Preliminary results of model predictive control of shading systems (WIP)

Shades in buildings are widely installed and are an effective technique for managing solar gains and occupant comfort. A model of a typical office space located in Ottawa, Ontario has been created and the model was developed for analysis under variable conditions. Analysis has resulted in the generation of an advanced reactive system facilitated by the use of the energy management system (EMS) built within EnergyPlus along with a predictive control system optimized for the minimizing of the energy demand by the office space. The approach to optimization is done through the use of a basic model predictive control facilitated by the use of MATLAB (Mathworks 2011) and EnergyPlus (DOE 2012). The predictive system at this stage is delivering reductions of 5% during shoulder season over its reactive counterpart but this work is still on-going.