Guidelines for Using Emulators to Evaluate the Performance of Energy Managementand Control Systems

摘要

A Building Energy Management System (BEMS) is that portion of a BuildingAutomation System (BAS) that controls the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings. Its performance is directly related to the amount of energy consumed in a building and the comfort of the building occupants. One approach to evaluating the performance of a BEMS is through the use of an Emulator. This is a special computer/data acquisition system that is connected to the sensor inputs and command outputs of the BEMS. It replaces the HVAC system and building and uses a computer program to simulate their response to BEMS commands. The BEMS, through its supervisory and/or direct digital control algorithms, then controls the simulated building/HVAC system as if it were an actual one. At the same time, the Emulator evaluates the performance of the BEMS in terms of the energy consumed by the simulated building, the degree of comfort maintained in the simulated space, response time, accuracy, etc. The report contains guidelines for using Emulators to evaluate BEMS. An overview of the hardware and software found in a typical BEMS is presented, followed by information on: setting up a BEMS and an Emulator, evaluating system/command and DDC software, and methodologies for testing BEMS application algorithms. Considerations are also presented for evaluating a BEMS' programming capabilities, DDC control loop performance, and for rating different aspects of a BEMS' performance.