MODELLING VRV TECHNOLOGY
DAIKIN TAKES IES ROUTE TO SIMULATION
Following on from the previous case study, manufacturer Daikin explains how it has been working with EDSL’s rival, Integrated Environmental Solutions, to create a sophisticated modelling tool for its VRV equipment. Carina Bailey reports
D
If this was used and was then shown to be wildly inaccurate… the whole issue of credibility is foremost in our minds
aikin has spent two and a half years working with Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) to produce a ‘plug-in’ for IES’ Virtual
Environment 2012 simulation software to model how Daikin’s heat pump and heat recovery VRV (variable refrigerant volume) systems could work in any type of building anywhere in the world. VRV is a technology that recovers the heat
from a building’s cooling units and uses it for space heating in another part of that building, or to heat that building’s water. Daikin has collected extensive data about
how its VRV equipment works – both during factory testing and from real-life usage – and programmed it into IES’ Virtual Environment simulation software. This means that a design consultant can simulate how this technology would work in any project they are working on, creating a much more accurate analysis of the technology’s energy performance than has ever been possible before, claims Richard Green, engineering specialist in the engineering department at Daikin. They can also modify aspects of their system design to ensure optimal building performance. The software will then enable design consultants to create more accurate energy performance certificates than has been
possible before. This is because they will be based on more accurate energy consumption analysis for Daikin’s heating and cooling systems, and will show more accurately how a building – using Daikin’s products – will comply with Part L of the Building Regulations. Green claims that this simulation software
can achieve a coefficient of performance (CoP) of up to 10 for its VRV equipment – when the expected industry average is just three or four. According to Green, it regularly achieves a CoP of 5.41 for heating and 7.28 for cooling. This would make VRV far more efficient in operation than predicted by the general National Calculation Method. Green says: ‘The simulation goes through
and looks at the conditions over every 10-minute period throughout the year. Some simulations are so large that you have to run it all night. It’s very, very complex.’ He adds: ‘The heat recovery potential has
always been there, but it is only now, using IES, that we can actually demonstrate it and simulate it accurately, so we can show exactly what it can do. ‘You can actually select whole systems,
define whether you want them as wall- mounted, ducted or cassette, heat pump or heat recovery systems. You can then get that heat into water to create hot water and simulate that process through this software. You can then select whereabouts in the world this product is being used. The software add-on was launched in
May 2012 and, by the summer, there had been three times more interest from design consultants than Daikin had anticipated, with more than 100 people requesting training to use the programme. Despite achieving such good CoPs, Daikin
was still nervous about launching it to the marketplace. ‘If this was used and was then shown to be wildly inaccurate… the whole issue of credibility is foremost in our minds,’ says Green. ‘We’re the first one to stick our head above
the parapet. We’ve had to do a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure the data is as accurate as we can possibly make it. ‘We are very conscious of the fact we may
Simulation software is now becoming more enhanced as manufacturers and software providers join forces
be judged by it. But somebody had to do it.’ And there is a commercial danger for the company; if the system is not used correctly, it could give low CoPs, for example, and damage Daikin’s reputation, which is why Daikin insists some training is given. IES plans to publish case studies where simulation was part of the design process later this year. CJ
68 CIBSE Journal January 2013
www.cibsejournal.com
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