Automated Proactive Techniques for Commissioning Air-Handling Units

Abstract

Lack of or improper commissioning, the inability of the building operators to grasp the complexity controls, and lack of proper maintenance lead to inefficient operations and reduced lifetimes of equipment. If regularly scheduled manual maintenance or re-commissioning practices are adopted, they can be expensive and time consuming. Automated proactive commissioning and diagnostic technologies applied to parts of the commissioning process address two of the main barriers to commissioning: cost and schedules. Automated proactive commissioning and diagnostic tools can reduce both the cost and time associated with commissioning, as well as enhance the persistence of commissioning fixes. In the long run, automation even offers the potential for automatically correcting problems by reconfiguring controls or changing control algorithms dynamically. This paper discusses procedures and processes that can be used to automate and continuously commission the economizer operation and outdoor-air ventilation systems of an air-handling unit.