P2 - Project Outline - Schwakoff

For my project I am doing a research report on Automatic Fault Detection and Diagnosis (AFDD) of HVAC systems. I created my outline in actual outline form rather than writing it out in paragraphs. I find this easier to put together and organize thoughts in preparation of writing a report. Depending on length/time availability I may expand a bit more on its adoption and influence on other "smart" building technologies.

1.       Buildings consume a large amount of energy in the U.S. (get an estimate from reliable source)

a.       HVAC equipment use a lot of this energy consumed in buildings

                                                   i.      These systems are usually not operating as they are designed

                                                 ii.      There are usually faults in the system and/or logic that are leading to a lot of wasted energy

                                                iii.      Examples of faults/poor logic include:

1.       Simultaneous heating and cooling

2.       Dampers stuck open/shut/somewhere in between

3.       Heating/cooling coil valves leaking

2.       There have been large efforts to develop tools to detect these faults – Automatic Fault Detection and Diagnosis (AFDD)

a.       Advantages

                                                   i.      Can save a lot of energy and thus money over time

                                                 ii.      Can detect problems before “serious” damage occurs

                                                iii.      Saves money and time avoiding technicians having to come out

                                               iv.      Reduces complaints building operator has to deal with

b.      There are different fault detection methods

                                                   i.      Physical modeling – detailed modeling of the system

1.       Should in theory be the most accurate

2.       Impractical though because each system would have to be custom modeled

                                                 ii.      Ruled-based – rules developed as to how something should work by rules of thermodynamics and in relation to other components in the system

1.       Most widely adopted/used commercially

2.       Not the most accurate

3.       A lot of false alarms are usually generated

4.       Rules have to be set up specific to the system

5.       Give an example of rule-based method

                                                iii.      Data-driven – uses statistical approaches using data already collected from system

1.       Plug-and-play technique

2.       Probably the most promising

3.       Fewer false alarms

4.       Give an example to contrast this and rule-based methods

c.       Passive monitoring vs active diagnosis

3.       Commercialization and growth

a.       Buildings already collect vast amounts of data

                                                   i.      Most of this data is not being utilized

b.      Buildings are being equipped with more sensors

                                                   i.      Becoming cheaper and more worth the installation

c.       This data can be utilized in more ways than just HVAC fault detection

                                                   i.      Smart grid

                                                 ii.      Demand response

Comments 

Nunes and group - You guys are looking into an interesting topic. I know that green and intelligent buildings are different but I'm interested to see their similarities. I'm also curious about different technologies used both currently and planned for the future for each type. 

Lee - I am in your shoes in that I have very limited Revit experience. I'll be very interested to see how difficult you found this project. At some point I'd like to familiarize myself a lot more with Revit so hopefully you can provide some advice to us novices by the time you're finished.

Sivertsen & Lavigne - Very good job in your initial planning, it seems as though you have a great sight as to what you want to do with this project. I've just recently begun to be exposed to databases, but I don't know too much about them yet. I'll be very interested to hear what you have to say.