A new optimum start control algorithm

This paper describes the development and testing of a new optimum start algorithm for control of heating plant in conventionally heated buildings. The algorithm which is based on detailed thermal response data from several UK buildings, exhibits more accurate and consistent performance than commercially available optimisers. Main features of the algorithm include a new empirically based non-linear schedule and a fading memory least squares self learning procedure which is used to identify the optimal parameters of the schedule for each application.