A data-mining approach for the optimization of a HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system is presented. A predictive model of the HVAC system is derived by data-mining algorithms, using a dataset collected from an experiment conducted at a research facility. To minimize the energy while maintaining the corresponding IAQ (indoor air quality) within a user-defined range, a multi-o...

In this study, an improved trapping/detrapping model was used to simulate the charge dynamics in cross-linked polyethylene peelings from different-year aged cables. Injection barrier of trapping parameters was estimated by the model fitted to experimental data for each type of sample. Moreover, dc breakdown tests were operated on those samples. It has been found that the dc breakdown strength o...

Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Building HVAC Systems

Life cycle assessment is applied to assess the environmental benefits and trade-offs of a solar-assisted heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system installed in the CIESOL building in Almeria (southeastern Spain). The environmental performance of this system is compared to that of a conventional HVAC system using a heat pump. The study evaluates these systems from cradle to grave,...

Energy consumption in commercial and educational buildings is impacted by group activities such as meetings, workshops, classes and exams, and can be reduced by scheduling these activities to take place at times and locations that are favorable from an energy standpoint. This paper improves on the effectiveness of energy-aware room-booking and occupancy scheduling approaches, by allowing the sc...

Buildings are responsible for 40% of global energy use and contribute towards 30% of the total CO2 emissions. The drive to reduce energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions from buildings has acted as a catalyst in the development of advanced computational methods for energy efficient design, management and control of buildings and systems. Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVA...

An investigation method to evaluate microbiological air quality has been developed; it involved a compiling building inspections checklist and occupants questionnaires, choosing sites, sampling frequency and analysis procedures. This method has been applied in a representative building with HVAC system and open-space offices. Air samples and microclimate parameters were collected at the same ti...

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...

A hybrid simulation environment for controls testing and training is described. A real-time simulation of a building and HVAC system is coupled to a real building control system using a hardware interface. A prototype has been constructed and tested in which the dynamic performance of both the HVAC equipment and the building envelope is simulated using SPARK (Simulation Problem Analysis and Res...