May the Cooling Season Begin…. Amy Thompson, Associate Professor-In-Residence at the UConn UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering is studying the impact in the field of retrofitting rooftop HVAC systems with market-ready fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) equipment. https://www.unewhaven-doe-fdd.com/

 

 

Through a multi-partner, $1.2 million, 3-year DOE EERE grant, the University of Connecticut, the University of New Haven, United Illuminating, Eversource, and United Technologies Research Center are studying the effectiveness and market barriers of fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) equipment for rooftop HVAC systems in the field in Connecticut. FDD technology has been studied in the laboratory, but no large-scale study of the technology in the field has been conducted in the U.S. Common HVAC faults that can be detected with FDD technologies include:

 

– Restricted indoor and outdoor airflow

– Incorrect refrigerant charge

– Refrigerant line blockage

– Malfunctioning expansion device

– Compressor valve leakage

– Non-condensable gases

– Short cycling

– Economizer Faults

 

Applications are now open to any Connecticut commercial or industrial organization that would like to become a study participant and study site. Benefits for sites include no-charge FDD retrofits for 1-2 rooftop units (RTUs), training on how to interpret FDD alarms and results, and a full report and analysis of the ability of the technology to lower energy usage and costs. Applications are open until June 30, 2018 here: https://www.unewhaven-doe-fdd.com/site-mou-and-application or contact Amy Thompson at the UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering at amy.2.thompson@uconn.edu with questions.