ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF THERMAL PROCESSES IN BUILDINGS.

The application of a self-tuning controller to heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) processes is reported. The self-tuning controller is made up of five independent software blocks. These blocks include an automatic tuning routine used to establish initial parameter estimates; a recursive least-squares estimator for making online parameter estimates; a controller design block, which calculates control parameters; a proportional-integral controller; and a performance monitor, which supervises the operation of the self-tuning controller. Experiments confirm previously reported limitations of the basic algorithms. The performance monitor provides a new structure for handling algorithmic limitations and enhances the robustness of the self-tuning control system.