Low computational cost technique for predictive management of thermal comfort in non-residential buildings

In France, non-residential buildings account for a significant part of energy consumption. A large part of this consumption is due to HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) systems, which are in most cases poorly handled. The present work deals with an efficient approach allowing energy consumption to be minimized while still ensuring thermal comfort. We propose a predictive control strategy for existing zoned HVAC systems and consider the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) index as a thermal comfort indicator. In order to test this strategy, we modelled a non-residential building located in Perpignan (south of France) using the EnergyPlus software. The twofold aim is to limit the times during which the HVAC sub-systems are turned on and to ensure a satisfactory thermal comfort when people are working in the considered building. This predictive approach, computationally tractable, allows thermal comfort requirements to be met without wasting energy.