e-News

n Introduction n Fault Detection for Packaged Units n Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics n FDD for Central Air-Handling Systems n FDD Limitations n AirCare Plus n FDD Case Study n Codes and Standards n Whats Next? n Training Highlights n About e-News

Issue 77 December 2010

The Doctor Is Always In

Maintaining Optimum Performance with Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD)
Introduction

ith the trend towards increasing complexity of the lighting and mechanical systems of todays buildings, there is a broad gap between the design intent and the actual operational performance of buildings. Even when buildings are commissioned, systems do not work optimally and problems often go unnoticed. Packaged rooftop units (RTU) for light commercial buildings are checked only periodically and maintenance staff that cover several campuses of buildings normally do not have time to do anything more than basic checks. For larger buildings that contain central plants, major equipment such as chillers or boilers are routinely tested and maintained, but distributed equipment such as VAV terminal units are not. It is not practical to test all airside equipment in large buildings. A technology that has emerged over the last few years to address this problem is fault detection and diagnostics (FDD). Products are available that test both packaged rooftop units and larger air handlers and central plants. The better FDD systems test for both operational faults (stuck valve or damper) and efficiency degradation (low refrigerant charge). These products allow maintenance staff to respond more quickly to problems while reducing inspection requirements.

Figure 1 - Common RTU Faults

Frequency of problems observed in the field. Economizer failure and improper charge are the most common problems found in small rooftop units. Source: Public Interest Energy Research Program, 500-03-082

Fault Detection for Packaged Units

Packaged rooftop HVAC units (RTU) are commonly used to heat and cool small to medium size commercial and retail buildings. They offer a simple installation, and a number of small units can provide good temperature control of individual spaces. Packaged rooftop units serve nearly half the floor space of commercial buildings in California. These systems often operate at a much lower efficiency than their rated condition. It is estimated that RTUs waste 10% to 30% of cooling energy due to common problems that prevent units from operating at their rated efficiency. Figure 1 shows that improper economizer operation, improper refrigerant charge and
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restricted airflow affect a significant portion of units in the field. The Small HVAC System Design Guide estimates that faulty economizers increase cooling energy by 37% on average. Some premium equipment has built-in diagnostics capability, but most equipment will require add-on hardware to test refrigerant cycle temperatures and pressures.

Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics

New products have been developed that operate in a similar fashion to the Service Assistant, but they are permanently installed at the rooftop unit for continuous monitoring and diagnostics. Automated fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) has recently become available for packaged rooftop units. The automated data acquisition system includes sensors embedded in the unit to measure system temperatures and pressures. With some products data and alarms can be transferred to remote servers for processing and email reporting. Common features include refrigeration diagnostics, detection of refrigerant charge problems, low condenser heat transfer (fouling or fan problems), expansion device problems, and economizer diagnostics to verify proper outdoor airflow and economizer operation. As an emerging technology, it is not yet commonly available as a standard option in off-the-shelf products, but plans are underway to integrate FDD into packaged HVAC units.

air handling units and VAV terminal units. For such a system, it is difficult to perform checks on the large number of terminal units in the system. The FDD product implements a set of rules to determine when a part of the system is not functioning as designed. Operational problems such as stuck economizer dampers, leaking valves, unstable control, schedule programming errors or chiller sequencing problems can be detected and reported. The rules can be based on first principles (i.e., energy balance to determine economizer dampers are sequencing correctly), a heuristic approach (i.e., SAT off from the SAT setpoint by more than 3 degrees for a period of five minutes), statistical metrics, or a combination of approaches. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed FDD tools suitable for embedding in commercial air handling units and VAV box controllers. Several control manufacturers are working to incorporate the control logic into their products. The technology is only applicable to programmable box controllers; controllers that are merely configurable are not candidates for FDD. The faults for a single duct air handler, for example, include the following:

n n n n n

Outdoor air damper is in incorrect position and not utilizing outdoor air efficiently. System is simultaneously heating and cooling. System is operating in manual (not controlled by BAS schedule). Hot water and chilled water valves are sequenced incorrectly. A sensor is out of calibration or in a fault condition.

