Improvement of Radiant Cooling Panel (RCP) Air Conditioning (AC) using Model Predictive Control (MPC)

Abstract

The application of the Radiant Cooling technology for air-conditioning purpose in the hot and humid climatic condition such like Thailand, was investigated by simulation and experimentation. The radiant cooling panel was integrated to the dedicated outdoor air system called RCP-DOAS, which the ceiling type was implemented. The existing system was controlled by the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller. The research focused on the employment of the Model Predictive Control (MPC) to enhance the PLC control of the chilled water supply condition of the RCP-DOAS. The thermal circuit equivalent was used for modeling of the heat transfer characteristics of the ceiling type RCP dynamically. The modeling and simulation was conducted in MATLAB Simulink to predict the time required to approach the set point air-conditioned room temperature about 24 °C. In comparison between the PID controller and MPC controller, it could be expected well sooner approaching the set point. The simulated results showed reduction of the time to reach stability by 50.9%. Thereafter, the MPC controller will be implemented to control the RCP-DOAS system during the actual experiment expecting better set point approaching and energy saving.