Productization
HVAC

HVAC AHU Supply-Air Temperature Compliance

The share of run-time the air handler held its supply-air (discharge) temperature at the value its sequence commanded — including any supply-air-temperature reset. Supply air is the product the AHU delivers to every box it feeds, so a handler that cannot hold its discharge setpoint starves an entire floor at once. The air-handler-level outcome metric behind every VAV box downstream.

01 Metric Definition

What it measures and how it is calculated

What it measures

How reliably an air handler delivers supply air at the temperature its control sequence commands — the fraction of run-time the measured discharge temperature stayed within a tolerance band of setpoint, including any supply-air-temperature reset the sequence applies. Because every VAV box on the handler receives that supply air, it is the air-side outcome that sits above the terminals — a handler out of band affects the whole floor, not one zone.

How it is calculated

Compliance over the period is time(|supply temp − setpoint| ≤ tolerance) / run-time × 100, evaluated only while the AHU is running and calling for cooling, so an off or economizer-only period is not scored against a mechanical-cooling setpoint.

The setpoint is the commanded value including any reset — where the sequence resets supply-air temperature against load or outdoor conditions, compliance is scored against the reset target at each interval, not a fixed number, so a correct reset is not read as a deviation.

A sustained deviation is separated by direction: supply air riding above setpoint under a cooling call points downstream to coil or valve capacity (pair with Cooling ΔT and valve position), while erratic supply air points to sensor, control-loop, or mixing problems.

Reference thresholds

RangeClassificationInterpretation
In band ≥ 95% of cooling run-timeExpected — holding dischargeThe handler delivers supply air at its commanded temperature; the boxes downstream have the air they were designed to receive.
In band 85 – 94%, or riding above setpoint under loadLosing the discharge — monitorThe handler struggles to hold supply-air temperature under load; scope coil, valve, or airflow before the whole floor drifts warm.
In band below 85%, or sustained deviation from setpointOut of band — investigateThe handler cannot hold its discharge; a fouled coil, a failed valve, a control fault, or a capacity shortfall — scope the AHU before floor-wide comfort loss.

Reference bands only. The tolerance and the reset schedule are per AHU; confirm the reset sequence and the sensor calibration before reporting, because a correct supply-air reset scored against a fixed setpoint reads as a false deviation.

Portfolio compliance target

The per-AHU target is to hold supply-air temperature within tolerance for ≥ 95% of cooling run-time, scored against the commanded (reset-aware) setpoint. Agree the tolerance and confirm the reset schedule per handler before reporting against it.

02 Impact

How this metric moves the customer value drivers

The table below shows how moving AHU Supply-Air Temperature Compliance impacts each customer value driver the product is designed to improve — the metric page explains the mechanism; the product pages express the magnitude.

Value driverImpact strengthHow AHU Supply-Air Temperature Compliance moves this lever
Customer experienceDirect, primarySupply air is what every box on the handler delivers to its zone, so an AHU that cannot hold its discharge temperature warms an entire floor at once — the most consequential single comfort signal on an all-air floor. Catching it at the handler protects every downstream zone before the complaints arrive. Magnitude is expected (pending validation) — offices have no named Keedian reference deployment yet.
Energy savingsDirectA handler that cannot hold setpoint drives its boxes to open wide and its own valve to full, and a supply-air-temperature reset that is not followed leaves cooling energy on the table. Holding the discharge — and the reset — is a direct air-side energy lever.
Asset lifespanIndirect, leading indicatorA slow loss of supply-air compliance under load is the leading signature of a coil fouling or a valve losing authority. Flagging it at the handler turns a developing capacity fault into a scoped coil or valve service before it fails.
03 Detection

How it surfaces and when it is reviewed

How it surfaces

Alarm
Fires when supply-air temperature holds out of band for a sustained cooling period, so a handler losing its discharge is caught before the whole floor drifts warm.
Equipment
The deviation is attributed to the AHU and, by its direction, pointed downstream (coil/valve) or to controls/mixing, so the scope is targeted.
Site
Per-AHU supply-air compliance on the plant/floor view, shown against the reset schedule and alongside Cooling ΔT and valve position.
Portfolio
Buildings with handlers out of band surface in the Executive Summary, ranked so the floors most at risk of comfort loss are worked first.

Review cadence

Monthly
Reviewed in the MBR — supply-air compliance per AHU against its own trend and any handler riding above setpoint under load.
Weekly
Operations reviews handlers trending down and any new out-of-band periods for an AHU scope.
Real-time
Out-of-band alert where configured, so a handler losing its discharge is caught while the floor still holds temperature.
04 Alarms

Principal alarms derived from this metric

The table below summarizes the alarms that fire directly from AHU Supply-Air Temperature Compliance. Each row links to the full operational detail (trigger, preconditions, action plan, human role, escalation, prevention) in the SOPs catalog.

