Conference Paper

Proceedings of Building Simulation 2019: 16th Conference of IBPSA

Optimisation Of Controller Parameters For Adaptive Building Envelopes Through A Co-Simulation Interface: A Case Study

Esther Borkowski ¹, Mattia Donato ², Giovanni Zemella ², Dimitrios Rovas ¹, Rokia Raslan ^1
1 University College London (UCL), United Kingdom
² Ove Arup & Partners, United Kingdom

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2019.210517
Abstract: Adaptive building envelopes can dynamically adapt to environmental changes, often supported by a control system. While building performance simulation (BPS) tools can be employed to test different design alternatives, representing control strategies within current BPS tools can be challenging, especially for systems with a fast, dynamic response. Another challenge in current BPS tools is the ability to tune and select parameters for the particular use case. In this study, a modelling approach is presented for the integrated analysis of control strategies of adaptive building envelopes linking thermal performance and control with an optimisation algorithm. The proposed modelling approach was evaluated using a case study with an automated motorised blind with two distinct control strategies. Simulation results suggest that the window heat gains were 72.7 % lower when the controller model was coupled with an optimiser to identify optimised controller parameters compared to a baseline control strategy. The results of this study are suggestive of the benefits that can be obtained from adjusting the dynamic aspects of the building envelope. The results support the thesis of using optimisation as standard building envelope design practice in the future.
Keywords: Adaptive building envelopes, Control strategies, Optimisation, Co-simulation, Modelica
Pages: 1372 - 1379
Paper: