Climate-Responsive Adaptive Control for Natural Ventilation

According to the U.S. Green Building Council and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 21% of all energy used in the U.S. is for building mechanical systems that provide heating, cooling, and ventilation. On the other hand, building occupants are significantly affected by ambient thermal conditions, as their work productivity and health depend on their thermal satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to use passive strategies for natural cooling and heating to enhance the thermal comfort and minimize the use of mechanical systems. The Climate-Responsive Adaptive Control for Natural Ventilation is a predictive control system that is able to forecast an indoor climate based on real-time data of outdoor conditions, and controls window actuators to use cross ventilation for cooling. Using the Missouri S&T Solar Decathlon House as a testbed, indoor and outdoor conditions are measured and evaluated in order to develop an adaptive control model for actuating operable windows