Conserve It recognised for research excellence

During the holiday period, HVAC&R News is featuring the winners of the AIRAH Awards 2022.

The AIRAH Awards category for Excellence in HVAC&R Research is open to all individuals, companies, corporate bodies, institutions and government authorities, recognising work carried out during 2020/2021.

The award recognises outstanding achievements in research that have produced additional knowledge of HVAC&R systems with importance for future improvements in these technologies.

This year’s winner was Conserve It, with its real-time model predictive control with digital twins and edge computing technologies. 

According to Conserve It, this comprehensive initiative researched, developed and productised machine-learning-based model predictive control to minimise the energy usage of chilled water plants.

The solution was crafted to operate fully on the edge on low-cost embedded controls and, as such, extensive research was conducted to develop machine learning and mathematical optimisation frameworks that can resolve quickly with limited computing resources. This allows for the elimination of security and reliability concerns that often arise with offsite controls, as well as ongoing cloud subscription fees.

The solution was deployed at numerous sites and delivered demonstrable energy savings of up to 18 per cent.

Other finalists in the Excellence in HVAC&R Research category included:

• Stantec – Analysis of effectiveness of pandemic-mode HVAC strategies

More information on the AIRAH Awards is available here.