Fault Detection And Diagnostics (FDD) Shows Promising Results
July 31, 2013
Today's tip from
Building Operating Management comes from Jim Sinopoli of Smart Buildings LLC. Fault detection and diagnostics shows promising results at Microsoft.
Microsoft's main corporate campus provides a look at what the future may hold for facility managers looking to mine the mountain of data available from most buildings. Microsoft is using a software analytics tool known as fault detection and diagnostics to help meet a corporate mandate related to energy and sustainability. Not only did Microsoft discover faults within their HVAC system they were not aware of, the software application also allowed their engineers to save significant time in addressing operational issues. The tool both identifies faults and also provides information about corrective action.
What's more, the fault detection and diagnostics tool has the capability to monetize faults. After the tool identifies a fault, it estimates the duration of the problem and calculates the cost of the uncorrected fault, typically based on wasted energy consumption. For example, the leakage of an outdoor damper might cost $500 per year. Monetizing faults allows Microsoft to give priority to tackling the most costly problems. In addition, this tool compresses Microsoft's typical 5-year campus retro-commissioning cycle to just one year. Annual energy cost savings for Microsoft from automated fault detection alone may exceed $1 million.
Microsoft is in the vanguard of a movement that is likely to transform the way buildings are managed. Software analytics promise to become a critical tool for facility managers to keep buildings operating efficiently. A variety of factors are driving the move to analytics. For one thing, buildings are becoming increasingly complex, and the introduction of new systems is making them even more complex. That complexity is changing the skill sets and expertise required to operate buildings. What's more, nearly everyone who occupies, manages or owns a building is focused on energy and sustainability.
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