HVAC system design and operational tool for building infection control
A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning system (HVAC) design and operational tool includes one or more processors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including obtaining a dynamic temperature model and a dynamic infectious quanta model for one or more building zones, determining an infection probability, and performing a plurality of simulations for a plurality of different equipment configurations using the dynamic temperature model, the dynamic infectious quanta model, and the infection probability to generate results. The operations include generating, using the results of the plurality of simulations, at least one of design including one or more recommended design parameters data or operational data including one or more recommended operational parameters for the HVAC system and initiating an automated action using at least one of the design data or the operational data.
1. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system design and operational tool for a HVAC system for a building, the HVAC design and operational tool comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
obtaining a dynamic temperature model and a dynamic infectious quanta model for one or more building zones;
determining a relationship between infection probability and infectious quanta defined by the dynamic infectious quanta model;
performing a plurality of simulations for a plurality of different equipment configurations using the dynamic temperature model, the dynamic infectious quanta model, and the relationship between the infection probability and the infectious quanta to generate results;
generating, using the results of the plurality of simulations, at least one of design data comprising one or more recommended design parameters or operational data comprising one or more recommended operational parameters for the HVAC system; and
initiating an automated action comprising at least one of an automated configuration activity or presenting at least one of the recommended design parameters or the recommended operational parameters using at least one of the design data or the operational data.
2. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
determining a dynamic humidity model for the one or more building zones; and
performing the plurality of simulations using the dynamic humidity model to generate the results.
3. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the one or more recommended design parameters indicate whether to include disinfection lighting for disinfection in the HVAC system, whether to include an air filter for disinfection in the HVAC system, and whether to use fresh air for disinfection in the HVAC system.
4. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the one or more recommended design parameters comprise a recommended rating of an air filter for use in the HVAC system.
5. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the automated action comprises presenting at least one of the design data or the operational data to a user via a user interface.
6. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of simulations comprise at least two of:
a first simulation in which the HVAC system includes disinfection lighting but does not include an air filter for disinfection;
a second simulation in which the HVAC system includes the air filter but does not include the disinfection lighting for disinfection;
a third simulation in which the HVAC system includes both the disinfection lighting and the air filter for disinfection; and
a fourth simulation in which the HVAC system includes neither of the disinfection lighting nor the air filter for disinfection.
7. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:
generating an infectious quanta constraint based on a user input indicating a desired a level of disinfection;
performing at least one of the plurality of simulations subject to the infectious quanta constraint to generate an estimated cost of operating the HVAC system; and
presenting the estimated cost of operating the HVAC system via a user interface.
8. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise using the results of the plurality of simulations to provide a user interface that indicates a tradeoff between the infection probability and at least one of energy cost or energy consumption.
9. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the recommended operational parameters comprise a recommended control scheme for the HVAC system.
10. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 1 , wherein the infectious quanta in the relationship is an infectious quanta concentration.
11. A heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) design and operational tool for a HVAC system for a building, the HVAC design and operational tool comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause
the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
obtaining a dynamic temperature model and a dynamic infectious quanta model for one or more building zones;
determining a relationship between infection probability and infectious quanta defined by the dynamic infectious quanta model;
performing a simulation using the dynamic temperature model, the dynamic infectious quanta model, and the relationship between the infection probability and the infectious quanta to generate results comprising a recommended equipment configuration of the HVAC system; and
initiating an automated action comprising at least one of an automated configuration activity or presenting the recommended equipment configuration using the results.
12. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:
obtaining a dynamic humidity model for the one or more building zones; and
performing the simulation using the dynamic humidity model to generate the results.
13. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 11 , wherein the recommended equipment configuration indicates whether the HVAC system includes disinfection lighting for disinfection, whether the HVAC system includes a filter for disinfection, and whether the HVAC system uses fresh air for disinfection.
14. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 11 , wherein the results comprise recommended equipment specifications indicating at least one of a recommended rating of an air filter or a recommended rating of disinfection lighting for disinfection.
15. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 11 , wherein the automated action comprises presenting the results via a user interface.
16. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 11 , wherein performing the simulation comprises optimizing an objective function indicating a cost of operating the HVAC system using one or more potential equipment configurations to provide a desired level of disinfection.
17. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 16 , wherein the desired level of disinfection is a user-selected value.
18. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:
generating an infectious quanta constraint based on a user input indicating a desired a level of disinfection;
performing the simulation subject to the infectious quanta constraint to generate an estimated cost of operating the HVAC system; and
presenting the estimated cost of operating the HVAC system via a user interface.
19. The HVAC design and operational tool of claim 18 , wherein the user input indicates a tradeoff between the desired level of disinfection and energy cost, the energy cost comprising at least one of an estimated energy consumption of the HVAC system or an estimated monetary cost of the estimated energy consumption of the HVAC system.
20. A method for providing design and operating recommendations for a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system to achieve a desired level of infection control in a building, the method comprising:
obtaining a dynamic temperature model and a dynamic infectious quanta model for one or more building zones;
determining a relationship between infection probability and infectious quanta defined by the dynamic infectious quanta model;
using the dynamic temperature model, the dynamic infectious quanta model, and the relationship between the infection probability and the infectious quanta to generate at least one of design recommendations or operating recommendations to achieve the desired level of infection control; and
operating a display to provide at least one of the design recommendations or the operating recommendations to a user, each of the design recommendations or the operating recommendations comprising an associated cost.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the design recommendations or the operating recommendations comprise at least one of:
a recommended equipment configuration of the HVAC system;
recommended equipment specifications of the HVAC system;
a recommended filter rating of a filter of the HVAC system;
a recommended model of equipment of the HVAC system; or
a recommended control scheme for the HVAC system.