Summary of USA-CERL research on control of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems. Final report
This report summarizes research conducted to date by the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USA-CERL) to devise new technologies for improving heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) controls. As new technologies are developed, they will be disseminated not only through the usual mechanisms (i.e., Army Corps of Engineers, and USA-CERL publications), but also through users groups, in which potential recipients will have a chance to ensure that the products are responsive to their needs. The research will be done in three main areas: (1) component evaluation, (2) control loop implementation, and (3) system application. The objective will be to develop control systems, especially for retrofit applications, that are simple, efficient, reliable maintainable, and well-documented. Conclusions of research done so far indicate that: (1) Many HVAC systems are not performing as designed; (2) In some applications, pneumatic temperature control equipment is not accurate enough; (3) Pneumatic actuators should be retained, when possible; (4) Thermistor temperature detectors are not appropriate for HVAC applications; (5) Humidity sensors are prone to drift and hard to calibrate in the field; (6) Proportional plus integral control schemes, coupled with accurate sensing and control, can significantly reduce operating costs; (7) The prototype retrofit control panel developed by USA-CERL should provide both reliability and cost savings.
- Research Organization:
- Army Construction Engineering Research Lab., Champaign, IL (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6160465
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-145530/2; CERL-SR-E-197
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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