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method for smart and affordaBle Evaluation of simultaneous faults in heating and cooling sYstems based ON compresseD vapor technology

Project description

Uncovering hidden inefficiencies in everyday cooling and heating systems

Hidden inefficiencies in everyday cooling and heating devices often go unnoticed, quietly increasing energy use and environmental impacts. The EIC-funded BEYOND project will address this challenge by improving the performance and sustainability of small-scale vapour compression systems used in household refrigerators, domestic heat pumps, and systems in small offices or vehicles. Rather than focus on large energy infrastructures or electrical parameters, the project will examine thermodynamic behaviour, targeting the detection, diagnosis and evaluation of soft faults (subtle inefficiencies that do not disrupt operation but reduce energy performance). By developing a novel tool for these devices, BEYOND aims to uncover hidden losses and reduce the cumulative environmental impact of billions of systems operating below optimal efficiency.

Objective

This project seeks to revolutionise fault detection, diagnosis, and evaluation (FDDE) by designing an innovative, knowledge-based and cost-effective method.
Currently, FDDE for VCCS is performed only for large plants. For small plants, instead, only FDD is run, while the Evaluation is not affordable, according to current patents, allowing eventually only one fault per time. The innovation beyond the SoA of our proposal lies in the method's ability not only to detect but also to precisely identify their types and to assess the severity of up to three concurrent SOFT-faults (complete FDDE), in terms of refrigerant charge and heat exchangers fouling, which are the most insidious among the frequent ones. Through data processing the method allows to collect energetic and environmental knowledge of the system, and to elaborate economic calculations, making possible to provide a powerful and innovative decision-support service of interest for: energy service providers, final users or policy makers. Beyond the project, the method could be easily implemented in small-size vapor compression systems (VCCS, the most common kind of system) preserving the original hardware except for some cheap extra measurements and data processing, that can be easily done and managed with IOT devices and ICT infrastructures.
The research proposed will investigate a method through the proof of concept about the possibility to determine univocally the FDDE running an appropriate set of values to the degrees of freedom of the machine. The research requires the development and experimental validation of a model; the production of a huge synthetic database for several machines; the demonstration of the method by a virtual test and the effective experimental validation.
The project is relevant to the Challenge scope, aligning with the objectives of exploring new methods and processes to reduce operational costs, increase efficiency, and enhance environmental performance in cooling systems.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI FEDERICO II
Net EU contribution
€ 712 500,00
Address
CORSO UMBERTO I, 40
80138 Napoli
Italy
Region
Sud Campania Napoli
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 712 500,00

Participants (1)