A MULTI-DOMAIN MULTI-ZONAL SCHEMA FOR SYSTEMATIC COMPARTMENTALISATION OF BUILDING SYSTEMS CONTROL LOGIC

SUMMARY: In order to accommodate the integration requirements of increasingly complex technologies for heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting of buildings, effective design and configuration methods are needed. Specifically, decisions regarding the environmental control systems ' type and devices, the number and extent of control zones, as well as the number and position of sensors need to follow a structured approach with traceable reasoning. Moreover, decision processes in one domain (e.g. thermal control systems) must be coordinated at a deep level with other domains (e.g. visual control systems). The absence of a structured approach in these areas can result in inefficiencies in the design and operation of buildings and their systems. In this context, the present contribution elaborates on the potential of a generative schema for the systematic representation of buildings' systems control architecture, including control devices, control zones, and associated actuators and sensors. The schema is inclusive vis-à-vis multiple control domains and multiple zones and can effectively support the systematic compartmentalisation of control logic in technologically complex buildings. To probe the robustness of the proposed schema in dealing with the multi-faceted and complex systems control circumstances in real buildings, a preliminary experiment was conducted, involving a group of architecture and engineering students. The participants found the method to be effective in supporting the configuration of buildings ' technical system