Control Strategies for Energy Optimization of HVAC Systems in Small Office Buildings using EnergyPlusTM

In recent years, building energy management has been a major research concern; as building end-uses comprise around 30-40% of energy consumption worldwide. Among these end-uses, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems have a share of 50%; especially at commercial level. The present study investigates the performance and impact of two control strategies, namely, Economizer Control and On/Off Control, on the energy optimization of HVAC system considering an example of Small Office Building. The simulation was carried out using EnergyPlusTM with weather profile of Auckland, New Zealand. The results of the study demonstrate that the On/Off based Control Strategy could significantly reduce the energy consumption (by 24.56%) compared to Economizer Control Method, which reduces the energy consumption by 5.14%. Further, it was observed that the load profile of the HVAC equipment closely follows the trend of outside temperature, and such observation can effectively be used for formulating better energy management strategies.