IIT Mandi Researchers Develops Advanced Algorithm for Automatic Detection of HVAC System Failures; Check Details Here

New Delhi: IIT Mandi Researchers have partnered with a scientist from Université de Lorraine, France to develop an Advanced Algorithm.

This collaboration's goal is to create a cutting-edge algorithm that can quickly identify operational issues with HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems placed in buildings.

The results of the research were presented in a paper co-authored by Tushar Jain, associate professor in the school of computing and electrical engineering, Mona Subramaniam, a research assistant from IIT Mandi, and Joseph J. Yamé, a colleague from the Université de Lorraine, France. The paper was published in the Journal of Building Performance Simulation.

HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems are crucial for preserving the thermal comfort of building inhabitants.

Variable Air Volume (VAV) terminal boxes used in HVAC systems provide an energy-efficient way to maintain the thermal comfort of building occupants. Each zone of the building receives a specific amount of processed air via a VAV box.

In VAV boxes, the sensors and dampers may malfunction and require repairs. However, manually identifying and locating these defects is a time-consuming, expensive, and prone to error procedure.

An automated fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) method that connects with the building automation system (BAS) or building energy management system (BEMS) has been created by researchers at IIT Mandi to solve this issue.

This system aids maintenance teams in the identification and forecasting of probable failures, the analysis of their effects, the evaluation of their significance to the BAS, and the rapid direction of repairs, ensuring that the system is constantly operational.

Tushar Jain, an engineer from IIT Mandi, described the technical aspects of the breakthrough by saying, "Our algorithm is robust against unmeasured disturbances and sensor noise, particularly the outdoor temperature that affects the thermal dynamics of the building".

The researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of the created algorithms by simulating a one-story building with three zones using the SIMBAD software, which is based on MATLAB. In two separate settings, they tested four different single and multiple VAV damper fault occurrences.

The BAS/BEMS already in place can be retrofitted with IIT Mandi's algorithm without any further hardware installation.

The algorithm is robust enough to deal with unknowns like the outside weather and the amount of people within the building. This means that engineers are not required to simplify the thermal dynamics model or use the basic rule-based control or monitor algorithms that do not work well.

Additionally, the algorithm calculates wall temperatures, which is crucial for fault prediction. This algorithm created by researchers from IIT Mandi can improve a building's energy efficiency and occupant comfort when incorporated into the HVAC automation system.

By identifying and automatically resolving HVAC problems, minimizing downtime, and cutting energy costs, it is a practical strategy that can assist building operators in saving time and money.

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