Real-time Automated Optimisation of Air-conditioning System

Air conditioning (AC) systems, consume a large share of the total energy used in buildings. Maintaining optimal operational efficiency in air conditioning systems is a constant challenge - one that all air conditioning and mechanical ventilation engineers work tirelessly to overcome.

JTC is seeking innovative solutions to enable real time automated optimisation of AC systems (include both chilled water and air-side systems), to achieve both operational productivity and energy efficiency while maintaining critical operations and satisfactory occupants’ thermal comfort.

Challenges

Some of the solutions available mainly focus on optimising either chilled water or air-side systems. There is a lack of solutions that provide real time automated optimisation covering both the water and air-side systems, as well as taking occupants’ comfort into consideration.

1. Technical requirement
   1. Enable accurate real time condition monitoring (e.g. embedded algorithms to advise the next course of action/recovery to reduce building disruption and man effort).
   2. Detect a variety of anomalies based on data and failure conditions for AC systems.
   3. Generate appropriate trigger and responses.
   4. Indicate real time automated optimisation strategies and tools to the chiller plant as well as air-side equipment (e.g. AHU and etc.) in order to reduce total electrical consumption and CO2 emissions.
   5. Interface with chiller management system using high level communication. Where high level communication is not possible, an add-on chiller interface module, pump interface module, cooling tower interface module, flow interface module or utility module must be supplied.
   6. Enable user testing for feedback* on occupants’ thermal comfort.
   7. It should be a comprehensive solution which allow ease of integration with an existing/new Building Management System (BMS) and/or other Smart Facility Management solutions/cloud-based platform in the future.
2. Operational efficiency optimisation
   1. Applicant should demonstrate the estimated man hour reduction of the solution in the proposal.
   2. Demonstrate the automated ability to monitor system operability, i.e. to provided operations efficiency performance matrix.

Note:
* The anticipated solutions should be able to track the user feedback as an input parameter for optimization and control.

The envisioned solution shall optimise

1. Facility management operational productivity with regards to AC system (include both water and air-side systems).
2. AC system efficiency (include both water and air-side systems) for continuous optimization in one of JTC’s buildings with existing BMS system to meet the following key performance indicators:
   1. Improve facility management efficiency e.g. improve FM productivity, focus on critical operating parameters.
   2. Safety & continuity of essential operations e.g. prevent unnecessary potential failures.
   3. Ensure occupants’ comfort to produce equipment analysis for quicker troubleshooting to any operations issues on the ground e.g. Reduces turnaround time.
   4. Realtime optimisation to offer fine-tuning to a higher resolution - down to hourly or even less to achieve optimal operation efficiency.

Integrated real time automated optimisation for chilled water and air side systems to achieve both operational and AC system efficiency while maintaining critical operations and satisfactory occupants’ thermal comfort.

12 months.

Evaluation Criteria

• Time to implementation; Impact factor.
• Price (40%): Value-for-money; level of co-funding.
• Quality(60%): Proposal’s scope of work; Operational feasibility for deployment at the targeted Estate or Facility; Minimal/no nuisance and disruption to operations and/or tenants; Cost benefit analysis; Relevant experiences required to develop and deploy; Commercialisation and/or Implementation plans.

Testbed/ Trial Site

The solution will be tested out at JTC Summit.

Payment Model

Fixed price, payment by milestones.

Site Visit

Site visit will be arranged for interested participants and is encourage. Interested party please registered at https://form.gov.sg/6287586b52853800163b38b2 by 2359H, 5 June 2022.

Video of Briefing

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