In today’s rapidly advancing world, smart building technology is transforming the way we design, construct, and manage our buildings and facilities. Among the many innovations within this field, the integration of smart HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems is playing a pivotal role in enhancing energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and overall building sustainability. In this article, we will explore the current state of smart building technology with a specific focus on HVAC systems and controls in commercial buildings, and their integration into other smart building systems.

The Growing Importance of Smart HVAC Systems

The HVAC systems in hospitals, data centers, universities, and other commercial buildings have long been critical for maintaining optimal indoor air quality, comfort, and energy efficiency. However, as energy costs and environmental concerns have become more prominent, there is a growing need for smarter, more efficient HVAC solutions. This has led to a significant shift towards integrating technology and data analytics into HVAC systems, transforming them into smart, dynamic, and responsive entities.

Modernizing HVAC equipment

Chillers, compressors, evaporators, heat exchanges, and ducts are just some of the components that go into a commercial HVAC system. They are responsible for cooling water which is then distributed throughout the building to maintain a comfortable temperature, among other tasks that adjust and dial in the airflow and quality of a building. These components have typically operated in a fixed, inefficient manner, using constant energy regardless of the actual cooling demands. However, the integration of smart technology is changing this paradigm.

Today with the integration of sensors, readers and IoT devices as well as the ability to connect all these devices to the cloud has transformed traditional HVAC systems into modern systems that are smarter, more efficient and allow for a greater level of precision and control. Now facilities managers can monitor and make adjustments to individual HVAC components based on real time data insight and smart recommendations. This translates into major energy savings as well as better preventative maintenance measures.

Smart Building Systems: The Backbone of Modern Building Management

Smart building systems are the cornerstone of large commercial buildings seeking to optimize their HVAC operations. These systems encompass a wide range of technologies, including building automation systems (BAS), data analytics, and cloud-based platforms, all aimed at creating a cohesive and efficient building ecosystem.

BAS, also known as building management systems (BMS), have been around for some time, but recent advancements have made them more powerful and user-friendly. These systems can control and monitor various building functions, including HVAC, lighting, security, and more. They serve as the central nervous system of a smart building, collecting data from sensors and other devices and translating it into actionable insights.

The integration of smart HVAC systems with BAS allows for real-time monitoring and control of HVAC equipment. When temperature or occupancy conditions change, the BAS can automatically adjust settings to optimize energy use and maintain occupant comfort. This level of automation is essential in large commercial buildings, where the HVAC load can vary significantly throughout the day. While BAS and smart HVAC systems aren’t new to the scene, the uptick in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have opened the door for a whole new level of optimization for Smart Building Systems.

Data Analytics and Machine Learning:

The availability of big data and machine learning algorithms has revolutionized the way we analyze and manage HVAC systems in buildings, plants, and facilities. Data analytics platforms can process vast amounts of data collected from various building sensors and systems. This data is then used to identify patterns, inefficiencies, and opportunities for optimization.

Machine learning algorithms take this analysis a step further by predicting future HVAC system performance and suggesting adjustments in real time. For example, suppose a machine learning algorithm detects that a chiller is running inefficiently or that a particular part is likely to fail soon. In that case, it can alert facility managers and suggest preventive maintenance measures or a change to the operation of the chiller.

Cloud-Based Platforms:

Not only has Data Analytics and ML transformed the smart building landscape but cloud integration has also significantly expanded the capabilities of smart building systems by providing a centralized, scalable, and secure platform for data storage and analysis. With data stored in the cloud, building managers can access real-time information and make informed decisions from anywhere with an internet connection.

Cloud-based platforms also facilitate remote monitoring and control of HVAC systems. Facility managers can adjust settings, receive alerts, and analyze data through a user-friendly interface, improving efficiency and reducing the need for on-site personnel. This level of remote access is particularly beneficial for large commercial buildings with multiple locations or facilities.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability:

As mentioned previously, one of the primary motivations behind the adoption of smart building technology, especially in HVAC systems, is the pursuit of energy efficiency and sustainability. Large commercial buildings are significant contributors to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and improving their energy performance is an economic and environmental imperative.

