Assessment of HVAC system operational fault impacts and multiple faults interactions under climate change

Zhong, Fangliang; Calautit, John Kaiser; Wu, Yupeng

Abstract

The effect of climate change on heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC) system performances has become prominent, and HVAC fault impacts may also vary with climate change. This paper evaluates the impacts of HVAC operational faults on system energy and occupant thermal comfort under the current, 2030s and 2050s climates using a validated model. The energy and thermal comfort impact indicators were proposed to rank single and multiple faults under each climate period. Supply fan stuck at maximum speed, and the combinations associated with this fault were ranked first in energy and thermal comfort rankings, respectively. Based on the investigations of multiple faults interactions, it is found that the synergetic/antagonistic effect of multiple faults combinations can lead to a significantly higher/lower combined impact than any single fault impact among the combination when the single faults present opposite impacts. Moreover, heating coil supply air temperature sensor negative bias, and the combination of thermostat positive offset and outdoor air damper stuck fully open led to the most increase system total electricity by 34.3 GJ and 35.3 GJ from current to 2050s period. The results are useful for researchers to prioritise the faults with significant impacts for developing fault detection and diagnosis framework.

Citation

Zhong, F., Calautit, J. K., & Wu, Y. (2022). Assessment of HVAC system operational fault impacts and multiple faults interactions under climate change. Energy, 258, Article 124762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124762

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 5, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jul 14, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 18, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 18, 2022
• Journal: Energy
• Print ISSN: 0360-5442
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-6785
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 258
• Article Number: 124762
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124762
• Keywords: General Energy; Pollution; Mechanical Engineering; Building and Construction; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering; Civil and Structural Engineering
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/13753747
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544222016656?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Assessment of HVAC system operational fault impacts and multiple faults interactions under climate change; Journal Title: Energy; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.124762; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.