HVAC visualization toolkit

Abstract

Nowadays, the idea of automation control and monitoring is applied to all kind of industrial systems, plants and building management. The aim of the automation and monitoring technology is to reduce energy cost, save maintenance cost and collect more information for user to make operation decisions. This project, HVAC Visualization Toolkit, is to develop a generic HVAC visualization component toolkit, based on the principles behind visual analytics, for dynamically exploring time-varying, geographically referenced and multivariate attributes simultaneously. It provides the features to help operator view real time status of building’s HVAC condition on Temperature, Humidity, Air Flow and other relevant properties. Operator is able to remotely monitor and control the HVAC Units, to achieve the main goal of saving energy and cost.

For this project, OPC Communication is the communication protocol between the HVAC units and HVAC Visualization Toolkit. Basic concept of OPC communication protocol is mentioned in the follow main body of the report.

Software Matrikon OPC Server is used to establish the communication between HVAC units and HVAC Visualization Toolkit. The OPC server is performing as a bridge, communicates to the both sides. It creates the OPC software tags for both sides systems to access, read and write.

Software Siemens WinCC is the project development environment. Siemens WinCC is a reliable industrial interface development software, which is widely used in all kind of industrial, like Marine ship building, Oil and Gas Safety Monitoring and Control. One of reasons of choosing WinCC is because the author is a Siemens Certificated Process Control System engineer; while he has 4 years project experience of using Siemens Simatic Family software.

Last, the System is tested during the final period of project development, tested with dummy tags and simulated with real situation.