Weather forecast control
A weather forecast control is a conversion of weather forecasts into control signals in order to optimize the operation of energy-intensive, technical systems. It is used in the technical building equipment (TGA) to adjust the room climate in buildings as required and to reduce energy consumption. Weather forecast controls are also used in energy generation in order to optimize the energy mix from regenerative and conventional energy sources.
Use in technical building equipment
In conventional control technology for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, current weather data have been processed so far by an outside temperature sensor measuring the outside temperature and passing this information on directly to the system. The output for heating, cooling and ventilation is then adapted to the current status. As a matter of principle, the system technology follows current events.
Weather-compensated predictive control technology
These systems feed weather forecast data into the control technology for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) in the building. With simpler devices, the outside temperature sensors are replaced by receivers for the outside temperature from a weather forecast. Other products use the forecasts for air temperature, wind speed, sunshine duration, air humidity, global radiation , amount of precipitation and severe weather warnings for predictive control strategies and also take into account the uncertainty of the forecast values. The current measurement data is dynamically replaced by data from the forecast in the control functions.
Simulation-based operational optimization
The simulation-supported operational optimization also uses weather forecast data, but goes one step further. In addition to weather data (outside temperature, solar radiation, wind speed and wind direction as well as air humidity), other influencing variables on the indoor climate and energy consumption of a building are taken into account and recorded in a computer model: the physical thermodynamic behavior of the building ( building physics ), the influence of solar radiation on the different directions oriented window areas, the characteristics of the specific system technology as well as the use and capacity of the building. With the help of self-learning algorithms, the model calculates the optimal control data for the system technology and controls it predictively. The operational optimization acts on individual components of the system technology via previously defined data points ( actuators ).
BEVOS research project
"BEVOS" means " Be driven optimization in administrative buildings with weather vo rhersage- S control". In a five-year field test, the simulation-based operational optimization was used between 2007 and 2012 in three different administrative buildings of the Construction and Real Estate Company NRW (BLB NRW) to optimize the operation of MeteoViva Climate. The field test was carried out with a selection of representative building types with a gross floor area between 13,300 and 30,500 square meters from the portfolio of BLB NRW at three different locations: the tax office center in Aachen, the Landesbetrieb Straßen in Gelsenkirchen and the building ministry in Düsseldorf. The project should
- provide metrological evidence of the performance and limits of weather forecast control in everyday practice,
- ensure that the results of the project can later be transferred to the nationwide stock of administration buildings,
- Show the effects of different weather regions and weather characteristics on the operation of the weather forecast control.
As a result, heating cost savings of up to 17 percent were achieved. In its final report, the BLB NRW describes the control system as "an attractive instrument for permanently reducing energy costs, maintaining the desired room climate and monitoring the technical function of the system technology."
Use in energy generation
Weather forecast controls are used in energy production in order to optimally plan the necessary energy mix during ongoing operation of heat and power generators and thereby increase profitability. Above all, it is about calculating the amount of renewable energy that can be generated from wind power, solar power and hydropower. On the one hand, energy providers use weather forecasts to calculate whether sufficient electricity from renewable energies will be available or whether fossil fuels will have to be added or bought. On the other hand, energy exchanges use weather forecast controls to calculate energy prices in advance. With the decentralization of electricity and heat generation, combined heat and power (CHP) units are increasingly being used, which generate both electricity and heat at the point of consumption. Using the weather forecast control, the operation of a CHP unit can be optimized so that as much heat as possible is fed into the building that functions as a heat storage unit. In this way, thanks to the weather forecast control, the operator on the power generating side of the CHP unit has significantly more leeway for feeding into the public power grid than with previous solutions, in terms of maximum economic yield.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ GetInfo ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
