Air Conditioning Group Control

Development Background and Benefit Analysis

Background Introduction

With the implementation of urban energy-saving transformation and green buildings, achieving building energy conservation and emission reduction has become an urgent task. As the main equipment for energy consumption in public buildings, air conditioning accounts for about 60% of building energy consumption, exceeding the total energy consumption of lighting, elevators, and office equipment. Therefore, the focus of energy conservation and emission reduction in buildings is on the air conditioning system.

The long-term operation of air conditioning under heavy load will not only increase the failure rate of air conditioning, but also greatly shorten its service life. Reasonable setting of air conditioning temperature and scientific management of air conditioning operation can provide a relatively healthy and comfortable indoor environment, meet normal work and living needs, save energy, and protect the ecological environment, which is a good thing for the country and the people. According to calculations, with the correct use of air conditioning, an increase of 1 ℃ in the temperature of the refrigeration air conditioning can save 8% of electricity; For every 2 ℃ decrease in temperature of the hot air conditioner, it can save 10% of electricity. It can be seen that the energy waste caused by setting the cooling temperature too low or the heating temperature too high is astonishing. For building managers, the inability to manage, monitor, and control all air conditioning operation status in real time results in significant energy waste.

Current situation of air conditioning system

1. Air conditioners cannot conduct unified big data analysis on energy consumption, usage habits, air conditioning efficiency, etc., making it impossible to measure the working conditions of each air conditioner, and some complex optimization control strategies cannot be implemented.

2. Distributed control makes it impossible to carry out centralized energy-saving management (including room temperature control), which can easily lead to energy waste where users leave while the air conditioning is still running as usual.

3. After entering the room, people always set the air conditioning settings very low or very high in order to cool or heat quickly. However, when the temperature reaches too low or too high, they do not restore the settings to the normal values, resulting in a large amount of energy consumption. If personnel have a weak awareness of energy conservation and open windows to dissipate heat when it is too cold or too hot, the energy consumption will be even more astonishing.

4. During seasons when air conditioning is not needed, as well as special periods such as after work, weekends, holidays, etc., the air conditioning can be set to a mode where it is not turned on.

5. Some individuals excessively pursue comfort, operating the air conditioning at 16 ℃ for cooling in summer and 30 ℃ for heating in winter, resulting in high energy consumption and loss of comfort.

6. Quantification of energy-saving issues by responsible parties. No measurement, no quantitative indicators, unclear responsible parties, and lack of energy-saving measures.

7. Due to excessive use of air conditioners, their lifespan is reduced.

economic benefits

1) Time period control can solve the problem of forgetting to turn off the air conditioning after work by setting allowed and prohibited time periods. It can also solve the problem of not being allowed to turn on the air conditioning directly during certain seasons (spring and autumn) and special weekend periods.

2) Control of temperature limits; When people use air conditioning, they often set the temperature to 16 ℃ for cooling and up to 30 ℃ for heating in order to quickly reach the desired comfortable temperature. However, due to negligence, the air conditioning operates under high load for a long time. The purpose of temperature control is to set a temperature limit for cooling and heating, such as setting the cooling temperature to 24 ℃ and the maximum heating temperature to 20 ℃, in order to achieve energy conservation.

Management efficiency

1) Real time remote transmission and monitoring of system operation data, comprehensive monitoring of air conditioning system operation, and timely handling of abnormal opening and faulty air conditioning.

2) Implement statistics, analysis, and management of energy data and energy consumption indicators to achieve energy consumption curves.

3) Set automatic start stop schedule tasks and startup modes to achieve timed automatic start stop.

social benefits

1) Actively respond to the national call for energy conservation and emission reduction, achieve the national energy conservation and emission reduction goals, and establish a conservation oriented society.

2) Reduce energy consumption per unit area of buildings, decrease CO2 emissions, and improve the climate and environment.

3) Through air conditioning control, in response to the national regulation that the air conditioning temperature in public buildings should not be lower than 26 ℃, the national policy is implemented in practice.

control scheme

Taking the renovation of a campus split air conditioner as an example: there are 1396 split air conditioners, including 788 on hook air conditioner managers, 448 single-phase cabinet air conditioner managers, and 160 three-phase cabinet air conditioner managers. Implementation method of smart air conditioning energy-saving monitoring: The air conditioning operation information is uploaded to the cloud platform system server through the air conditioning manager controller of each air conditioner. The system platform uses the air conditioning manager controller for one click on/off, timed control/course schedule control, temperature range limitation, and mandatory disabling.

Installation diagram of air conditioner butler controller

System solution architecture

System functions

Monitoring data: data on various states such as air conditioning on/off status, operating mode, and set temperature; Each air conditioner can be remotely controlled to turn on/off or adjust the mode, temperature, and wind speed; Real time temperature and humidity collection and display for each room; Statistics on electricity consumption for air conditioning.

