From hybrid model predictive control to logical control for shading system: A support vector machine approach

•Logical controller for shading system.•Machine learning based on hybrid model predictive control.•Qualitative comparisons between optimal controller and learned logical controller from Simbad simulations.

This paper deals with the control of the blind system for building to prevent the thermal discomfort, which may occur during mid-season and summer. In the first part of this article, the problem is formulated with a Hybrid Model Predictive Control approach. However, the implementation of this solution on an industrial product remains a big challenge due to the limited computing capacity of this latter. As a result, we propose in the second part a logical controller whose rules and parameters are based on a learning from the behavior of the optimal controller using support vector machine (SVMs). In addition, we aim to demonstrate the importance of a proper selection of the measurements for the learning problem. In the last part, various simulations are performed with SIMBAD, a Matlab toolbox dedicated to building simulation, to assess the performance of the learned controller.