Tips on building automation systems for the HVAC market is part of a new guide from ASHRAE. 

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ guideline No. 13, “Specifying Building Automation Systems,” provide designers with information, recommendations, project considerations, and detailed design discussion. It includes online access to a specification that illustrates the concepts described.

“The guideline defines three levels of performance monitoring and provides criteria for each level,” said Dave Kahn, chairman of the society’s drafting committee. “This allows even the basic systems to realize some performance monitoring benefits. It allows monitoring and reporting of HVAC equipment function and operating efficiency, energy consumption and environmental conditions. Careful grouping of X-Y type plots can provide information required to monitor and, if necessary, troubleshoot each different part of the HVAC system. A Level 3 automated fault diagnosis can be used to predict faults. Performance monitoring can direct a building owner to additional energy savings potential at the plant or equipment level.”

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