Model predictive control

Building model

Algorithm

HVAC

Control (management)

Temperature control

Thermal comfort

Engineering

Efficient energy use

Aerospace engineering

Biology

Ventilation (architecture)

Control engineering

Range (aeronautics)

Computer science

Humidity

Controller (irrigation)

Mechanical engineering

Thermodynamics

Physics

State-space representation

Simulation

Geography

Thermal

Agronomy

Environmental science

Artificial intelligence

Building automation

Architectural engineering

Meteorology

Control theory (sociology)

Air conditioning

Electrical engineering

Energy and Buildings

A major challenge in applying Model Predictive Control (MPC) to building automation and control (BAC) is the development of a simplified mathematical model of the building for real-time control with fast response times. However, building models are highly complex due to nonlinearities in heat and mass transfer processes of the building itself and the accompanying air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems. This paper proposes a method to develop an integrated state-space model (SSM) for indoor air temperature, radiant temperature, humidity and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) index suitable for fast real-time multiple objectives optimization. Using the model, a multi-objective MPC controller is developed and its performance is evaluated through a case study on the BCA SkyLab test bed facility in Singapore. The runtime of the MPC controller is less than 0.1 s per optimization, which is suitable for real-time BAC applications. Compared to the conventional ON/OFF control, the MPC controller can achieve up to 19.4% energy savings while keeping the PMV index within the acceptable comfort range. When the MPC controller is adjusted to be thermal-comfort-dominant that achieves a neutral PMV index at most office hours, the system can still bring about 6% in energy savings as compared to the conventional ON/OFF control.

A state-space thermal model incorporating humidity and thermal comfort for model predictive control in buildings