A decentralized optimization method for energy saving of HVAC systems

Improving the control strategy of building HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) systems can lead to significant energy savings while preserving human comfort requirements. This paper proposes a decentralized optimization method for optimal setpoint control for HVAC system energy saving. The HVAC system is divided into multiple subsystems and a decentralized optimization algorithm is introduced based on the local information. With limited knowledge of its neighboring subsystems, each subsystem can achieve the local/global optimal solution of the original optimization problem, which may be nonconvex and includes both discrete and continuous decision variables. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.