Southface Research Driving Smarter, Sustainable Infrastructure
At Southface, advancing sustainable, smart infrastructure isn’t just a vision—it’s an active pursuit grounded in cutting-edge research. Recent and forthcoming publications led by Hugh Allen-Magande, CEng, FASHRAE, FIMechE, together with collaborators at Southface and Kennesaw State University, showcase how innovation in energy systems and HVAC optimization is transforming how communities and industries achieve greater efficiency, reliability, and climate readiness.
As Southface’s Research Technical Principal, Hugh provides vital leadership in setting and executing research priorities. Working closely with senior leadership, he ensures that Southface’s research agenda not only advances academic knowledge but also delivers practical, real-world solutions. His recent and forthcoming publications exemplify how Southface continues to turn innovation into action—bridging science, technology, and practice to drive lasting impact.
Smarter Chiller Scheduling with Game Theory
How can we make energy-intensive cooling systems more efficient?
Southface’s Research Department applied game theory to the operation of centrifugal and absorption chillers, identifying scheduling strategies that minimize both costs and carbon emissions. The results show that advanced decision frameworks can yield measurable environmental and financial benefits for large buildings and campuses. Read the study ›
Predicting Faults Before They Cost Millions
In manufacturing facilities that produce high-precision electronics, solar panels, pharmaceuticals, and other critical products, HVAC systems are the backbone of operations — and energy bills. Southface’s Hugh Allen-Magande partnered with other researchers to develop a predictive modeling and pattern recognition framework that detects faults early, reducing downtime and wasted energy. Read the study ›
Smarter Residential HVAC
At the household level, Southface partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to evaluate measureQuick (mQ), a digital diagnostic tool that helps contractors verify proper installation, catch faults, and improve performance. By raising the bar on installation quality, homeowners save energy and money while contractors strengthen trust and efficiency. Read the report ›
Looking Ahead: What’s Next in 2025
Southface’s leadership in this field continues. Later this year, two new studies will be presented at IMECE 2025:
- Balancing Fuels in Commercial Buildings: applying game theory to optimize electricity and natural gas consumption in commercial buildings.
- Refrigerants and Rooftop Units: analyzing how different refrigerants impact efficiency, with an innovative mix of uncertainty modeling and game theory.
Stay tuned—these findings will offer fresh insights into how building owners and designers can cut costs, reduce emissions, and make smarter technology choices.
Why It Matters
Together, these projects highlight Southface’s role in driving practical, scalable solutions:
- Systems-level innovation through advanced energy modeling.
- Reliability and savings from predictive fault detection.
- Market transformation by equipping contractors with smart tools.
- Next-generation strategies for refrigerants and fuel balancing.
By bridging research with practice, Southface is showing how buildings can operate smarter, communities can thrive, and the clean-energy transition can accelerate equitably.
