An Analysis of the Performance of Different Intermittent Heating Controllers and an Evaluation of Comfort and Energy Consumption

This article presents a new controller, based on fuzzy logic, to be used for the control of heating systems in intermittently occupied buildings. Its originality lies in the fact that it takes into account the thermal state of buildings, as well as the outside temperature. The TRNSYS simulation software was used to model a multizone building, its hot-water-radiator heating system, and a several types of thermal control. The controller was tested for different configurations of thermal inertia, excess plant capacity, internal loads, and set-point temperature for periods when unoccupied. Comparisons with classical control methods were used to demonstrate that the fuzzy controller gave superior results in terms of the control and optimization of the recovery time after setback. For each case, the differences in comfort and energy consumption between the different types of room were studied.