Theoretical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
systems are rapidly advancing due to new sensor improvements, but traditional
systems are just starting to apply this technology and strive for better
systems. With improvements in sensors, and their applicability in the built
environment, dramatic improvements can be used to make the systems more
efficient and save energy in the long term. Current HVAC systems are often
underutilized because systems are uninformed throughout most of the process,
with minimal sensors placed only in critical locations. Until recently,
wireless, networked sensors have been too expensive for regular use, but as
technology improves, they will become cheap and routine throughout buildings as
tools of managing the facility.
Energy attributed to HVAC systems is a major part of building
usage, which accounts for much of the global total. Making systems more
intelligent and connected with the occupants will lead to significant changes
in building energy usage by utilizing it more effectively. Now, sensors
commonly are used to check temperature and humidity typically a few times
throughout an air cycle, with much of the air being wasted to unused space.
Increasing the number of information points can offer information that essentially
describes the entire air cycle. With this information, changes can be made on
the fly for the system to maximize its efficiency. This addition will allow
more accurately conditioned air, and the correct amount, to the spaces as
needed. Researching this topic will allow me to show how current improvements
in sensor technology benefit traditional HVAC systems and additional technology
that can be applied.
There are many ways that sensors can help develop the
industry and improve systems with the information they provide. Concurrently,
BIM is rapidly developing as an informational tool for simulations and
analysis, instead of strictly modeling software. Doing this requires accurate
data for informed decision making. Much of this data can easily be collected
and distributed by sensors to databases and BIM software to maximize how the
system is used. Preprogramed conditions can be set by database information for
sensors at critical points throughout the system to automatically adjust to the
information that the sensors and database determine is ideal. This information
can be collected in BIM software to be modeled information for any modifications
or studies. Due to the wide variety of systems used today, it will be difficult
to identify and compare current system improvements with the improvements that
sensors can offer.
Sources:
I-Hai Lin,
P., and H.L. Broberg. 2002. “Internet-Based Monitoring and Controls for HVAC
Applications.” IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 8 (1): 49–54.
doi:10.1109/2943.974358.
Leavey,
Anna, Yong Fu, Mo Sha, Andrew Kutta, Chenyang Lu, Weining Wang, Bill Drake,
Yixin Chen, and Pratim Biswas. 2015. “Air Quality Metrics and Wireless
Technology to Maximize the Energy Efficiency of HVAC in a Working Auditorium.”
Building and Environment 85 (February): 287–97.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.11.039.
Lu, Jiakang,
Tamim Sookoor, Vijay Srinivasan, Ge Gao, Brian Holben, John Stankovic, Eric
Field, and Kamin Whitehouse. 2010. “The Smart Thermostat: Using Occupancy
Sensors to Save Energy in Homes.” In , 211–24. ACM.
doi:10.1145/1869983.1870005.
“Smart HVAC & Sensor Technology for Smart
Buildings.” 2016. Arista. November 17. http://aristair.com/blog/smart-hvac-sensor-technology-for-smart-buildings/.
“The Core of
Johnson Controls.” n.d.
Comments:
Kerianne’s topic shows a very
interesting component of intelligent buildings by focusing on the information
components of Building Information Modeling (BIM). The way programs like Revit
organizes the information of families and building components benefits the
construction industry greatly by accurately managing the information and
providing it to the contractors. This
utility within the software has made it a revolutionary part of building design
and often benefits designers’ projects. The models produced with this
information directly relate to the intelligent building industry by showing how
the building and its systems interact with each other. Utilizing the software for additional
analytical simulations, like hourly energy analysis or finite element analysis
greatly benefits the design process by allowing designers and owners to make
informed decisions. These decisions
often have cost conscious solutions, which quickly pays for training designers
how to utilize the software. BIM is
changing the way construction documents are created and digital modeling will
become a major part of the design process. The software has many capabilities
and I believe that learning all of them is impossible, though it is very
intuitive and easy to learn. It sounds like much of the information you plan to
cover can be addressed with construction document schedules, but requires
in-depth research.
Joe and his team have
selected a very involved topic addressing how robotics can help to survey
sites. Oftentimes there are many
assumptions made about the site, leaving construction managers to verify many
of the conditions and adjust much of the construction to fit to terrain around
it. Surveying a site can take countless
hours with much room for variation as survey areas become large. Though the
technology already exists, there are many improvements available to fully
utilize surveying robotics. Today,
typically due to expense, these types of robots are used only for large
projects, where the building’s interaction with the ground is critical. Using the recent development of infrared and
ultrasonic sensors should benefit much of the data collection process. Also,
with the recent increase in the use of BIM, three-dimensional modeling of this
information will be needed much more often.
Big-data is a major part in constructing the information needed for BIM
and intelligent buildings. Accurately
scanning the terrain and implementing the information into the model requires
many aspects of intelligent technology and greatly benefits how these buildings
are constructed. Integrating all of this
information into one model can greatly reduce questions during the construction
process, speeding up construction time and reducing much of the errors. Though this could lead to job losses in the
surveying industry, these robots will need people to create and operate them,
creating jobs elsewhere in a very expansive field. There are many challenges associated robotics
technology, but the field is advancing quickly and should be becoming easier to
create.
Ronald’s post presents a
topic of comparing Revit and Bentley Architecture software to study how the
programs work together. To do this, the
team will create a model, essentially from scratch, in Revit and follow how
this information is transformed to the Bentley software and then compare the
end product with the original Revit model.
Noting these differences will help to understand the software’s capabilities
and limitations and help to better determine the information that can be
transferred between the models. With this information, it can be determined
which software should be used from the beginning to insure that export issues
are avoided. It is likely that with the
development of the two products, some designers will prefer some software to
others, forcing large firms to offer both products. With the use of both products, there is
surely some time where the two will need to communicate with each other well,
so knowing what to look for through these exports can be important. An
interesting addition to the project would to be operating the other way around,
exporting from Bentley to Revit, and comparing how these differences vary from
the original transfer, Revit to Bentley.
