HO-18-C021 -- Testing Occupancy-Driven Controls to Reduce Energy Consumption of a VAV System2018 Annual Conference, Houston, TX, Conference Papers PDF

Many HVAC systems in commercial buildings are controlled based on occupancy, however this does not necessarily mean that the systems are controlled by actual occupant presence. Zone temperature set points and the amount of air provided to thermal zones are commonly implemented occupancy-based controls for HVAC systems, but the parameters are not optimally controlled since actual occupancy often differs from occupancy schedules being used to control the systems. Significant energy savings can be achieved if the actual occupancy of every thermal zone of a building is known and HVAC systems are controlled accordingly. This study will use occupancy information gathered from video recording to generate four occupancy patterns. These patterns were implemented into an energy simulation baseline model to control a VAV system. We determined the energy consumption reduction when using accurate occupancy information. Energy consumption of the VAV system with default occupancy profile (8:00 - 18:00) will be compared to the energy consumption of the same system with accurate occupancy information.