The integration of smart HVAC systems and chillers plays a crucial role in reducing energy consumption and carbon footprints. By adjusting operations based on real-time data, these systems can minimize energy waste, lower operating costs, and decrease environmental impacts. In addition to energy savings, smart HVAC systems can enhance indoor air quality and occupant comfort, contributing to a healthier and more productive working environment.

Challenges and Considerations

While the adoption of smart building technology is promising, it is not without its challenges and considerations. Facility managers and building owners must address several key factors to implement these systems successfully:

Cost Considerations:

The initial investment in smart building technology, including the installation of sensors, controllers, and data analytics platforms, can be substantial. However, it is essential to consider these costs within the context of long-term savings in energy consumption and operational efficiency. Many governments and organizations also offer incentives and rebates for adopting energy-efficient technologies. Companies like Optimum Energy are beginning to look into Energy as a Service offering to cover those initial investments (stay tuned for future content on this topic).

Integration and Compatibility:

Integrating various smart building components, including HVAC systems, with existing infrastructure can be complex. It is crucial to ensure compatibility between different systems and components, as well as scalability for future expansion. Optimum Energy’s OptiCx platform not only integrates seamlessly with existing smart building components, but it also is adaptable and modular, allowing for future expansion. Visit our website to learn more about OptiCx.

Data Security and Privacy:

As more data is collected and stored in the cloud, the issue of data security and privacy becomes paramount. Building owners and facility managers must implement robust security measures to protect sensitive information and comply with data protection regulations. With Optimum Energy all our products, services, and providers are AICPA SOC certified to ensure your platform and building are safe from malicious actors. Learn more about Optimum Energy’s cybersecurity standards here.

Training and Maintenance:

Proper training for personnel and maintenance of smart building systems are critical for their ongoing success. Facility managers should be well-versed in the operation of these systems and be prepared to address issues promptly to avoid downtime. At Optimum Energy our support services ensure that you get your questions answered quickly and our HVAC operations experts and energy engineers are always available to support your building needs. With Optimum Energy’s deep seeded knowledge we can tackle all of these challenges and ensure success in your smart building transformations and updates.

User Experience:

The user experience of smart building technology is essential for its successful adoption. User-friendly interfaces and clear communication of the benefits of these systems can help ensure that building occupants are on board with the changes.

Conclusion

Smart building technology is revolutionizing the way we manage buildings. By leveraging the latest technology, users can enhance HVAC systems with advanced building automation and data analytics all from a centralized cloud-based platform, allowing building owners and facility managers to optimize their buildings energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve occupant comfort.

The evolution of smart building technology is an essential step in addressing the challenges of energy consumption and environmental sustainability in large commercial buildings. As technology continues to advance, we can expect even more innovative solutions and increased adoption of these systems to create smarter, more sustainable, and more comfortable buildings for the future.

By Ian Dempster

You can’t have a smart facility without a connected HVAC system.

Facilities become intelligent only to the extent that their operators collect, analyze, and learn from the massive amounts of information flowing from building systems and equipment. HVAC data is fundamental, given that the system typically accounts for 44 percent of a commercial building’s energy consumption and is central to occupant comfort and, for many manufacturers, product quality. And that makes connecting the HVAC system to a cloud-based data center a crucial aspect of creating a smart facility.

Simply optimizing an HVAC system can yield substantial savings, reducing its energy usage and resulting costs by 20 to 50 percent (30 percent is typical). But without ongoing monitoring, those results will start to degrade after about a year or so. A two-way data flow between a facility’s HVAC equipment and building automation system (BAS) and an optimization provider’s network operations center enables real-time monitoring, analysis, maintenance, and fine-tuning of the HVAC system. It’s the only way to maintain the efficiencies gained through an HVAC system upgrade, and to gain ongoing insights into a facility’s performance.

