Data transforms modern buildings – We share HVAC expertise

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Petra Vladykova Bednarova

Member of the Swegon Air Academy Team

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Ensuring the results with future-proofing buildings

Here are the key elements for a successful building.

• Modern buildings should be constructed with sustainable materials, provide good indoor environmental quality and be energy-efficient. The key is to have a well-insulated building with a reliable building system to provide cost-balanced results.
• The building and all systems should be controlled based on occupancy and demand, with air quality parameters as vital. All active building components are then connected to cloud services for monitoring, analysis and troubleshooting.
• Identification of building-related problems should be able to access remotely for swift responses. Digitalisation is key to create and maintain a well-functioning HVAC building system during both the design and operational phases.
• The rapid evolution of remote data and digital systems can lower costs, decrease man-hours and make people more satisfied—from building owners to tenants.

Remote access and monitoring of HVAC systems

Efficient HVAC monitoring systems enable HVAC providers and facility managers to maintain optimal building system operations remotely, essentially eliminating the need for physical presence. Effective building management is then core for energy efficiency, cost savings, improved maintenance and enhanced comfort for building occupants.

HVAC monitoring is an integrated system comprising multiple components. It starts with multiple sensors collecting data on temperatures, humidity, CO2, VOCs, pressures, airflows and many other derived parameters. The data is then sent to controllers for adjusting HVAC units' settings to optimise their performance based on actual data. The dashboards or tablets can visualise actual data and translate it into an actionable overview for facility managers and building occupants. Everything is transmitted through a monitoring platform (for example, built-in web pages with VPN access), which provides an interface for users to manage the systems.

Translating numbers into results – from calculations to improved accuracy

Building performance data is often based on initial design calculations derived from the project planning phase, usually with a margin of safety built-in based on initial assumptions. More accurate input data, with lower margins, are needed for more complex building projects and to achieve zero-emission buildings. Providing better and more accurate data derived from a component built into a whole system requires tighter collaboration among the key partners—building owner, designers and providers.

Optimising functionalities for indoor climate and energy efficiency

A top priority for many stakeholders is to create a comfortable indoor environment, meaning good air quality, thermal comfort as well as acoustical and lighting qualities. None of these can be seen with the eye, so to visualise, digitalisation is a significant factor. Digitalisation is an essential and effective tool in the daily work of all people involved in building life. Digital tools secure data access and provide a complete overview of the building and systems—all done remotely to save time and money. For example, if standard troubleshooting fails to identify any faults in the building, digital tools can help examine the problem using an 'outside-the-box' approach.

Digital tools can also identify problems and help solve them that were not discovered in a building's commissioning phase. Additionally, it can make a significant difference to be able to monitor remotely, complaints from unhappy tenants can be reduced as issues can be found before it affects the occupants. Digital tools can anticipate problems and provide solutions instantly, and when remote handling of issues is available, tenants do not have to be disturbed at their workplaces.

Remote monitoring to predict and prevent malfunctions

Being connected through digital tools and able to adjust building system settings remotely means that changes can be made simultaneously or over a specific period (for example, overnight) without the need for an on-site visit and without disrupting the building's operation or the occupants' work environment. To make full use of remote access and finding the optimal setting for building systems it is necessary to combine people's expertise, including tracking, knowledge and experience. And for now, managing it will still need expertise and knowledge from experienced individuals.

So, what has been said is, that fine-tuning the building systems is essential. Historical data accessible via digital online tools can be useful in this aspect, to analyse and determine accurate functionality. This usually results in energy savings during the system's lifetime and also a prolonged service life of the HVAC system. Knowledge of building systems is therefore greatly important already today, and will become increasingly crucial in the future. These systems continue to evolve, and it is through digital tools we are enabling the optimal indoor climate to be achieved.

Reference

Are you interested in learning more about this topic? Go to the Swegon Air Academy webinar:'The Blue House with green ambitions - The importance of monitoring advanced HVAC systems to optimise energy efficiency and indoor climate' with Eric Johnson from erelko AB, Ulf Hörman with Anders Hultman & Robin Svensson from Swegon, and Åsa Norén-Lundh from the Swegon Air Academy.