How IoT is Revolutionizing HVAC: 5 Key Improvements

Over the past few years, internet of things (IoT) technology has quietly begun to revolutionize many industries. Some of the most significant changes have come in the commercial and residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

In a number of buildings, new technology like smart thermostats, vents and sensors are helping to make HVAC systems more efficient and more effective.

This is how IoT has changed HVAC for the better.

1. Boosting HVAC System Efficiency

Using information from a network of building sensors tracking data like temperature, humidity, air speed and air quality, the smart HVAC system can adjust how it functions to maximize comfort while minimizing energy consumption.

Smart technology can also allow the HVAC system to control individual components. Building owners can automatically open or close smart vents needed, allowing the HVAC system to more effectively steer air around a building.

Smart HVAC systems can also combine sensor data with information from outside data sources — like weather forecasts — to more effectively control building HVAC.

Over time, these HVAC systems can learn. They can use the information gathered daily to better predict system energy use and maintenance needs. The system can adjust variables like building temperature and humidity automatically, or system managers can directly manipulate these variables in accordance with their preferences or the preferences of building occupants.

2. Adding Remote Control to HVAC

Networked sensors mean that managers can control the HVAC system from offsite.

Is the office closed for the weekend? The building manager can easily switch off the HVAC system, conserving energy and extending the lifespan of equipment like air filters. The manager can also schedule the reactivation of the system, ensuring that the building will be at a comfortable temperature by the time employees begin to arrive on Monday.

Individual components of the HVAC system can also be controlled remotely. Vents can be held open to promote ventilation of a particular part of the building, and temperature control for meeting rooms can be activated or deactivated throughout the day.

This gives building managers a great deal of control over how the HVAC system in a building functions, allowing them to make changes that further improve comfort and efficiency as needed.

3. Improved HVAC Maintenance

With smart technology, many building systems can effectively monitor themselves. Maintenance sensors can monitor

Combined with sensors that monitor for variables like vibration, humidity, temperature and electrical current, building managers can create a system capable of continuously inspecting HVAC components as they run.

If a component begins to fail or the system starts to act unusually, sensor data can automatically alert the building manager. The manager can then schedule maintenance or inspection, ensuring that problems are resolved as soon as they become apparent.

These systems can be combined with schedule-based preventive maintenance — like the changing of building air filters on a regular schedule — to ensure that small problems are fixed fast, before they have a chance to become more serious.

This strategy can make the HVAC system much less expensive to maintain. It can also reduce downtime, ensuring that the building never becomes uncomfortable or uninhabitable due to a failure in essential HVAC hardware.

HVAC remote monitoring can also lay the foundation for more extensive building monitoring technology that allows managers to track all building systems.

4. Smart Multi-Zone Management

The smart thermostats at the heart of intelligent HVAC systems are probably one of the most important HVAC innovations since the programmable thermostat. While the programmable thermostat allows users to program their HVAC system in advance, smart thermostats can offer dynamic control of each part of the building HVAC system, including individual ducts and vents.

This level of control enables building managers to use smart HVAC systems to set up multiple zones throughout a building with different schedules or unique humidity and temperature settings. This allows for fine-grain control over how the temperature of different parts of the building, down to the level of individual rooms.

In a residential setting, this allows a family to keep bedrooms and common areas at different temperatures to meet different preferences. In a large office building, it can allow for more precise scheduling and efficient temperature control.

Storage areas with low traffic, for example, may be held at a lower temperature in the winter than a workspace, allowing the manager to save energy without compromising worker comfort.

5. Integrating HVAC With Other Building Systems

Smart HVAC systems can take advantage of other smart technology in the building. The Al Bahar towers in Abu Dhabi use smart shades, for example, that can be automatically opened or closed by a building management system.

By closing the shades as needed throughout the day, building managers were able to reduce temperature increase due to solar gains by 50% — helping to reduce the building’s carbon footprint by 1,750 tons each year.

A similar system could also take advantage of zoning and motion detectors in lighting systems to dynamically activate or deactivate HVAC based on occupancy.

Over time, information from a smart HVAC system and other building systems can be used to make the building more efficient. Managers can pinpoint areas of the building which require more energy to heat or cool, possibly as a result of uneven insulation or ineffective duct design.

In the same way that logistics companies use IoT devices to track shipments, building managers could also apply IoT and RFID technology to track the movement of people around the building — allowing them to more effectively schedule heating and cooling based on average foot traffic patterns.

How IoT is Likely to Transform HVAC Systems and Building Management

Smart technology is sparking a transformation in HVAC management that may be comparable to the introduction of technology like programmable thermostats. New sensors, smart thermostats, intelligent vents and other devices enable much more efficient HVAC systems.

These systems can automatically adjust themselves in response to changing environmental conditions and also provide building managers with much more control over how their building is heated and cooled.

The data they collect can also be invaluable in the long run, providing detailed information on how easy or difficult each room in the building is to maintain at the perfect temperature.