Unconnected Systems Lose Their Edge

In the first year after optimization, results may remain constant without cloud connectivity. By the second year, typically, equipment begins to age and the facilities team probably has changed settings in the BAS, causing savings to fall off. By the third year without cloud connectivity, a site can lose as much as half of its original carbon and cost savings through natural system performance degradation and operational overrides. Without the external “brain” a cloud connection provides, the falloff can go unnoticed for quite a while, costing the facility thousands of dollars.

Establishing a two-way connection between an HVAC plant and an optimization provider can be a project, but it is getting easier: new chillers, pumps, variable frequency drives (VFDs), and even smart actuators are now designed to connect with control software and upload data to the cloud, enabling ongoing monitoring and system optimization. A facilities manager can collect and share BAS and environmental management system (EMS) data, which can reveal where the facility is consuming the most energy, whether the equipment is working correctly and efficiently, and if the automation sequence is controlling the HVAC system effectively.

At the same time, the optimization provider can watch for failing components, mechanical drift, changes in ambient conditions, and other fluctuations in the HVAC system. In response, they can access the installed optimization solution, use the data to troubleshoot the equipment, improve sequencing, and adapt set points to meet environmental parameters as they change. They can also remotely install software updates that can increase efficiencies or reliability.

Security and Product Quality Take Precedence

Connecting a BAS and EMS to an optimization provider’s data center raises network security concerns for any building or facility IT team. And for facilities with strict environmental requirements—hospitals, labs, pharmaceutical manufacturing plants—ensuring precise temperature and humidity controls is paramount. Both types of challenges require careful, collaborative information systems engineering.

The first step is to implement robust security separations between networks used for BAS sensors and monitoring, and those used for business transactions. This ensures that intellectual property, financial information, and other business-related data remain siloed from operational data.

A security-conscious optimization provider will then work with the facility’s IT team to establish a site-to-site virtual private network (VPN) tunnel between single points—a secure, private connection linking designated devices—that provides strong encryption with unique keys and access controls that give the optimization provider’s engineers access only to operational data for energy management and optimization services. In addition, the optimization software should be installed with intrusion detection, secure network connectivity, and limited user permissions. For next-level security, some vendors offer a security appliance that creates the secure VPN tunnel connection between the optimization software and the vendor’s cloud servers, using standard outbound secure ports only. That avoids the need to set up a link from the company’s network.

Where the building environment affects product quality or core operations, facility managers may worry about automated controls, believing that a hands-on approach is the only way to maintain the correct operational parameters. That’s a sure way to lose the benefits of optimization and building intelligence over time, though. The vendor should work with facility operators to fine-tune optimization settings with both efficiency and environmental needs in mind, and provide training on how the optimization system works.

Getting Connectivity Right Brings Rewards

The benefits of cloud connectivity make it well worth the effort to establish the appropriate security setup. First and foremost is the assurance of continual energy-use and cost reductions. For example, we’ve seen an 18-million-square-foot university campus improve the efficiency of its chiller plants by 23 percent. Every year, the facility is saving more than $1 million due to the cloud-connected optimization software. We’ve also seen a 110,000-square-foot research laboratory improve its efficiency more than 27 percent by optimizing and connecting the chiller plant. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania is saving more than $300,000 a year using connected optimization software, which reduced facility energy use by 4 GWh annually and improved system efficiency by 21 percent.

Sharing operational data via the cloud also provides greater visibility into HVAC, BAS, and EMS systems, leading to better control over the equipment. A two-way data flow enables full access to the analytics software as well as the HVAC equipment from any location. The facility manager can check on the chiller, for example, from home first thing in the morning, and the optimization vendor can remotely troubleshoot the system right down to its individual components. Even mechanical problems can get fixed much faster, because repair people know in advance what isn’t working.

Additionally, cloud connectivity allows the transfer and storage of large amounts of operational data cheaply and securely off-site.

Even Smarter Systems Are on the Horizon

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are poised to enable even better control of HVAC systems. With data sequencing, archived data, and efficiency and building energy models, optimization and analytic software can learn how various pieces of equipment respond to different conditions and can tell the BAS how to most efficiently run the HVAC system in real time, or even predict the best equipment to use in future conditions.

