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Whole-Building Commercial HVAC System Simulation for Use in Energy Consumption Fault Detection
Abstract
Numerous fault detection and diagnostic system techniques
have been developed for HVAC systems, but most focus
on detecting faults at the component level, for example, air handling
units or variable air volume boxes. This paper examines
the use of the ASHRAE simplified energy analysis procedure
(SEAP) for fault detection at the whole-building level. In
the procedure examined, an implementation of the SEAP is
“calibrated” to a period of measured heating and cooling data
from a building so the simulated data closely follow the
measured data. A small adjustment is added to the simulated
data so the total adjusted simulated heating and cooling
consumption values exactly match the measured heating and
cooling consumption totals for the same period. The adjusted
version of the calibrated SEAP simulation is then used to
predict future consumption, using future weather data. Visual
comparison with future measured data is used to diagnose
significant deviations from expected performance. The procedure
is applied retrospectively to three years of measured
consumption data as a test. It clearly identifies three significant
operational changes that occurred during the test period.
Three different presentation formats are tested for fault identification—
monthly deviations, daily percent deviations, and
cumulative deviation plots. All have value, and it is ultimately
a user preference as to which is the most informative.
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Citation
Painter, Frank (2007). Whole-Building Commercial HVAC System Simulation for Use in Energy Consumption Fault Detection. Energy Systems Laboratory. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /154773.