ASHRAE Guideline 36

• Best of Class HVAC Control Sequences

Agenda

• Purpose and Scope

• Trim and Respond
• Alarming and Fault Detection
• General Zone Logic

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Guideline Adoption
• Guideline published January - 2018
• Draft sequences are showing up in some specifications, especially in
California
• State of Washington Energy Code - 2015
• Taylor Engineering has been putting on seminars with Pacific Energy
Center based on RP-1455
• Many ASHRAE chapters are discussing the guideline in monthly
meetings

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Purpose
“The purpose of this guideline is to provide uniform sequences of
operation for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems
that are intended to maximize HVAC system energy efficiency and
performance, provide control stability, and allow for real-time fault
detection and diagnostics.”1

✓ Reduce Engineering time

✓ Reduce Programming and Commissioning time
✓ Reduce Energy Consumption
✓ Improve Indoor Air Quality
✓ Reduce System Downtime by Including Fault Detection Diagnostic
Algorithms
1. ASHRAE, ANSI/ASHRAE Guideline 36-2018 -- High-Performance Sequences of Operation for HVAC Systems. 2018,
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.: Atlanta, GA.
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Goals of Guideline 36
• Manufacturers preprogram and debug all the sequences for their dealers
• Engineers just spec “Use ASHRAE Guideline 36 sequences”
- Perhaps with special adjustments unique to project
• Control contractors simply use the preprogrammed sequences, adjusted where
specified.
• Commissioning agents use the functional performance tests (FPTs) included
w/Guideline 36
- Possibly even forgo FPTs once they are comfortable that manufacturers have
programmed them correctly

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Scope
• Sequences of Operations
- Unit Level
- System Level (Optimization)
▪ Fan Pressure Optimization
▪ Demand Controlled Ventilation
▪ DAT Reset
• Points Lists
• Diagnostics (Including Automatic Fault Detection)
• Alarm Management
• Functional Performance Tests (Future)

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System Types Addressed
• Multiple Zone VAV
- Single Duct
- Dual Duct
• Single Zone VAV
• Additional systems added as research is completed (Chiller
Plants, Boiler Plants, etc…)
- RP-1711- Phase II Central Plants and Hydronic Systems – Research in
progress.
- WS-1865 - Optimizing Supply Air Temperature Control for Dedicated
Outside Air Systems

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Sequences of Operation

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Standards Addressed
• ASHRAE 90.1 (Energy)
• ASHRAE 62.1 (Indoor Environmental Quality)
• Title 24 (California Energy and IEQ)

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Key Concepts
• Optimization Strategies driven by a weighted voting scheme with Trim
and Respond methodology

• Focus on providing hooks for commissioning agents to properly exercise

the specified sequences of operation
- Point override capability
- Test Mode – remove alarm delays

• Automated Fault Detection and Hierarchical Alarm Suppression as a

means of improving system performance

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Please Remember!!!
• 5.1.1 These sequences are intended to be performance based.
Implementations that provide the same functional result using different
underlying detailed logic will be acceptable.

• FPTs will demonstrate that the sequences were properly implemented by

testing performance, rather than verification of the detailed logic.
- May be difficult to verify before FPTs are developed

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TRIM AND RESPOND SETPOINT
RESET
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Trim and Respond Setpoint Reset
• Trim and Respond is a feedback loop control method

• Intended to be a hunting loop with no “sweet spot”

- Seeking balance between comfort and energy efficiency

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Trim and Respond Setpoint Reset

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Trim and Respond Setpoint Reset
• Zones issue “requests” based on a set of rules
- E.g. “Generate 1 request when damper position exceeds 95%”

• Multiply “requests” by Importance Multiplier

• Set how many requests to ignore before responding

- If requests ≤ ignores, system will “trim” to more energy efficient value
- If requests > ignores, system will “respond” proportionally to requests

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Trim and Respond Setpoint Reset
• If R ≤ I
- SP = SP* + SPtrim
• If R > I
- SP = SP* +(R-I) x SPres, but not larger than SPres-max

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Trim & Respond Optimization
Air Handler Static Pressure Optimization

Trim

Respond

Trim

Respond

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Trim and Respond Advantages
• More stable and easier to tune than PID
• Can trim slowly and respond quickly
- PID moves at same rate
• Easy to identify and adjust for rogue zones
• Control the importance of each individual zone
• Generate requests nonlinearly based on criteria
• Can be utilized for several reset strategies

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 Trim and Respond Examples
• Trim to a more energy
efficient setpoint
• Trim is not always a
decrease in value!!
• Respond to satisfy
comfort

