A NEW AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FAN MODEL BASED ON NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

A large portion of energy use in buildings is attributed to air movement devices. Accurate estimation of fan performance is a key element in maximizing fan efficiency. This study proposes a new fan model that can be used in several applications such as optimization and fault detection and can also be incorporated into any commercial building models. The model uses a numerical analysis based on an interpolation technique for the data generated by basic fan laws. It can use any two variables among all four variables of airflow rate, total fan pressure, speed and power as inputs or outputs. Another advantage of this model is the flexibility of using any size of data for calibration, obtained either from manufacturers or field measured data. The model was tested for accuracy using two different manufacturers’ data of roof top unit packages with capacity ranging from 2 to 20 tons. Furthermore, the model was evaluated and tested on an actual VAV system using three months’ worth of measured data. The results show that the model can provide accurate estimation with the Coefficient of Variance (CV) less than 2% and it can be used for several applications.