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 EnergyPlus™ 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.