ET22SWE0039 - ASHRAE Guideline 36 Open Source Supervisory Control Technology Development and Demonstration

This project is an open source supervisory control technology development and demonstration of ASHRAE Guideline 36 (G36), ASHRAE 2021.

The promise of G36 is that the standardization of the sequence of operations (SOO) allows manufacturers to program and centrally test the control logic and then distribute to installers. This approach reduces cost and the risk of errors inherent in the current practice. Designers can specify G36 rather than write their own SOO. Installers can draw from a library of G36 control logic options rather than program their own logic. G36 can minimize functional testing, as the logic will be pre-programmed at the factory.

Two buildings have been selected for the study that have supervisory control hardware and software platforms in place. These platforms utilize Control Description Language (CDL) for documenting and implementing control logic. The Brick schema is an open-source effort to standardize descriptions of physical and logical assets in buildings and the relationships between them. CDL and the Brick schema together enable the testing and implementation of ASHRAE G36 standardized sequences of operations. To execute the project plan, we will establish a baseline of HVAC system performance and energy consumption, implement the new control sequences, and then perform measurement and verification to document the expected savings.

Although ASHRAE Guideline 36 was recently released, it has been in development for a number of years. This project builds on ongoing efforts to document the positive impact that implementing G36 can have on existing and new commercial buildings in CA. We have recruited a major contributor to ASHRAE Guideline 36 (Taylor Engineers) as well as leading Brick schema researchers (University of California, Berkeley 's Center for the Built Environment ) to serve on the project team.