AlarmDescriptionSeverityTierAI executes?Value driversSOP
AHU not holding discharge — supply air above setpoint under a cooling call The air handler holds its supply-air (discharge) temperature above the value its sequence commands while it is calling for cooling — it cannot make the air the floor was designed to receive. Because every box on the handler draws that supply air, one out-of-band AHU warms a whole floor at once: a fouled coil, a chilled-water valve losing authority, low coil flow, or a capacity shortfall at peak. High Essential Hybrid Customer experience · Asset lifespan Open SOP →
AHU overcooling — supply air below setpoint The air handler holds its discharge below the temperature its sequence commands — overcooling the supply air it feeds the floor. A chilled-water valve stuck or hunting open, a supply-air reset not applied, or a sequence overriding to a colder setpoint than the load needs; it spends cooling energy the floor did not call for and drives reheat and comfort complaints downstream. Low Essential Hybrid Energy savings · Customer experience Open SOP →
More alarms in development

More alarms in development (single-metric): a reset-following check that flags an AHU ignoring its supply-air reset, and a slow-capacity-loss trend under load. Composite AHU alarms that combine supply-air compliance with Cooling ΔT and valve/coil performance to attribute a lost discharge to its mechanical cause will appear in a future release.

05 Actions

What to do based on the alarm

The action plan for each alarm lives on its own SOP page in the SOPs catalog — with the diagnostic steps, human role, value drivers, escalation, and prevention specific to that alarm. The list below maps each alarm to its SOP.

  • AHU not holding discharge — supply air above setpoint under a cooling call → — The air handler holds its supply-air (discharge) temperature above the value its sequence commands while it is calling for cooling — it cannot make the air the floor was designed to receive. Because every box on the handler draws that supply air, one out-of-band AHU warms a whole floor at once: a fouled coil, a chilled-water valve losing authority, low coil flow, or a capacity shortfall at peak.
  • AHU overcooling — supply air below setpoint → — The air handler holds its discharge below the temperature its sequence commands — overcooling the supply air it feeds the floor. A chilled-water valve stuck or hunting open, a supply-air reset not applied, or a sequence overriding to a colder setpoint than the load needs; it spends cooling energy the floor did not call for and drives reheat and comfort complaints downstream.

Confirm the reset schedule and sensor before reporting (metric-level)

Supply-air compliance is meaningless if scored against the wrong target — a supply-air-temperature reset scored as a fixed setpoint manufactures deviations, and a drifted discharge sensor manufactures both false compliance and false breaches. Confirm the reset sequence and calibrate the supply-air sensor before activating the metric for a handler.

Responsible
Keedian operations team
Urgency
High — a wrong target or a drifted sensor makes the figure unreliable
Client approval
No

Tiered response — visibility, managed ops, then sequence control

At Essential the customer sees the handler out of band; at Managed, Keedian Ops runs the alarm, triages the direction of the deviation, and dispatches; at Optimized, Keedian commands the AHU sequence directly (supply-air setpoint and reset, valve and fan within authority, with an audit trail) and refers a mechanical fault — a fouled coil or a failed valve — for a scoped service.

Responsible
Keedian operations team (Managed/Optimized), customer team (Essential)
Urgency
Medium — a handler out of band risks whole-floor comfort
Client approval
No for surfacing and in-authority command — a mechanical repair is scoped separately
06 Escalation

When and how to escalate

Per-alarm escalation criteria live in the Escalation block of each SOP in the SOPs catalog. The patterns below are metric-level — read from the portfolio view, not from any single alarm firing.

Portfolio-level patterns — typically communicated in the MBR
  • Handlers whose supply-air compliance declines month over month under load — a coil-fouling or valve-authority review candidate
  • AHUs where the supply-air reset is configured but not followed — an energy-recovery opportunity worth a sequence review
  • Recurring out-of-band periods tied to peak load — a capacity or staging question rather than a control fault
Cross-alarm urgency — typically requires out-of-cycle communication
  • A handler that has lost its discharge on an occupied floor with rising zone temperatures — direct action before floor-wide comfort loss
  • Supply-air compliance collapsing alongside a declining Cooling ΔT and a saturated valve — a coil or valve failure in progress; escalate the AHU
07 Prevention

Controls to avoid recurring issues

Configuration controls

  • Confirm the supply-air setpoint and any reset schedule per AHU so compliance is scored against the commanded target
  • Calibrate the supply-air temperature sensor at onboarding so a deviation reflects the handler, not the sensor
  • Record the handler's design supply-air conditions as the reference for what in-band means

Monitoring controls

  • Alert on sustained out-of-band supply air under a cooling call, weighted to persistence rather than single intervals
  • Trend supply-air compliance next to Cooling ΔT and valve position so a capacity cause is visible
  • Separate above-setpoint deviations (capacity) from erratic ones (controls/mixing) in the alert

Reporting controls

  • Include per-AHU supply-air compliance in the MBR against its own trend
  • Flag handlers not following their supply-air reset as an energy-recovery item
  • Maintain a per-AHU compliance log so a developing coil or valve fault is visible over time