Lecture 5: Data-driven maintenance

Fault detection and diagnostics

Building Energy Management and Optimization
CIVE 5708

Araz Ashouri PhD

Adjunct Research Professor
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Agenda
Fault detection and diagnostics
• Background
• Common types of faults in building systems
• Case studies on fault detection and diagnostics
• Quantifying energy and comfort implications of faults
• Detecting AHU and VAV issues

Fault detected

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Air Handling Unit (AHU)

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Shein and Bushby (2005) 4
Can you list sensors and actuators in an AHU?

Shein and Bushby (2005)

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AHU sensor
• Supply air temperature
• Return air temperature
• Mixed air temperature
• Outdoor air temperature
AHU actuator
• Heating / cooling coil valve
• Outdoor air damper
• Exhaust air damper
• Return air damper
AHU controller logic
• Supply air temperature control
• Supply airflow rate control
• Economizer control
• Heat recovery control

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VAV

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 VAV control

Schein, Jeffrey & House, John. (2003). Application of Control Charts for Detecting Faults in Variable-Air-Volume
Boxes. ASHRAE Transactions. 109.
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Sensors and actuators in a VAV

Source: H. Shahnazari, P. Mhaskar, J. House, T. Salsbury. “Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems: Fault detection and isolation
and safe parking”. Comput. Chem. Eng. 2018 9
• Let’s imagine that AHU outdoor
air intake damper stuck open
• Changes in operation?
• Which sensors / actuators will start
behaving differently?

• Let’s imagine that AHU supply air

temperature sensor has a +2°C bias
(sensor shows temperature 2°C
warmer than the reality)
• Changes in operation?
• Which sensors / actuators will start
behaving differently?

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• Let’s imagine that a VAV terminal unit
reheat coil valve stuck
Changes in operation?
• Which sensors / actuators will start
behaving differently?

• Let’s imagine that a VAV terminal unit

damper stuck
Changes in operation?
• Which sensors / actuators will start
behaving differently?

• Let’s imagine that a VAV terminal unit

airflow sensor is biased by +200 L/s
Changes in operation?
• Which sensors / actuators will start
behaving differently?

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Point-by-point survey of HVAC
systems in Canal Building

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• Many sensors, actuators, meters
• 2754 in Canal Building
• 6676 in River Building
• 9443 in Main Stats Building Tunney’s Pasture
• Facility managers do not have time to point by point search
for faulty sensors, actuators, meters
 Need to analyze the building data and find anomalies

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Faults are improper operating conditions
Symptoms are the observable changes in the operation in
sensors, actuators, and meters due to faults
FDD: Algorithms to flag anomalies and triage them based on
their importance

Symptoms Detect Isolate Fault

…

Diagnose

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Gunay, Burak, Weiming Shen, and Chunsheng
Yang. "Characterization of a building's
operation using automation data: A review and
case study." Building and Environment 118
(2017): 196-210.

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Visual inspection of anomalies

Hard faults

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VAV 1 – Cooling season

*Loop error is the difference between the setpoint and the measured value
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• Zone 6 does not seem to receive enough air?
• What could be the potential reasons?
1. Damper stuck closed
2. Airflow sensor is broken
3. Temperature sensor bias forcing damper to remain closed

So, which one is the fault? How can I isolate?

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Damper motor feedback signal
suggests that it is always open

This still does not resolve the

issue though

Feedback signal suggests the

damper is open, is it really
open?

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The room temperature is persistently over 2°C over the setpoint.
The room does not seem to receive enough air.
Likely root-cause is a damper stuck closed fault

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VAV 2 – Cooling season

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• Zone 3 does not seem to receive enough air
• What could be the potential reasons?
1. Damper stuck closed
2. Airflow sensor is broken
3. Temperature sensor bias forcing damper to remain closed

So, which one is the fault? How can I isolate?

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• Zone 12 seem to receive lots of air
• What could be the potential reasons?
1. Damper stuck open
2. Airflow sensor is broken
3. Temperature sensor bias forcing damper to remain open

So, which one is the fault? How can I isolate?

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Anomalies ≠ Faults

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Visual inspection

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Time-series visualization
• Visual inspection of hourly/daily energy use can
help detect anomalies

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Visual anomaly detection

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Systematic approach

Time-series Visual Inverse

data inspection modelling

Prioritization
Isolation of
based on Anomaly
the root
impact on detection
cause
KPIs

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Inverse modelling and FDD

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1. Inverse modeling of AHU

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Inputs:
1. Difference between return and outdoor temperature
2. Operating schedule of the AHU
3. Cooling-coil valve position
4. Supply air pressure temperature drop across the cooling coil
Output:
1. Difference between supply and return temperatures

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2. Inverse modeling of VAV zones

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Inputs:
1. Difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures
2. Horizontal solar irradiance
3. Work hour index
4. Thermal load from VAV
5. State of the perimeter radiators (on/off)
6. Average temperature of the surrounding core spaces
Output:
1. Rate of change in temperature

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VAV pressure sensor fault Radiator Valve Stuck Off

VAV damper fault Radiator Valve Stuck Off

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• Detecting actuator faults in
presence of other systems
to help maintain the same
manipulated variable
• Reheat coil valve is broken
but temperatures are kept
at comfortable levels
because of the radiators

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Soft faults
• Hard faults
• Failed sensors, actuators, meters, etc.
• Soft faults
• Mistakes in controls program

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 Supply Air Damper Position

Economizer for
free cooling

Minimum for ventilation

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Bibliography
Gunay, Burak, Weiming Shen, and Chunsheng Yang. "Characterization of a
building's operation using automation data: A review and case study." Building and
Environment 118 (2017): 196-210.
Schein, Jeffrey, et al. "A rule-based fault detection method for air handling
units." Energy and buildings 38.12 (2006): 1485-1492.
Schein, Jeffrey, and Steven T. Bushby. "Fault detection & diagnostics for AHUs and
VAV boxes." ASHRAE Journal 47.7 (2005): 58.
Kim, Woohyun, and Srinivas Katipamula. "A review of fault detection and
diagnostics methods for building systems." Science and Technology for the Built
Environment 24.1 (2018): 3-21.

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