Integrated Whole-Building Energy Diagnostics Research Project

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently conducting research into integrated whole-building energy diagnostics. Energy and operational fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) systems are currently not broadly understood and deployed in buildings. An integrated whole-building energy FDD system that is applicable to the systems in big-box retail stores and supermarkets does not exist at present. Major building subsystems are independently controlled with limited, add-on FDD capability. Neither controls nor FDD systems now available adequately capture the functional and behavioral interactions between subsystems that result in wasted energy and increased false alarm rates.

Project Description

This project seeks to develop a whole-building energy management system that integrates real-time energy fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) for refrigeration; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); lighting; and on-site power generation subsystems with the building's control platform.

Project Partners

Research is being undertaken by DOE, United Technologies Research Center, and Architectural Energy Corporation.

Project Goals

The goal is to have the system tested at a SuperTarget store, a combination supermarket and department store operated by Target.

Benefits and Impacts

Whole-building energy FDD systems have the potential to provide energy savings of 15% compared with buildings without FDD. Given the primary total energy consumption in existing U.S. commercial buildings of 17.83 quads annually and assuming 8% to20% market penetration over the next five years, energy savings from whole-building energy FDD systems will be 0.21-0.53 quads, translating into an average reduction of 5.96 x106 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

In addition, this project will support approximately eight full-time, PhD-level researchers. Once developed, commercialized, and fully deployed, this technology can directly result in energy cost savings of more than $7.764 billion per year for the U.S. economy and has the potential to create an estimated 77,500 jobs for the U.S. economy over the next 10 years.

Contact Information

Alan Schroeder
alan.schroeder@ee.doe.gov