Abstract
This paper presents a model-based predictive control strategy to optimize the operations of phase change material (PCM) ceiling panels coupled with a multi-stage air-source heat pump. A three-stage prototype heat pump unit has been built and tested in the laboratory, with the low and medium stages designed for space heating/cooling and the high compression stage dedicated to charging of the PCM energy storage. To facilitate optimal control of the integrated heat pump system, a mixed-integer linear programming formulation is derived through linearization of the heat pump model and a mixed-integer reformulation of the PCM dynamic governing equations. A predictive control strategy is synthesized based on the resultant control formulation and implemented in a receding horizon scheme that optimizes the PCM charging and the zone temperature schedules simultaneously to leverage both the passive (associated with building construction materials) and active (PCM) storage capacities of a building. The control strategy has been tested along with three benchmarking control scenarios using a co-simulation platform for a prototypical detached house in Atlanta, GA. Test results showed that application of the proposed control strategy to the PCM-integrated heat pump could provide 27.1% electricity cost savings while a fine tuned rule-based control strategy could achieve cost savings of 20.4%, compared to a baseline case without PCM storage, under a time-of-use rate tariff.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 120796 |
| Journal | Applied Energy |
| Volume | 336 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 15 2023 |
Funding
Funding for this research was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office. The authors would like to thank Mr. Aly Elhefny at the University of Oklahoma for his assistance in setting up the EnergyPlus FMI co-simulation environment.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Building Technologies Office |