Data-driven building operation and maintenance (DBOM) laboratory is a research group that operates within the Carleton Building Performance Research Centre. DBOM research group examines methods to optimize the operation of commercial and institutional buildings for comfort and energy use. The group employs the state-of-the-art data mining techniques on building operation and maintenance (O&M) databases to derive methods that guide analytics-driven indoor climate control and predictive maintenance decisions. The research tools used by the group include:

  • Building automation systems for HVAC, lighting, access control;
  • Computerized maintenance management systems for work order management;
  • IT systems for Wi-Fi traffic analytics;
  • Meters for electricity, natural gas, submeters for heating, cooling, lighting, plug loads;
  • Building performance simulation.

The living laboratory buildings of Carleton University (EDC, Canal, and Health Sciences Buildings) and partner building portfolio management companies are the testbeds for the research group (learn more about our deployments in living-lab facilities). We also use the CHEeR House for residential lab-scale HVAC control and automation experiments. Building performance simulation is a commonly used research tool by the group for measurement and verification and large-scale feasibility analysis.

The research topics of DBOM include:

  • Advanced supervisory controls
    • Model-based predictive control
    • Occupant-centric control
    • Automated demand response
    • Reinforcement learning controls
  • Data-driven maintenance
    • Fault detection, diagnostics, and prognostics
    • Virtual metering and energy use disaggregation
  • Data-driven retrofit decision-making
    • GenAI application in energy modelling and retrofits

Current and past projects of DBOM are supported by research funding from following organizations:

  • Federal research labs
    • National Research Council Canada
    • CanmetENERGY – Natural Resources Canada
  • Controls and automation industry
    • Delta Intelligent Building Technologies
    • CopperTree Analytics
    • Strato Automation
  • Building science and facilities management industry
    • EllisDon
    • BGIS
    • Bentall GreenOak
    • Posterity Group
  • Electric utilities
    • Hydro-Québec
  • Funding agencies
    • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
    • Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security
    • MITACS

The researchers of the group have active collaboration with the following research communities:

  • IEA EBC Annex 95 – Human-Centric Buildings for a Changing Climate
  • IEA EBC Annex 96 – Grid Integrated Control of Buildings
  • ACM BuildSys
  • IBPSA Canada
  • ASHRAE TC 7.5 & 7.10