An averaging approach for nearly-optimal control of multi-zone buildings. Issue 12 (2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Yajie; Chen, Xiaoting; Baldi, Simone; Yu, Wenwu; Liu, Di
• Is Part Of: IFAC-PapersOnLine. Volume 55:Issue 12(2022)
• Page Start: 347
• Page End: 352
• Publication Date: 2022
• Subjects: Heating -- Ventilation -- Air-Conditioning (HVAC) -- adaptive linear quadratic control -- distributed estimation; Automatic control -- Periodicals; 629.805
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2022.07.336
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2405-8963

Abstract

Abstract: Controlling Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) in a way that is both optimal (energy efficient) and adaptive (able to cope with uncertainties) is a recognized challenge in the building sector. This work presents a simple modelling approach to HVAC operation aiming for adaptive and optimal control. The proposed framework exhibits several advantages amenable for implementation in energy management systems: minimum number of parameters to be estimated; preserving the distributed nature of multiple zones in the estimation process; easiness of imposing positivity and controllability constraints on the estimated coefficients. Optimality is addressed using an adaptive linear quadratic control philosophy. Comparisons with Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and non-adaptive controllers show the capability of the proposed framework of coping with uncertainty while delivering nearly optimal controls.