Universal Translator 3

NCBC MAY 2014 - FREE ENERGY DATA TOOLS – UT3

 Presenter and Topic Background

 Reinhard Seidl

• Principal at Taylor Engineering in California

• Doing commissioning work over the last 10 years
• Trend Analysis is a key component of new building
commissioning and existing building evaluation
• Market of providers is still small, so few tools available
• Built-in tools in energy management and control systems
getting better (EMCS), but very slowly
• Discuss benefits of using the free UT3

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 Presentation Overview

 UT History and Current Version

 New Features for Energy Analysis
• M&V Module
• Improved recognition of large datasets for
whole building analysis
 Advanced Programming Interface

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 Universal Translator History

 20xx-2005 UT1 (MS Access)

• Original Inception at PG&E to normalize logger data

 2006-2007 UT2 (SQL)

• PG&E / Taylor Engineering Joint Venture to handle large
data sets and add more analysis routines

 2010-2014 UT3 (custom database)

• LBL / PG&E / Quest / NIST / Taylor Engineering joint
venture with CEC funding, complete overhaul with ±20x
faster operation and Advanced Programming Interface
(API)

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 Download Webpage – www.UTonline.org

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 Training Videos – Youtube channel
 http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBoX0iMkfM7utPckbauKzQA
 Or: use any standard internet search tool to find “Universal
Translator 3 training videos”

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 New Interface

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 Presentation Overview

 UT History and Current Version

 New Features for Energy Analysis
• M&V Module
• Improved recognition of large datasets for
whole building analysis
 Advanced Programming Interface

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 Main New Features

 Main features
• Much faster than UT2 (roughly 20 times) so large data sets
in the hundreds of Mb’s are easily dealt with
• Added analysis routines for M&V
• Built-in routines are now expandable using API (advanced
programming interface)

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 Measurement and Verification
 M&V Module (Measurement and Verification)
• Training videos 09-05-01 to 09-05-03 (30 min. total)
• Establish baseline
• Model baseline (able to predict energy use for periods
where original building data does not exist)
• Take new building data
• Calculate savings and adjust for weather

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 Measurement and Verification – Baseline Data
 M&V Module
• Establish baseline using multi-point linear curve fit or
quadratic curve fit to match an independent variable
(typically: Outside air temperature) to a dependent variable
(typically: Building energy use)
• Allows filtering for fan status, holiday periods etc. to ensure
that a good curve fit is established.

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 Measurement and Verification – Post Retrofit data
 M&V Module
• Read post-implementation data and compare it to what the
base building would have done during the same period,
using the baseline model.
• Yields savings for the new measured period (but that may
only be a few weeks’ worth of data)

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 Measurement and Verification – Post Retrofit data
 M&V Module
• Read post-implementation data and compare it to what the
base building would have done during the same period,
using the baseline model.
• Yields savings for the new measured period (but that may
only be a few weeks’ worth of data)

2 weeks

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 Measurement and Verification – Annual savings
 M&V Module
• By running another regression for the post-retrofit data, we
can now compare both the baseline and the post model
against a whole year’s typical weather data.
• This provides annualized savings

1 Year

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 Measurement and Verification – Annual savings
 Examine annual results (here: using a standard TMY
weather file)

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 Measurement and Verification – Advantages
 M&V Module
• Standardized format for utility program managers/reviewers
• Does away with large and incomprehensible spreadsheets
• Shows how well regression fit is modeled
• Allows other engineers to review results in just an hour or
two, and actually makes for peer-reviewable calculations

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 Presentation Overview

 UT History and Current Version

 New Features for Energy Analysis
• M&V Module
• Improved recognition of large datasets for
whole building analysis
 Advanced Programming Interface

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 Energy Related Features

 Large Data Set Features

• Faster data import
• Repeated data import of the same data set but over
different time period – existing graph setups remain valid
• Useful when re-examining the same site after operations
are corrected; UT3 automatically appends new data to
same trend internally (training video 10-01 and 10-02)

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 Iterative Data Collection
 Repeat data input
Winter data Summer data
See training video
10-01 and 10-02:
Data is imported in
separate steps,
months apart, but is
merged internally
so one trend results
for “building kW” or
similar trends, and
analysis and
graphing do not
have to change to
include new data

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 Energy Related Features

 Large Data Set Features

• Automatic Folder Creation using regular expressions
• (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression )

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See training video
05-02:
For large datasets
with hundreds or
thousands of
trends, the UT3 can
automatically sort
trends that belong
together into sub
folders that are also
created
automatically

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See training video
05-02:
For large datasets
with hundreds or
thousands of
trends, the UT3 can
automatically sort
trends that belong
together into sub
folders that are also
created
automatically

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 Energy Related Features Examples of
regular expression
search terms

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 Energy Related Features

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 Energy Related Features

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 Energy Related Features

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 Energy Related Features

 Analysis Routines
• Once data is organized
• Can be analyzed using
built-in routines.
• There are more built-in
routines in the UT3 than
in the UT2
• But the UT3 also allows
users to add their own,
via the API

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 Presentation Overview

 UT History and Current Version

 New Features for Energy Analysis
• M&V Module
• Improved recognition of large datasets for
whole building analysis
 Advanced Programming Interface

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 API – Advanced Programming Interface

 Analysis Routines
• Funding through CEC was sufficient to provide a
completely new internal database for faster operation
• Some new analysis routine implementations are still in
Beta such as Control Loop Diagnostics and Fan & System
curves from LBL and Fault Detection Routines from NIST
• But the API allows third parties (target groups are
Universities and the like) to make their own analysis
routines.

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 API – Advanced Programming Interface
 Programming Interface
User dialog
I/O
File import

UT3
database New
Existing analysis
analysis module
modules

Output
mechanisms
(graphing,
tables)

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 API – Advanced Programming Interface

 Analysis Routines
• Routines can be written in any language in the .NET
environment
• To create new routines, the developer’s tool kit (SDK) can
be downloaded from the UT3 website
• Support is available from the PG&E program manager,
Ryan Stroupe r2s2@pge.com
• If you are interested, please contact Ryan, he will assist
you in making your routine part of the overall UT3 package.

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 Questions

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