structure can be achieved, diagnosing the energy-saving potential of the building; and on this basis, energy-saving transformation plans can be proposed.

Energy sub-item metering provides the premise for energy audit work, while the energy management system can monitor the status of various energy-consuming equipment in real-time. Simultaneously, through the Internet of Things (IoT) transmission network, building energy consumption data is transmitted to the IoT platform. This data transmission method primarily acquires information from the sensing layer via short-range communication technology of the aggregation network, completes data access through the access network, and then the transmission network carries the energy consumption data to the application network layer [3].

In the network layer of the Internet of Things applications, we process and analyze the received individual energy consumption data to identify the characteristics and key energy-consuming units of buildings, as well as the energy consumption structure. We also evaluate the energy utilization efficiency of buildings and assess their energy-saving potential. Furthermore, on the basis of comprehensive measurement and analysis of energy consumption data, we utilize the application layer to develop energy management system applications on the IoT platform, including remote management of energy-consuming equipment in buildings and management of energy consumption data.

Direction of Development for Building Energy Management Systems Integrated with the Internet of Things

From current research, the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technology in China's building energy management systems is not widespread, and there are many issues with the existing building energy consumption monitoring and management systems.

1) Technically speaking, the current building energy consumption monitoring systems primarily cover the collection of energy consumption data from electrical equipment systems within buildings. The collected data can only be transmitted unidirectionally from terminal devices to the data platform. Further research is needed for bidirectional connections with information feedback and control functions.

2) The current energy consumption monitoring systems for buildings based on the Internet of Things (IoT) still exhibit massive data characteristics. How to further analyze, mine, and utilize this extensive data is a key research direction in building energy management systems.

5 Acrel-EIOT Energy Internet of Things Cloud Platform

(1) Overview

The computer receives the required industry data services.

The platform offers functionalities such as data-driven dashboards, electrical safety monitoring, power quality analysis, energy consumption management, pre-paid management, charging station management, intelligent lighting control, alarm and record of abnormal events, and operation and maintenance management, while supporting multi-platform, multi-language, and multi-device data access.

(2) Application Sites

Our platform caters to a variety of sectors, including apartment renters, chain convenience stores, small factories, building management system integrators, small property management companies, smart cities, substation transformer stations, buildings, communication base stations, industrial energy consumption, smart beacons, and power operation and maintenance.

(3) Platform Structure

(4) Platform Features

Electricity Collection and Reading

The Power Collection and Monitoring Module can perform queries, analyses, early warnings, and comprehensive displays of various monitoring data to ensure environmental friendliness in distribution rooms. In terms of intelligence, it achieves remote measurement of the power supply and distribution monitoring system.Our company has integrated detection and unified management of the system through remote signaling and remote control; in terms of data resource management, it can display or query the operation of various equipment within the power distribution room (including historical and real-time parameters) and allows for daily, monthly, and annual report queries or printing based on actual conditions, enhancing work efficiency and saving human resources.

Transformer Monitoring

Power Distribution Diagram

Energy Consumption Analysis

The Energy Consumption Analysis Module utilizes automation and information technology to achieve automated and scientific management throughout the entire process, from energy data collection, process monitoring, energy medium consumption analysis, to energy consumption management. This integration of energy management, production, and usage ensures an organic combination. By employing data processing and analysis techniques, offline production analysis and management are conducted, achieving unified dispatch of the entire factory's energy system. It optimizes energy medium balance, effectively utilizes energy, improves energy quality, reduces energy consumption, and aims to achieve energy-saving and consumption reduction, as well as enhance the overall energy management level.

Energy Consumption Overview

Pre-Paid Management

1) Login Management: Manage operator accounts and permission allocation, view system logs, and more.

2) System Configuration: Configure for buildings, communication management machines, instruments, and default parameters.

3) User Management: Perform operations such as account opening, account closing, remote switching, batch operations, and record inquiries for store users.

4) Electricity Sales Management: Perform remote operations such as electricity sales, returns, corrections, and record inquiries for meters that have already been registered.

5) Water Sales Management: Perform remote water sales, returns, and record inquiries for metered accounts that have already been activated.

6) Reporting Center: Offers inquiries for financial reports on electricity and water sales, energy consumption reports, alarm reports, etc. All reports and records inquiries within this system support export in Excel format.

Pre-Paid Dashboard

◆ EV Charging Station Management

Utilizing Internet of Things technology, the system continuously collects and monitors data from charging station sites and individual charging poles, while also providing early warnings for various faults such as overheating protection of charging machines, overvoltage and undervoltage of charging machine inputs and outputs, insulation detection failures, and a series of other issues. The cloud platform encompasses all functionalities related to charging billing and charging pole operation, including city-scale dashboard, transaction management, financial management, transformer monitoring, operational analysis, and basic data management.

Charging Station Dashboard

Intelligent Lighting

Intelligent lighting continuously monitors the power status of lighting circuits in urban areas, such as indoor lighting and streetlights, through the Internet of Things technology. It also allows for the configuration of timed on/off strategies, remote management, and mobile management, thereby reducing the maintenance difficulty and costs of streetlight facilities, improving management levels, and achieving energy-saving and emissions-reduction effects.

Monitoring Page

Electrical Safety

Our company utilizes independently developed residual current transformers, temperature sensors, and electrical fire detectors to continuously track and statistically analyze the primary factors causing electrical fires (cable temperature, current, and residual current). We promptly deliver various隐患 information to corporate management, guiding them in timely identification and treatment, thereby eliminating potential electrical fire safety hazards and achieving the goal of "preventing fires before they start."

Smart Fire Protection

By leveraging cloud platforms for data analysis, mining, and trend analysis, we assist in achieving scientific early warnings for fires, grid management, and the implementation of multi-responsibility supervision. This fills the gap previously left for ineffective monitoring of "small nine places" and hazardous chemical production enterprises. It is adaptable to all public and residential constructions, realizing unmanned, intelligent fire protection. It meets the practical needs for "automated," "intelligent," and "systematic" intelligent fire protection, as well as "refined" power management.

(5) System Hardware Configuration

6 Conclusion

Amidst the ongoing urbanization in our country, the development and perfection of building energy consumption monitoring systems and building energy management systems are advancing. Integrating Internet of Things (IoT) technology into the building energy consumption monitoring framework is of critical importance for the technological upgrade and intelligent development of existing building energy management systems. The related research in this area holds vast application prospects. As IoT technology continues to progress, the building energy management system will also become more sophisticated and refined.