IIT Mandi develops new algorithm for automatic detection of HVAC system failures

NEW DELHI: Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi in collaboration with Université de Lorraine, France, developed an algorithm that automatically detects operational failures in Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems installed in buildings.

The IIT Mandi research study has been published in Journal of Building Performance Simulation in a paper coauthored by IIT Mandi, School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, associate professor, Tushar Jain, and his research scholar Mona Subramaniam along with his collaborator Joseph J. Yamé from Université de Lorraine, France.

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With delays in detecting and fixing the errors in in HVAC systems can lead to indoor environmental issues, such as poor thermal comfort and indoor air quality, affecting occupant health and productivity. To address this problem, IIT Mandi researchers have developed an automated fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) algorithm that integrates with the building automation system (BAS) or building energy management system (BEMS). This system helps maintenance crews identify and predict potential failures, analyze their impact, determine their importance to the BAS, and quickly direct repairs, ensuring that the system is always available.

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Using SIMBAD software, based on MATLAB, to simulate a one-storey building with three zones and show how well the developed algorithms work. The researchers tested four different single and multiple VAV damper fault cases in two different scenarios.

According to a press statement, IIT Mandi’s algorithm can be retrofitted with existing BAS/BEMS without additional hardware installation. The algorithm is strong enough to handle uncertainties such as the outside weather conditions and the number of occupants in the building.