Guidance for specifying engineers and designers on how to use building data to improve building operations, energy efficiency, comfort, and sustainability will be developed through newly funded research from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Research Project 1633, “Data and Interfaces for Advanced Building Maintenance and Operation,” will result in the development of a set of standard data-driven metrics, interfaces, and dashboards for advanced building operation and management.

Awarded to KGS Buildings of Cambridge, Mass., the project was one of three totaling $430,000 approved by ASHRAE at its 2011 Winter Conference. The project is sponsored by Technical Committee (TC) 1.4, Control Theory and Application, and co-sponsored by TC 7.6, Building Energy Performance, and TC 7.9, Building Commissioning.

The other two projects are:

• 1580-RP, “Study of Input Parameters for Risk Assessment of 2L Flammable Refrigerants in Residential Air Conditioning and Small Commercial Refrigeration Applications,” sponsored by TC 3.1, Refrigerants and Secondary Coolants. The project was awarded to Navigant Consulting Inc.
• 1613-RP, “Update Climatic Design Data in Chapter 14 of the 2013 Handbook, Fundaments,” sponsored by TC 4.2, Climatic Information. The project was awarded to Numerical Logistics Inc.