FDD for Central Air Handling Systems

Analogous products available for detecting operational faults and diagnosing problems for central HVAC systems use trend data that is available from energy management systems. The product can be used, for example, on a large central plant system consisting of variable-volume

AirCare Plus
AirCare Plus, a program developed by PECI and recently implemented by California utilities, facilitates diagnosis and correction of rooftop unit operational faults. The program has been successfully implemented by PG&E and Southern California Edison utilities. The program provides training to technicians and contractors on the use of the Service Assistant, a handheld tool used for the diagnosis of problems with rooftop units. The Service Assistant guides the technician through the process and helps the technician detect and correct faulty economizers, insufficient or excess refrigerant charge, and insufficient airflow. Data is collected through the use of a personal digital assistant (PDA), eliminating paperwork. This additional service is provided at no additional cost to the customer beyond the cost of the regularly scheduled maintenance. Benefits of the tune-up include reduced system downtime, additional cooling capacity, increased energy efficiency and increased operating lifetime of the unit. Through increased efficiency, peak demand can also be reduced. Since its inception in 2002, the program has covered the service of over 20,000 RTUs, with an average savings of 2,200 kWh annually for an average unit capacity of 6.5 tons. With an average maintenance cost of $400, this results in a simple payback period of less than 2 years . AirCare Plus services are typically provided as an add-on to existing service contracts. After completion of the service, contractors receive rebates intended to cover the additional labor required.

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Related Resources
n Small HVAC System Design Guide:

n n

Oscillating (hunting) valves and dampers . Oscillating modes, i.e., switching between heating and cooling.

http://newbuildings.org/sites/default/ files/A-12_Sm_HVAC_Guide_4.7.5.pdf
n Air Care Plus program:

For VAV boxes, some of the automated FDD systems record anomalies or faults in real-time, but restrict reporting of faults based on accumulated errors over time. Other FDD tools that automate the analysis of trend log data report faults as they occur. As with FDD for packaged units, FDD for airside equipment in central plants provides several benefits: it reduces time spent analyzing trend logs, detects sequencing problems, controls tuning problems or sensors out of calibration, and identifies related issues that waste energy, even when occupant comfort is not affected. FDD also streamlines operations and maintenance and reduces the time required for scheduled PM checks; it increases equipment performance and reduces frequency of major equipment overhaul. Some applications of the technology have even included integrating the FDD system with the work order process.

http://www.aircare-plus.com
n For more on automated fault detection and

diagnostics, see: http://www.archenergy.com/pier-fdd/

n Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

(LBL) on A Specifications Guide for Performance Monitoring Systems: http://cbs.lbl.gov/performance-monitoring/ specifications/

n Fault Detection and Diagnostics: Automat-

Limitations
There are several limitations of FDD systems used for central plant systems. Often the analyzed data can be used to detect a fault; however, it often cannot verify the root cause of the fault (i.e., whether it is a faulty VAV box damper or some equipment failure upstream of the VAV box). Secondly, the product necessitates that trend data is available for a large number of points; in practice, this data is often not available unless explicitly specified during the design phase, and even then it is sometimes value engineered out of a project. When used in central plant systems, FDD components require significant customization after the initial install to prevent false alarms from occurring. Sensors out of calibration can also cause false alarms. Automated fault detection algorithms have not been developed for non-standard HVAC systems such as radiant cooling. FDD does not

ed, Ongoing Commissioning Functionality for Large and Small HVAC Systems: http://www.peci.org/ncbc/ proceedings/2006/17_Cherniack_NCBC2006. pdf

