Performance Evaluation of a Guarded Hot Box Test Facility Using Fuzzy Logic Controller for Different Building Material Samples

Abstract In an air-conditioned building located at any climatic region, the energy usage could be conserved by means of reducing the heating or cooling load on the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system depending upon outdoor climatic conditions. In case of unconditioned building, the temperature variation inside it over a specified time depending upon the outdoor climatic conditions helps one to estimate the duration of uncomfortable periods. By controlling heat gain or loss through building components like walls, roofs, window glazing etc. the overall energy used in both types of buildings could be minimised and for doing so, thermal performance of any building material should be evaluated. The overall heat transfer coefficient, which is measured using the Guarded Hot Box Test Facility, is one of the key measures of evaluating the energy performance of any building material. The lesser this value, the less energy is required to maintain comfortable conditions inside the building. In this paper, the performance evaluation of a fuzzy logic based temperature control strategy in a Guarded Hot Box Test Facility using three types of building materials - a single glazing, a double glazing and a plank of Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) as test specimens has been done and compared.