Automatic optimization through machine learning could increase savings—we’re already starting to see companies gain an additional 5 to 7 percent efficiency improvement through machine learning programs added onto their optimization platforms. One example is dynamic sequencing, which determines the most efficient combinations of equipment to run, taking into account system load, weather, and occupancy. The program learns over time, and as equipment efficiency changes it determines new sequences to maintain or even improve system energy savings.

Two-way connectivity through the cloud is what enables that kind of machine learning—which is ultimately what will make a facility smart.

This originally appeared in ACHR News.

Seattle, WA – May 16, 2023 – Optimum Energy®, a global leader in HVAC optimization solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony MacDonald as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In his new role, MacDonald will oversee the company’s sales and marketing strategy, team development, and revenue growth, leveraging his extensive experience in the energy and facilities sectors. Anthony officially joined OE on April 17th, 2023.

Bringing over two decades of expertise to Optimum Energy®, MacDonald most recently served as Vice President of Enterprise Sales at GridPoint®. Prior to that, he held prominent energy and sales leadership positions at EnerNOC (now Enel) and Target. His proven track record in building efficiency solutions and leading high-performing sales teams positions him as a valuable addition to the Optimum Energy team.

“Optimum Energy is fortunate to attract talented individuals like Anthony,” stated CEO Larry Stapelton. “His experience in building efficiency solutions leading high-performing sales teams will help OE expand our global footprint.”

MacDonald earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Bethel University and holds certification as an Energy Manager in the Association of Energy Engineers.

Furthermore, Optimum Energy is proud to introduce their new Hydraulic Model offering, which enables a software-based approach to fluid system modeling and calculation. This innovative service provides clients with in-depth analysis of system capabilities, limitations, power cost assessments, and lifecycle system analysis. Overseeing this service is Dan Schaible, appointed as Director of Hydraulic Modeling. Schaible brings over 23 years of mechanical engineering and design experience in various sectors, including pharmaceutical, mission critical, institutional, and commercial markets, with a specialization in central utility plants over the past 15 years.

“We are excited to announce Optimum Energy’s newest capabilities using PIPE-FLO,” said CTO and Founder, Ben Erpelding. “Combined with our engineering expertise, Optimum can now provide customers with a digital twin of their distribution piping. By creating a digital representation of your chilled water, hot water, condenser water, or steam distribution system, OE can establish hydraulic limitations, improve optimization and decision-making, and provide root-cause analysis of problem areas. This is a natural extension of our engineering capabilities, our quest for the highest customer reliability and resiliency, and our suite of optimization products for chilled water, steam, hot water, and net zero operation: OptimumLOOP and OptimumHEAT.”

About Optimum Energy®

Since 2005, Optimum Energy’s patented software and engineering expertise has helped customers reduce energy use in heating and cooling systems, the largest consumer of energy in buildings, by up to 50%. Our solutions combine technologically advanced HVAC optimization software with powerful cloud-based data analytics and world-class engineering support. It’s a proven, measurable approach that verifiably reduces energy and water usage, while also resulting in significantly improved operations. From dramatic energy reductions to improved business continuity, from better asset management capabilities to powerful tools and engineering support that augment your existing facilities staff capabilities, Optimum Energy has the complete solution for maximizing your HVAC system’s operational efficiency.

We are excited to announce that Jason Whittier has joined the Optimum Energy team as our new Senior Director of Product Development. Jason received his BS degree in Computer Science and then attended Arizona State University earning an MS degree in Information Management. For the last twenty-five years, Jason has been in the software development and intelligent building space, working to make buildings smarter, better integrated, and more energy-efficient. Prior to coming to OE, Jason lead engineering teams at Buildings IoT in the development of a cutting-edge building systems platform. Prior to that, Jason spent fifteen years at Tridium in various positions, building a strong foundation for his follow-on leadership roles in smart building technologies.

When he’s not working on industry-leading software projects, Jason enjoys some serious road and off-road cycling, supporting his daughter at chess tournaments and swim meets, or perfecting his chef skills with his backyard smoker.

We are thrilled to have Jason on the Optimum Energy leadership team!