- Author
- Schein, J. | Bushby, S. T. | Castro, N. S. | House, J. M.
- Title
- Rule-Based Fault Detection Method for Air Handling Units.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Iowa Energy Center, Ankeny, IA
- Journal
- Energy and Buildings, Vol. 38, No. 12, 1485-1492, December 2007
- Sponsor
- California Energy Commission, Sacramento, CA Department of Energy, Washington, DC
- Keywords
- air handling units | fault detection | diagnostics | building automation | direct digital control | energy management system
- Identifiers
- air handling units (AHUs); AHU performance assessment rules (APAR); APAR rule set; threshold selection; instrumentation accuracy requirements; emulation study; temperature sensor drift; temperature sensor failure; stuck valve or damper; economizer control logic fault
- Abstract
- Air handling unit performance assessment rules (APAR) is a fault detection tool that uses a set of expert rules derived from mass and energy balances to detect faults in air handling units (AHUs). Control signals are used to determine the mode of operation of the AHU. A subset of the expert rules which correspond to that mode of operation are then evaluated to determine whether a fault exists. APAR is computationally simple enough that it can be embedded in commercial building automation and control systems and relies only upon the sensor data and control signals that are commonly available in these systems. APAR was tested using data sets collected from a "hardware-in-the-loop" emulator and from several field sites. APAR was also embedded in commercial AHU controllers and tested in the emulator.