Home HVAC energy management and optimization with model predictive control

The general energy demand of the residential sector and the ensuing option for fossil fuels produce adverse results by both CO2, greenhouse gases (GHG) and extra air pollutant emissions. As domestic energy demand consists mostly of energy necessities for space and water heating alongside the energy dedicated for appliances, distinct strategies that target to foment a practical consumption of energy have to be reinforced at all levels of human activity. In this paper the aim is to make a comparison between proportional-integral-derivative (PID), thermostat (ON/OFF) control and Model Predictive Control (MPC) models of a domestic heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system controlling the temperature of a room. The model of the household with local solar microgeneration is implicit to be located in a Portuguese city. The house of the case study is at the mercy to the local solar temperature, irradiance and 5 Time-of-Use (ToU) electricity rates applied on a complete week of August, 2016. The second purpose of this study is to assess which is the best electricity ToU rate option provided by the local electricity retailer for the residential sector.