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ALARMING AND FAULT
DETECTION
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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
• Intended to minimize nuisance alarms at the zones from failure of central
equipment
• Example: If a fan fails at an AHU, the zones served by the AHU will have
certain alarms suppressed
- Suppress low airflow alarms, space temp alarms, high CO2 alarms, etc.
• This can be used for hydronic and air systems
- Define the relationships between equipment in each system in terms of “Source” and
“Load”
- Suppress the “Load” alarms when the “Source” is in fault

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When are alarms suppressed?
• Each System will have a “SystemOK” flag which is either True or False
- SystemOK shall be True when:
▪ System is proven on
▪ System is achieving design setpoint(s) for at least 5 minutes
▪ System is ready and able to serve its load
• When SystemOK is True, load alarms are NOT suppressed
• When SystemOK is False, load alarms are suppressed

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When to utilize alarm suppression
• This logic may not be applicable in smaller systems

• Example: System with one boiler and one AHU

- Boiler failure would only suppress the single AHU alarm
- Still implement for VAVs?

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: None

72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

60°
175°

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: ????

65º
72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

60°
175°

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: Space Temp Alarm

65º
72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

60°
175°

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: ????

65º
72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

60°
95º
175°

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: Space Temp Alarm and Low Boiler Temp Alarm

65º
72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

60°
95º
175°

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: ????

65º 65º 65º 65º 65º 65º 65º

72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

45º
60°
95º
175°

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Hierarchical Alarm Suppression
Alarms: Space Temp Alarm and Low Boiler Temp Alarm

65º 65º 65º 65º 65º 65º 65º

72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72° 72°

45º
60°
95º
175°

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Automated Fault Detection
• Based on NIST research and tested on several sites as part of RP-1455
• 15 “rules” that can be evaluated
- Only for AHUs
- Based on mass/energy balance equations
- Each Fault Condition specifies:
▪ Performance assessment: if equation is true, there is a fault
▪ Operating state(s) when fault condition is evaluated
▪ Likely causes of fault
• Designed to minimize false alarms
- Assumes typical sensor error
- Utilize rolling averages to smooth input spikes

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Example Fault Conditions

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Example Fault Conditions

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GENERAL ZONE LOGIC

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General Zone Logic
• Temperature Setpoints
- Every zone has occupied and unoccupied setpoints
▪ Separate heating and cooling setpoints, minimum of 1°
F deadband
▪ Setbacks based on occ sensor, window switch, and demand limiting
• Heating and Cooling control loop
- Rules to limit windup

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VAV Terminal Units

• Points lists, control

diagrams and sequences
of operation
• Dual max logic for Single
duct with reheat
- Requires DAT sensor
- Improved comfort
(ASHRAE RP-1515)
- Lower Fan Energy
- Lower Reheat Energy

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VAV AHU
• Outdoor air measurement/control options
- Differential Pressure/AFMS on OA intake
- AFMS on combined economizer/OA intake
• Building Pressure Options
- Barometric (nonpowered) relief
- Relief Fan
- Return Fan
▪ Controlled by building pressure or airflow tracking
▪ Addenda proposed to improve airflow tracking sequence
• Minimum OA control options for ASHRAE 62.1 or Title 24 ventilation
rules

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VAV AHU
• Discharge air temperature setpoint must balance fan energy and
compressor/chiller energy
• DAT setpoint trades fan energy against chiller energy:
- Low DAT setpoint = more chiller energy, less fan energy
- High DAT setpoint = less chiller energy, more fan energy
• To find a balance, sequence uses both, zone reset based on T/R, and
OAT based linear reset
- In cold weather, DAT setpoint is high so economizer is maximized
- In warm weather, DAT setpoint is low to reduce fan energy

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Special Case - DAT reset
• DAT setpoint must balance fan and
compressor/chiller energy
- Low DAT setpoint = more chiller energy,
less fan energy
- High DAT setpoint = less chiller energy,
more fan energy

• To find a balance, sequence uses

both, zone reset based on T/R, and
OAT based linear reset

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Guideline Future
• Continuous Maintenance
- Several addenda have been proposed to fix some known issues with the guideline
- Addition of sequences for hydronic systems (chilled water, hot water, steam)
- Addition of functional tests to provide guidance for proving the sequences have
been implemented

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How engineers can specify GL 36
• Cut and Paste sections into specs, edit as needed
- Pros: Engineer able to edit and provide desired SOOs
- Cons: Difficult to edit .PDF; Time consuming; hard to track changes from original
Guideline sequence

• Specify section number from Guideline along with any desired changes,
Contractor to provide SOOs
- Pros: Easier for Engineer; better tracking of changes
- Cons: Contractor required to compile as-built SOOs

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QUESTIONS?

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