9 Automated Fault Detection and Diagnosis in HVAC Systems

As system integration becomes the norm in HVAC systems in buildings where energy conservation and efficiency are the main concern, more interdependency is built-in into system components, more variables are being monitored and controlled, and more data is available for equipment, system, and user domains. This increase in complexity and real-time information is leading toward new techniques and technologies for equipment and system level monitoring, supervision, and fault detection, some of which have emerged in commercial applications. However, there is a wealth of opportunities to enhance and integrate new and on-going research in automated fault detection techniques in building management systems (BMS), or stand-alone HVAC control and supervision applications, to increase system performance, efficiency, and quality of service.

This chapter presents a review of the different types of approaches of fault-detection techniques, state-of-the-art discoveries in the field, referenced applications to industrial and HVAC settings, commercial applications with embedded fault-detection ability, challenges to be addressed in this field, and a case study of implementation of automated fault detection in a district cooling application.