Guidance on performance monitoring is featured in a newly published guideline from ASHRAE.

ASHRAE Guideline 13-2014, “Specifying Building Automation Systems,” aims to provide designers of BAS with background information, recommendations for good practice, project considerations, and detailed discussion of options with respect to the design of a BAS system. The guideline includes online access to an example specification that illustrates the concepts described throughout the document.

The new Annex D Performance Monitoring was included to assist in the specification of performance monitoring systems.

“The guideline defines three levels of performance monitoring and provides criteria for each level,” said Dave Kahn, chair of the Guideline 13 committee. “This allows even the basic systems to realize some performance monitoring benefits. It allows monitoring and reporting of HVAC equipment function and operating efficiency, energy consumption, and environmental conditions. Careful grouping of X-Y type plots can provide information required to monitor and, if necessary, troubleshoot each different part of the HVAC system. A Level 3 automated fault diagnosis can be used to predict faults. Performance monitoring can direct a building owner to additional energy savings potential at the plant or equipment level.”

For more information, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore.

ASHRAE is already looking ahead to changes to the 2017 version of the guideline. An addendum to the standard is open for an advisory public review from June 6 to July 21, 2014. For more information or to comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

“Under the proposed change, the guideline is being rewritten to update the use of the internet as the primary method for networking BAS devices,” Kahn said. “The Guideline contains very little specification language on the internet.  Our committee hosted a consultation seminar at the 2013 ASHRAE Conference, and attendees told us internet connectivity was the top issue we need to address.”

More information about the guideline and proposed changes will be available in a seminar at ASHRAE’s 2014 Annual Conference, June 28-July 2, in Seattle. For more information, go to www.ashrae.org/seattle.