Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are used to maintain desired indoor comfort levels in the built environment against the effects of disturbances such as weather conditions and internal loads. Since these disturbances are in general predictable and buildings have thermal mass, implementing model predictive control strategies can lead to energyand cost-efficiency. The auto...

This paper discusses an HVAC system design optimization using a detailed simulation method as well as an evolutionary algorithm using three different permutation options. The detailed simulation method was used to evaluate the objective function, i.e. HVAC energy consumption, calculated using DOE-2 software. The variables for the optimization problem were: (i) grouping of the zones served by th...

Meeting today's ventilation and comfort requirements in multiple-space VAV systems can be challenging. Building heating and cooling loads are typically not static; therefore VAV systems need to be flexible to respond to the continually changing outdoor conditions and occupant activities. To optimize comfort and minimize energy usage in this dynamic environment, the HVAC control system must also...

In this paper, we propose a new HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) control strategy as part of the smart energy system that can balance occupant comfort against building energy consumption using ubiquitous sensing and machine learning technology. We have developed ZigBee-based wireless sensor nodes and collected realistic temperature and humidity data during one month from a labo...

HVAC systems constitute ∼ 40% of energy in commercial buildings, and faults in HVAC account for 5% to 20% of its energy consumption. Typically, HVAC in modern buildings are managed using Building Managing Systems (BMS), and fault detection is one of the essential services provided by BMS to keep HVAC operational. The current techniques used for fault detection fail to detect large number of eff...

Recent efforts to incorporate aspects of artificial intelligence into the design and operation of automatic control systems have focused attention on techniques such as fuzzy logic, artificial neural networks, and expert systems. The use of computers for direct digital control highlights the recent trend toward more effective and efficient heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) contro...

We have sought to accurately quantify automobile HVAC air flow rates in four passenger vehicles, under a range of different ventilation settings and speeds. We used Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) as a tracer gas, coupled with a portable doser/sampler system to quantify flow rates and leakage. Results of this work indicate a linear increase in HVAC air flow rate with increasing vehicle speed for all...