Full-scale experimental study of the static pressure reset control strategy for energy-efficient fan operation in a real building

An energy-efficient strategy to control the supply fan speed in a variable air volume (VAV) ventilation system is the static pressure reset (SPR) control. Although, the basic idea behind the SPR control is straightforward, implementing the method in practice can be problematic. Our previous study proposed a new method to implement SPR control in practice. The proposed method has been tested successfully on a mock-up of a ventilation system in a laboratory environment. Experimental results from the laboratory setup showed a minimum reduction of about 20% in fan power demand compared to a constant static pressure control. This article presents the experimental results of implementing the SPR control on a real ventilation system at a university campus. Experimental results from the real ventilation system also show a reduction in average energy use of the supply fan while still providing acceptable indoor air quality.