Heating optimal control applied to a passive solar commercial building

peer reviewedPassive solar features can lead to significant energy savings for building heating. However the intrinsic delay between solar gains and heating demand requires an intelligent control of auxiliary HVAC system to minimise the energy consumption while preventing overheating periods. This paper describes the application of discrete-time optimal control to auxiliary heating of a passive solar commercial building. Simulation-based results using complex reference models are presented and discussed. The optimal controller is compared to classical "heatingcurve + Thermostatic valve" control. It is shown that optimal control can lead to substantial improvement of thermal comfort and energy consumption