VFD fan motor in simulation results

3 posts / 0 new
Last post

Dear all,
I have a VAV system, with an AHU fan motor that operates by a VFD. The VFD
changes motor speed based on duct's pressure sensor.

Now I just need to know how to read the simulated hour by hour motor's
power in KW. I mean that the motor's rated power is 8 KW, but it is not
expected to be drawing the 8 KW all day, knowing that I defined a variable
speed as fan control, and a on/off/flag schedule to eQuest. So where in the
simulation output can I read this change in motor's KW, if possible?

Any help would be appreciated,

Best Regards,

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400

Everyone:

We as a community could really use a fully-illustrated write up on custom hourly reports ? these sorts of questions come up a lot & it would be nice to be able to point others towards a walkthrough?

Also someone inside eQUEST development should appending such an illustrated guide like that into the next opportunity to update the documentation tutorials ? what?s there now in the doe2 reference is honestly lacking for the uninitiated.

What follows might serve as a good framework for such an effort.

Omar ? here?s a step by step for tracking a system?s hourly fan power draw:

? Select Project & Site tab

? Double click any hourly report appearing in the component tree to open the Hourly report dialog

? Click New Block

o Give it a descriptive name like ?[systemname] Fan Power Block?

o Create from scratch --> OK

o Variable type dropdown: find the associated system name

o Variable list: ignore for now and just click ?Done.?

? Highlight the block you just created at the bottom of the left pane to view/edit

o On the right side you can now see fuller descriptions for each of the custom hourly report variables available.

o They?re not alphabetical, but note many end with units so that can be helpful when trying to scan the list for something specific

o At this point I usually have one thing in mind but try to also identify & include any series of variables that may relate & assist with verifying what I?m seeing later for hourly outputs. In this case I might include the following (give or take, depending on the system type & context):

o [cid:image003.png at 01D22EB8.DCD89F90]

o Rinse and repeat the above steps to create new blocks if you need to track other systems? fans. You can save steps with other blocks by copying the first instead of starting from scratch though.

? Click New Report

o Name it something descriptive like ?Tracking Fan Powers Report?

o Create from scratch --> OK

o Select ?Hourly Report Schedule?

o Select the one of the blocks you just made --> OK

o Now highlight the report in the left tree, and use the list on the right to tick any additional blocks you may have created

? Close this dialog

? Simulate the model

? File --> Export --> Hourly Results to generate & open a CSV with hourly outputs for every variable you selected. Note you can create multiple hourly reports corresponding to baseline/parametric runs if you?ve defined them.

o You?ll need to scroll right to get past the default hourly reports that track end-use consumptions for typical reporting

o With the CSV open in a spreadsheet application like Excel, you can often do min/max averages, hourly algebra, and/or chart/plot those columns to figure out if you?re getting the intended behavior in the simulation.

o You can also generate this report while viewing SIM outputs in D2simviewer by clicking the button on the top-right

o You can also find these hourly results in the SIM report under ?Hourly Result(s),? though in that text format it?s tougher to track/review/manipulate/chart

Well there we have it? just missing some pictures and grammar I suppose!

~Nick
[cid:image001.png at 01D22EB7.1A87B580]
Nick Caton, P.E., BEMP
Senior Energy Engineer
Energy and Sustainability Services
Schneider Electric

D 913.564.6361
M 785.410.3317
E nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com
F 913.564.6380

15200 Santa Fe Trail Drive
Suite 204
Lenexa, KS 66219
United States

[cid:image001.png at 01D189AB.58634A10]

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400

Thanks a lot Nick.
I totally agree with you, this is a very useful part of eQuest that must be
well shown and demonstrated.

Best Regards,

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400