Evaluating the system intelligence of the intelligent building systems: Part 2: Construction and validation of analytical models

This paper describes the development of an analytical model for computing the system intelligence score (SIS) of key building control systems in the intelligent building. The models presented in this paper applied the system intelligence theory, and the conceptual analytical framework developed in Part 1 [J.K.W. Wong, H. Li, J. Lai, Evaluating the system intelligence of the intelligent building systems — Part 1: Development of key intelligent indicators and assessment approaches, (submitted and under review)]. Two multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and analytic network process (ANP), were employed in this study to evaluate the system intelligence of the intelligent building systems. AHP was utilized to determine the relative importance of the intelligent attributes and indicators in the model, while the ANP supermatrix was employed to examine the interdependence between the intelligent attributes and the operational benefits of the intelligent building system. A comparison of findings obtained from AHP and ANP approaches indicated that most of the values of the intelligent indicators changed. The interdependence between operational goals/benefits and the intelligent attributes modified the original ratings obtained from AHP. The ANP approach allows inclusive decision making on the system intelligence. Such approach not only examines the intelligent properties of intelligent building systems, but also considers the operational benefits brought by intelligent technologies. The paper uses the integrated building management system (IBMS) as an illustrative example to present a framework. The proposed analytical model is illustrated with an example to demonstrate its assessment procedures and test its effectiveness in application.