by Shane Henson — October 18, 2013—Commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) rooftop units are about to move from smart to intelligent with the help of Intel technology, says Daikin Applied, a global manufacturer of technologically advanced commercial HVAC systems.
According to the company, with building owners having integrated smart HVAC technologies into their systems over the last decade, more data has become available, but that data has been underutilized. As part of its efforts to increase the abilities and efficiency of HVAC systems, Daikin Applied is making use of the Internet of Things (IoT) through the integration of an Intel-based intelligent gateway solution in its existing Rebel rooftop units.
With the Intel-based intelligent gateway solution, Daikin Applied is able to seamlessly connect Rebel units to the cloud and securely aggregate, filter, and share data. This allows Daikin Applied to help people proactively manage the performance of their buildings, and makes them aware of HVAC issues before they happen, the company says.
At the maintenance level, the solution will predict faults such as fan or motor failures and will alert users when filters need to be changed based on usage, not time. At the operations level, the system can sync with the weather forecast to adjust for changing climates before it happens. It can provide access and insights into a building’s Energy Star Ratings as well as comparable buildings in its area.
In addition, the system will provide users with financial summaries of their energy savings and equipment payback; measure and automatically adjust for building comfort based on building users profiles; and give users direct access to its level of power usage as well as its carbon dioxide (CO2) use to provide a more accurate view of the carbon footprint, the company says.
Daikin Applied says the Rebel is already one of the most energy-efficient rooftop units on the market, saving commercial building owners up to 60 to 70 percent on HVAC energy costs over traditional rooftop units. With the combination of Daikin Applied and Intel technology, building owners and managers will have access to maintenance and operations intelligence that Daikin Applied anticipates will transform the industry’s expectations of what sustainability and performance look like in commercial buildings.
