Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency

Modeling the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system plays an important role in modern society as it provides an effective solution for the controlled environment. However, HVAC can consume a large amount of electricity, therefore, there is a need to make HVAC systems more energy ef...

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Main Author: Yang, Rufan
Other Authors: Soh Yeng Chai
Format: Thesis-Master by Coursework
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151636
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author Yang, Rufan
author2 Soh Yeng Chai
author_facet Soh Yeng Chai
Yang, Rufan
author_sort Yang, Rufan
collection NTU
description Modeling the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system plays an important role in modern society as it provides an effective solution for the controlled environment. However, HVAC can consume a large amount of electricity, therefore, there is a need to make HVAC systems more energy efficient. Reducing the HVAC energy consumption can be rather challenging due to several constraints. First, the energy consumption depends on a number of factors and components which are not conveniently modeled. The thermal comfort is another constraint whereby reducing HVAC energy consumption may compromise the cooling performance and affect the occupants’ comfortability. This work therefore proposes a machine learning approach to simulate a specific HVAC system based on the experimental data of HVAC system in Nanyang Technology University and then integrated with three different population-based meta-heuristic optimization algorithms: Seagull optimization algorithm, Whale optimization algorithm and Butterfly optimization algorithm, to optimize the control strategy of the system. The optimization results of three algorithms are compared and the Whale optimization algorithm is chosen as the final algorithm for HVAC system control strategy optimization. The model not only has a good optimization performance but also a low computational complexity. The system is then simulated in various conditions under different occupants’ preferences and the feasibility of the system is analyzed and shows that this system is suitable for tuning the thermal comfort level of occupant in high temperature conditions. For low temperature, the system can hardly change the thermal sensation of the occupants even if the occupants have higher preference of keeping a neutral thermal comfort level than saving energy.
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spelling ntu-10356/1516362023-07-04T16:58:56Z Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency Yang, Rufan Soh Yeng Chai School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering EYCSOH@ntu.edu.sg Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering Modeling the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system plays an important role in modern society as it provides an effective solution for the controlled environment. However, HVAC can consume a large amount of electricity, therefore, there is a need to make HVAC systems more energy efficient. Reducing the HVAC energy consumption can be rather challenging due to several constraints. First, the energy consumption depends on a number of factors and components which are not conveniently modeled. The thermal comfort is another constraint whereby reducing HVAC energy consumption may compromise the cooling performance and affect the occupants’ comfortability. This work therefore proposes a machine learning approach to simulate a specific HVAC system based on the experimental data of HVAC system in Nanyang Technology University and then integrated with three different population-based meta-heuristic optimization algorithms: Seagull optimization algorithm, Whale optimization algorithm and Butterfly optimization algorithm, to optimize the control strategy of the system. The optimization results of three algorithms are compared and the Whale optimization algorithm is chosen as the final algorithm for HVAC system control strategy optimization. The model not only has a good optimization performance but also a low computational complexity. The system is then simulated in various conditions under different occupants’ preferences and the feasibility of the system is analyzed and shows that this system is suitable for tuning the thermal comfort level of occupant in high temperature conditions. For low temperature, the system can hardly change the thermal sensation of the occupants even if the occupants have higher preference of keeping a neutral thermal comfort level than saving energy. Master of Science (Power Engineering) 2021-06-23T02:25:48Z 2021-06-23T02:25:48Z 2021 Thesis-Master by Coursework Yang, R. (2021). Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency. Master's thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151636 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151636 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
spellingShingle Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
Yang, Rufan
Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
title Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
title_full Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
title_fullStr Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
title_full_unstemmed Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
title_short Modeling of HVAC system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
title_sort modeling of hvac system for balancing indoor thermal comfort level and energy efficiency
topic Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151636
work_keys_str_mv AT yangrufan modelingofhvacsystemforbalancingindoorthermalcomfortlevelandenergyefficiency