Development of an Information Monitoring and Diagnostic System

Large commercial, institutional and government buildings generally do not operate at economically achievable levels of energy efficiency. Performance monitoring projects across the US have documented the potential to conserve 15 to 30% of energy use through improved operation and maintenance practices. Corresponding energy and capacity reductions for large office buildings in California are estimated to be about 42 * 10¹² Btu (source) in existing buildings, which includes 24 BkWh (site electricity) and 32 BkBtu (gas) for large office buildings. The objective of this multi-year project is to develop and apply state-of-the-art continuous building performance measurement and supporting information processing and data visualization technologies. These technologies will diagnose problems in the performance of building energy systems and provide owners and managers with reliable, decision-oriented information. The project's goal is to assist building owners and property managers in effectively reducing energy use through improving O&M practices and implementing opportunities for cost-effective investments in improved building energy systems. The project was conducted by an interdisciplinary team to assess the current state of technology, develop an appropriate information and diagnosis capability, and test it in real buildings. The research team designed a multi-level building diagnostic system, including sensors, computer-based communications, data archival/retrieval, diagnostic information processing, data visualization and other components that would meet the needs expressed by building owners and property managers. The research team developed diagnostic and information visualization algorithms at these three levels: the whole building (Level I), the overall building cooling system (Level II), and the chiller and cooling tower subsystems (Level III).

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