HVAC Control in the New Millennium.pdf - HVAC.Amickracing

HVAC Control in the New Millenniumof heating, ventilation, air conditioning, security, light and fire safetysystems to reduce energy costs and minimize carbon dioxide emission ofcommercial buildings. The weak link in most older systems is the dependenceon a human operator.The future vision is a building that almost runs itself, from adjustingHVAC loads to dimming the lights. Many existing buildings shouldinclude such integrated energy controls systems by 2005. New constructionswill be designed to utilize practical, integrated building controls.Energy efficiency is part of an overall goal to reduce energy useand the carbon dioxide emissions that increase the greenhouse effect.The result will be practical, computerized energy management systemsthat unify the operation and monitoring of heating, ventilation, air conditioning,security, lighting and fire safety systems. These systems willbe largely self-managing, correcting changes within the building automaticallyand alerting building personnel when problems occur.Most of the building control systems being designed come withbuilt-in computer network connections. These allow the individual controlssystems to communicate either directly with each other, or with alocal or remote PC.Control TrendsMany large firms such as AT&T and Boeing Aircraft have beenusing PC-based management and control systems. These systems arebased on a multitasking PC operating system (OS) such as MicrosoftWindows NT or on more powerful workstation-based systems.AT&T has used its electronic mail system to connect about 80buildings around the country with over 25 million square feet of spaceinto a single PC located in Kansas City, MO. Boeing Aircraft has used asimilar approach into a Windows-based system.Computerized energy controls are the wave of the future, but acritical part is the interface between the computer and the operator. Thisinterface is concerned with what the operator sees on the computerscreen and the tools the operator has to manage the system. The interfacecannot be too difficult to understand or use. More powerful softwarecan allow operators to understand the underlying mathematicaland algorithmic dynamics, and how each change affects the whole.The controls must act as an integrated system since each change in©2001 by The Fairmont Press, Inc. All rights reserved.