Cloud-based Hardware-in-the-Loop testing of building automation controllers

Journal of Physics Conference Series, vol. 2042, pp. 012025

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to fill the gap in knowledge about building control testing, thus encouraging control evaluation, to ultimately improve energy efficiency in building operation. A hardware controller and its digital twin are tested in real-time in a separate platform in the cloud, and the results are analyzed to determine what insights can tests on virtual controllers give about the behaviors of their real-life hardware counter-parts. Key performance indicators (KPIs) from literature are used to evaluate the control. It is shown that although the controllers differ in their control output time-series, their overall performance profile along the entire simulation run follows a similar pattern (KPI percent error varies between 3% and 8%). This implies that virtual controller testing can be a good indicator of hardware controller behavior.

Authors 6

1. Mohamad Maghnie Aachen E.ON Energy Research Center Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, E.ON Energy Research Center, Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate, Mathieustrafie 10, 52072 Aachen, Germany

2. F Stegemerten Aachen E.ON Energy Research Center Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, E.ON Energy Research Center, Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate, Mathieustrafie 10, 52072 Aachen, Germany

3. A Niewöhner
   Affiliation as printed

   aedifion GmbH, Hohenzollernring 72, 50672 Köln, Germany

4. Marc Baranski
   Affiliation as printed

   aedifion GmbH, Hohenzollernring 72, 50672 Köln, Germany

5. Alexander Kümpel Aachen E.ON Energy Research Center Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, E.ON Energy Research Center, Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate, Mathieustrafie 10, 52072 Aachen, Germany

6. Dirk Müller Aachen E.ON Energy Research Center Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, E.ON Energy Research Center, Institute for Energy Efficient Buildings and Indoor Climate, Mathieustrafie 10, 52072 Aachen, Germany