Model predictive control of heating in a low energy single-family house

Abstract

This paper presents a control scheme that uses a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach to manage the heating system of a low-energy single-family house. The house is equipped with an air-to-water Heat Pump (HP) and individually controlled hydronic underfloor heating circuits for each of its 11 heating zones. The MPC scheme is designed to maintain individual room comfort levels in each zone, while incorporating weather forecasts and following a heating reference to allow for load shifting for periods with low energy prices and high Photovoltaic (PV) production calculated by an upper level in a hierarchical control scheme. The focus of the design has been the model structure that allows for fast solutions to the MPC optimisation problem, while still capturing the high complexity, non-linear dynamics of the building. The controller is tested on a high-fidelity simulation model of the house, achieving disturbance rejection and system stabilisation. The rapid solving time makes repeated experiments and longer simulations feasible.