Alarm function: Alarm and warning for air conditioning fluorine deficiency, condenser blockage, indoor fan failure, outdoor fan abnormality, indoor filter screen dirt blockage, capillary tube or filter blockage, etc. Through fault alarm and warning, centralized maintenance can be arranged calmly, avoiding the overall cost increase caused by scattered and phased repairs.

Data analysis: By utilizing various data reported by the air conditioning manager, real-time analysis and fault alarm of air conditioning operation information can be achieved. Through big data and cloud technology, comprehensive and accurate information and management methods have been provided. According to the emergency situation of the fault, automatically divide the maintenance priority, and generate maintenance work orders in batches for non emergency faults, avoiding the manual cost of scattered repair requests and providing full process supervision of the execution process of repair work orders; Confirm the repair effect to avoid secondary repairs; Through early warning of faults, centralized maintenance can be arranged calmly, avoiding the overall cost increase caused by scattered and staged repairs, and minimizing the probability of emergency repairs, significantly reducing maintenance costs overall.

Solution Advantages

The air conditioning butler adopts a fully wireless deployment and on-site installation, without the need for any modifications to the air conditioning equipment, which does not affect the air conditioning warranty or the normal use of the air conditioning remote control, achieving precise measurement of each split type air conditioner. The system adopts IoT LoRa wireless communication, and an intelligent gateway can cover one floor of a building with up to 60 access nodes. The wireless communication between the air conditioner butler and the intelligent gateway adopts data encryption. The system achieves real-time monitoring through IoT technology products, and big data and cloud technology provide comprehensive and accurate information and management methods. The system adopts a B/S architecture, and users do not need to install client software to log in to the management system on their computer, mobile phone or tablet, view historical and real-time electricity consumption, energy-saving data and fault information, and achieve refined management of air conditioning energy consumption and operation. Multiple control strategies are implemented for centralized remote control, including zone one key on/off, timed on/off, temperature range limitation, mandatory disable, authorized limit control, etc. Real time optimization of air conditioning operation, achieving energy-saving benefits while meeting comfort requirements. Provide air conditioning health assessment and early warning of malfunctions. For some faults, one of the core technologies, "dynamic repair technology", can be used to extend the compressor life of the faulty air conditioner and reduce equipment depreciation costs. Automatically generate work orders based on diagnosed faults, supervise the entire maintenance process, and confirm the actual repair effect through operational data, avoiding false repairs and secondary repairs, greatly improving maintenance management efficiency, and effectively reducing comprehensive maintenance costs. Provide air conditioning asset management, establish detailed information including air conditioning model parameters, usage locations, health status, historical failures, and maintenance records, and provide data support and scientific recommendations for equipment replacement and procurement through big data analysis.

Main hardware of the system

AC220V air conditioning intelligent energy-saving controller

The QTAC220S air conditioner intelligent energy-saving remote controller is a new type of wall mounted air conditioner remote controller designed for energy-saving, management, and remote centralized control. It is suitable for wall mounted air conditioning applications in offices, dormitories, hotels, and other places. It is equipped with a universal code library, infrared learning and control modules, forced power control modules, remote communication modules, power management modules, and self-control modules. QTAC220S adopts a flat panel design and is equipped with a high-definition VA display screen to make the real-time data of the air conditioner clear and intuitive. The universal code library of QTAC220S configuration can achieve one click automatic matching of air conditioning infrared remote control commands, suitable for 99% of split air conditioners on the market. For special air conditioners, QTAC220S is also equipped with an infrared learning module that can learn the infrared code values of all air conditioners and other devices with remote controls, simulating the remote control to send control commands. The controller controls the air conditioner without the need for modification or disassembly (which does not affect the original warranty service of the air conditioner), making remote control of the air conditioner more intelligent and simple.

QTAC220S is suitable for energy-saving centralized control applications of split air conditioning in manned environments such as schools, hospitals, offices, factories, and dormitories.

AC380V air conditioning intelligent energy-saving controller

The QTAC380S air conditioner intelligent energy-saving remote controller is a new type of air conditioner remote controller aimed at energy saving, management, and remote centralized control. Equipped with infrared control module, forced power control module, remote communication module, power management module, self-control module, QTAC380S infrared control module can learn the infrared code values of all air conditioners and other devices with remote control. Simulate remote control to send control commands, and the controller controls the air conditioner without the need for modification or disassembly. Make remote control of air conditioning more intelligent and simple.

For the 380V high-power split air conditioner, the QTAC380S industrial version 380V air conditioner controller is equipped with a high-power AC contactor, which can safely and effectively control the opening and closing of the 380V air conditioner circuit.

QTAC380S is suitable for energy-saving centralized control applications of air conditioning in manned environments such as schools, hospitals, offices, and factories.

System Interface

Main system diagram

remote control

Air Conditioning Monitoring

air conditioning control

Real time details

Electricity consumption parameters

Electricity analysis

Electricity report

Historical Alarms