Building Heating Simulation Design for Control Analysis

This paper introduces a model that has been developed from first principles to support the analysis of components associated with wet heating control systems commonly found in the UK. Significant progress has been made to reduce the energy consumption of typical heating systems over past decades by replacing components within the heating system with more energy efficient hardware such as condensing boilers. However, to make further reductions in energy usage, heating systems require advanced control needing novel devices incorporating sensors and actuators. The model presented in this paper differentiates from many commercial software packages in that the model allows comparable studies of alternative heating systems that can be used for the analysis of novel devices and control methods to establish their effects on energy usage and thermal comfort. This paper applies the model to simulate and analyse the use of electronic Temperature Regulated Valves (TRVs) that can be retrofitted to radiators for more efficiently controlling the thermal environment in a typical UK dwelling. The paper shows the potential for energy savings from the retrofit of electronic TRV hardware whilst maintaining a comfort level that is acceptable to the user.