Development of a personalized thermal comfort driven controller for HVAC systems

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) 2021-12, Vol.237, p.121568, Article 121568
• Main Authors: Turhan, Cihan, Simani, Silvio, Gokcen Akkurt, Gulden
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Applications programs; Control algorithms; Control systems; Control theory; Controllers; Energy conservation; Energy consumption; energy efficiency; Fuzzy Logic; HVAC; HVAC control; HVAC equipment; HVAC systems; Mobile computing; personalised thermal comfort; Proportional integral derivative; Prototypes; Relative humidity; Retrofitting; Thermal comfort
• ISSN: 0360-5442; 1873-6785
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.121568

Increasing thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption are two main objectives of advanced HVAC control systems. In this study, a thermal comfort driven control (PTC-DC) algorithm was developed to improve HVAC control systems with no need of retrofitting HVAC system components. A case building located in Izmir Institute of Technology Campus-Izmir-Turkey was selected to test the developed system. First, wireless sensors were installed to the building and a mobile application was developed to monitor/collect temperature, relative humidity and thermal comfort data of an occupant. Then, the PTC-DC algorithm was developed to meet the highest occupant thermal comfort as well as saving energy. The prototypes of the controller were tested on the case building from July 3rd, 2017 to November 1st, 2018 and compared with a conventional PID controller. The results showed that the developed control algorithm and conventional controller satisfy neutral thermal comfort for 92 % and 6 % of total measurement days, respectively. From energy consumption point of view, the PTC-DC decreased energy consumption by 13.2 % compared to the conventional controller. Consequently, the PTC-DC differs from other works in the literature that the prototype of PTC-DC can be easily deployed in real environments. Moreover, the PTC-DC is low-cost and user-friendly. •PTC-DC using FL model was developed to increase thermal comfort.•PTC-DC performance was compared with PID controller on an air-conditioner.•Indoor air temperature and fan speed were controlled simultaneously.•Increase in thermal comfort and decrease in energy consumption was obtained.