Fuzzy control of HVAC systems optimized by genetic algorithms

This paper presents the use of genetic algorithms to develop smartly tuned fuzzy logic controllers dedicated to the control of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems concerning energy performance and indoor comfort requirements. This problem has some specific restrictions that make it very particular and complex because of the large time requirements existing due to the need of considering multiple criteria (which enlarges the solution search space) and to the long computation time models require to assess the accuracy of each individual. To solve these restrictions, a genetic tuning strategy considering an efficient multicriteria approach has been proposed. Several fuzzy logic controllers have been produced and tested in laboratory experiments in order to check the adequacy of such control and tuning technique. To do so, accurate models of the controlled buildings (two real test sites) have been provided by experts. Finally, simulations and real experiments were compared determining the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.