FDD Case Study

The Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco is a 22 story, 1.4 million square foot, high-rise office building with nearly 1,200 dual-duct VAV boxes served by eight AHUs. The EMCS is a hybrid DDC system with an Alerton BACTalk system serving as the front end, control of the air-handling units and the majority of the zone controls. The facility was chosen for a pilot study to test the effectiveness of the NIST automated FDD algorithms for air handling units and VAV boxes. Tuning of the FDD algorithms was done in conjunction with debugging and testing of VAV box control algorithms. Tuning is required to reduce the frequency of false alarms, so that operational faults more closely predict actual equipment or controls issues. After tuning was complete, the number of VAV box alarms was reduced to approximately 30 per day. The building engineers investigated these faults and found problems with 11 boxes. Prior to the implementation of automated FDD, technicians would have to physically inspect several boxes a day to meet annual inspection requirements. The automated FDD system has reduced the amount of time required for some preventative maintenance tasks, allowing staff to focus on equipment that needs maintenance. Problems such as fouled airflow sensors, stuck actuators or dampers, and loop tuning issues have been identified. The Chief Engineer at the facility has been pleased with the effectiveness of fault detection and diagnostics: I can put my maintenance people right where they belong. While the algorithms do require some tuning at each site, mainly to prevent false alarms, they can be readily implemented by programmable controllers.

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eliminate the role of O&M staff, but it does help streamline the maintenance process.

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Codes and Standards

Title 24 recognizes the importance of verifying equipment performance. In the performance compliance method, a compliance credit is given for package rooftop systems that use automatic fault detection and diagnostics: the assumed efficiency of the unit is degraded by 10% from the rated efficiency if FDD is not installed. Similarly, the performance of air-side economizers and VAV boxes is degraded in the compliance calculation if FDD is not installed.

Whats Next?
Working groups involved in FDD development agreed that there is a need to develop a consensus standard to seamlessly integrate the technology with the different control systems that the control vendors supply. While there are challenges, most agree on the benefits of FDD. Developers of fault detection and diagnostics products or protocols are developing a protocol that can be used to measure and verify savings. As ASHRAE moves towards establishing both asset (as designed) and operational ratings and energy labels, the value of FDD in establishing savings that persist over the buildings life cycle should become more apparent. It is possible, if not likely, that the use of FDD will be a requirement of future energy codes.

Training Highlights
California utilities offer outstanding educational opportunities that focus on the design, construction and operation of energy-efficient buildings. Listed here are a few of the many upcoming classes and events; for complete schedules, visit each utilitys website. Optimizing Air Conditioner Performance in Californias Climate This class is for HVAC technicians who regularly perform repair and maintenance work. Major topics include: - Why Californias climate needs something better than the national average air conditioner. - How you can get the airflow performance of a premium furnace out of a standard furnace. December 9, 9:00 am-3:00 pm, Stockton--ETC http://www.pge. com/mybusiness/edusafety/training/pec/classes/index.jsp? reqType=detail&ID=4505&db=PEC4505.csv&pageTitle=Class Details and Registration&postback=yes Sustainable Building Envelopes Designers, architects, and others will learn about the integrated design process and explore passive building measures for high performance green buildings. Topics such as building orientation considerations, high performance glass, advanced wall systems, cool roofing, and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems will be discussed. (4 AIA/HSW/Sustainable Building Learning Units). December 9, 8:30 am-12:30 pm, Frontier Project, Rancho Cucamonga, CA https://www.sce.com/ECR/ EnergyCenterClassSchedule.aspx?ORG=CTAC,OTHER Building Operator Certification Training - Level II, BOC 214 Introduction to Building Commissioning Introduces the building commissioning process for new and existing buildings. Topics include an overview of commissioning types, the elements of a successful project, working with a commissioning service provider, and the building operators role in a commissioning project. January 5, 8:30 am-4:30 pm, Camp Pendleton https://seminars. sdge.com/iebms/coe/coe_p1_all.aspx?cc=coe&oc=05

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