Auto-calibration and control strategy determination for a variable-speed heat pump water heater using optimization

This article introduces applications of the GenOpt optimizer coupled with a vapor compression system model for auto-calibration and control strategy determination toward the development of a variable-speed ground-source heat pump water heating unit. The GenOpt optimizer can be linked with any simulation program using input and output text files. It effectively facilitates optimization runs. Using the proposed GenOpt wrapper program, objectives can flexibly be defined for optimizations, targets, and constraints. Those functionalities enable running extensive optimization cases for model calibration, configuration design, and control strategy determination. In addition, a methodology is described to improve prediction accuracy using functional calibration curves. Using the calibrated model, control strategies of the ground-source heat pump water heater were investigated, considering multiple control objectives and covering the entire operation range.