Triggering Optimal Control of Air Conditioning Systems by Event-Driven Mechanism: Comparing Direct and Indirect Approaches

Junqi Wang, Rundong Liu, Linfeng Zhang, Hussain Syed Asad and Erlin Meng
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Junqi Wang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Rundong Liu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Linfeng Zhang: Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Hussain Syed Asad: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Erlin Meng: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-20

Abstract: Real-time optimal control of air conditioning (AC) is important, and should respond to the condition changes for an energy efficient operation. The traditional optimal control triggering mechanism is based on the “time clock” (called time-driven), and has certain drawbacks (e.g., delayed or unnecessary actions). Thus, an event-driven optimal control (EDOC) was proposed. In previous studies, the part-load ratio (PLR) of chiller plants was used as events to trigger optimal control actions. However, PLR is an indirect indicator of operation efficiency, which could misrepresent the system coefficient of performance (SCOP). This study thus proposes to directly monitor the SCOP deviations from the desired SCOP values. Two events are defined based on transient and cumulative SCOP deviations, which are systematically investigated in terms of energy performance and robustness. The PLR-based and SCOP-based EDOC are compared, in which energy saving and optimal control triggering time are analyzed. Results suggest that SCOP-based EDOC has better energy performance compared with PLR-based EDOC, but the frequent event triggering might happen due to the parameter uncertainty. For actual applications, the SCOP-based EDOC can be recommended when the ideal SCOP model is available with the properly-handled uncertainty. Nevertheless, the PLR-based EDOC could still be a more practical option to replace the traditional TDOC considering its acceptable energy performance and better robustness.

Keywords: real-time optimal control; system coefficient of performance; event-driven optimal control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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