HVAC Fault Diagnostics Using Anomaly Scores for Rapid Troubleshooting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity and time sensitivity of HVAC and refrigeration systems pose challenges for efficient and rapid troubleshooting, leading to potential delays in fault detection and diagnosis, which can result in costly consequences such as food spoilage in commercial settings.
Innovation Solution
A method and computer program product that receive current and historical parameters from climate systems to calculate an anomaly score, using transition probabilities and semantic analysis to automatically diagnose fault conditions, enabling rapid and efficient fault detection and diagnosis without human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual troubleshooting is performed by technicians or remote service centers, then diagnostic accuracy can be maintained, but response time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service through automated fault detection and diagnosis. The monitoring system automatically collects operational data, detects anomalies, diagnoses faults, and generates notifications without requiring immediate human intervention. This self-diagnostic capability maintains diagnostic accuracy while significantly improving response time and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/manual troubleshooting process with an automated electronic system. The monitoring system uses sensors, processors, and communication networks to automatically perform functions previously requiring human technicians, thereby maintaining diagnostic precision while eliminating delays associated with manual intervention.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple climate systems are monitored simultaneously, then system coverage increases, but the capacity of monitoring systems is strained and diagnosis may be delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system segments the monitoring of multiple climate systems into independent, parallel processing streams. Each climate system's data is collected, analyzed, and diagnosed separately by dedicated monitoring channels, allowing the system to handle multiple systems simultaneously without strain and prevent diagnosis delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses standardized monitoring templates and diagnostic algorithms that can be copied and applied across multiple climate systems. This standardization allows rapid deployment and consistent analysis across numerous systems without requiring proportional increases in monitoring capacity or time.
3Productivity
If automated diagnostic systems are implemented, then troubleshooting efficiency increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is designed with universal, multi-functional components that can handle various climate system types and fault conditions through standardized protocols and algorithms. This multi-functionality enables automated diagnostics across diverse systems without requiring proportional increases in overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for diagnosing a fault condition in a climate system is disclosed and a computer program product for doing the same. The climate system may be an HVAC system. The method comprises receiving current data from a climate system in a fault condition, calculating an anomaly score for the climate system from a first set of transition probabilities based on the current data and a second set of transition probabilities based on the climate system operating in a normal condition, and generating automatically a diagnosis of a first problem causing the fault condition when the anomaly score is above a predefined threshold. In an embodiment, the current data may include a plurality of operational Parameters of the climate system.