Heating and Cooling Control with Predictive Hydraulic Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current heat and cold production systems face challenges in efficiently managing energy demand while minimizing operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions, due to complex nonlinear optimization problems and suboptimal control methods that fail to respect regulatory thermal constraints.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling heat and cold production systems that optimizes hydraulic operation and auxiliary management by determining specific configurations to minimize energy consumption and thermal stress, using a predictive and adaptive controller that deactivates auxiliaries when possible and employs linear optimization to select the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly operation modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If production auxiliaries are used to satisfy heat and cold demands while respecting regulatory thermal constraints, then the system can meet user needs and comply with constraints, but energy consumption increases and greenhouse gas emissions are generated
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors thermal constraints and energy consumption, adjusting auxiliary operation in real-time based on feedback from temperature sensors and demand measurements to minimize auxiliary usage while maintaining compliance
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts operating parameters such as auxiliary capacity, heat transfer fluid flow rates, and temperature setpoints to optimize the balance between meeting thermal constraints and minimizing energy consumption
2Use of energy by moving object
If a predictive and adaptive controller is deployed to optimize system operation, then energy efficiency improves, but the controller complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into modular components including demand prediction modules, optimization algorithms, and execution controllers, allowing complex predictive control to be implemented as manageable segments that can be developed and maintained independently
Solution Approach 2:
The predictive controller performs preliminary calculations and optimizations based on forecasted demand and conditions, preparing optimal control strategies in advance to execute during operation, thereby improving energy efficiency without requiring real-time complex computations
3Productivity
If the heat pump operates in pure heat or pure cold production modes, then it can satisfy dominant demands, but thermal stress on the ground increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges heat production and cold production operations by using the ground as both heat source and heat sink simultaneously, allowing the heat pump to extract heat for heating while dissipating heat for cooling, thereby satisfying both demands while minimizing net thermal stress on the ground
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the thermal stress that would normally be harmful into a beneficial resource by using the ground's thermal capacity to store excess heat during cooling periods and retrieve it during heating periods, transforming potential damage into useful energy storage
4Device complexity
If linear optimization is used instead of nonlinear optimization to simplify control, then computational complexity decreases, but solution accuracy and optimality are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system transforms the nonlinear optimization problem into a linear programming problem by changing parameters such as expressing thermal constraints as linear inequalities and using piecewise linear approximations for nonlinear relationships, thereby reducing computational complexity while maintaining acceptable solution accuracy
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for efficient energy demand satisfaction without exceeding thermal source constraints, reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and optimizing system performance by minimizing unbalanced demand costs and thermal stress.
Implementation Method 1
a heat pump comprising a condenser and an evaporator... the system draws calories from the geothermal probes to heat the heat transfer fluid
Implementation Method 2
hydraulic pumps allowing the circulation of a heat transfer fluid in the geothermal probes and in the evaporator and condenser circuits
Implementation Method 3
a field of geothermal probes... draws calories from the geothermal probes... results in a decrease in the temperature in the ground
Data Source
AI summary
Method for controlling the operation of a heating and cooling system. Method for controlling the operation of a heating and cooling system to satisfy an energy demand for heating and cooling, the system capable of operating in at least four configurations, in which: the flow rate of at least one of the hydraulic pumps in the first and third configurations is determined so as to minimize a first cost function representative of at least one energy consumption cost associated with at least the corresponding unbalanced demand and a thermal constraint on the heat source, and the flow rates of the hydraulic pumps in the second and fourth configurations are predefined.