Journal of Energy (Jan 2016)
A Comfort-Aware Energy Efficient HVAC System Based on the Subspace Identification Method
Abstract
A proactive heating method is presented aiming at reducing the energy consumption in a HVAC system while maintaining the thermal comfort of the occupants. The proposed technique fuses time predictions for the zones’ temperatures, based on a deterministic subspace identification method, and zones’ occupancy predictions, based on a mobility model, in a decision scheme that is capable of regulating the balance between the total energy consumed and the total discomfort cost. Simulation results for various occupation-mobility models demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed technique.