Smart Control for Natural Ventilation House

A series of investigations has been conducted in the 2009 Solar House located on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus, to develop a climate-response control for a natural ventilation system. Firstly, the research investigated the relationship between indoor thermal comfort and climate. Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) was selected to evaluate the thermal comfort, which was calculated based on parameters of environment and occupant characteristics. The climate was monitored by a weather station. Then, the PMV Prediction model was built, by which the PMV in a forecast time of 10 minutes could be estimated based on current indoor environment and outdoor climate. At last, the adaptive control was developed when combining the data acquisition system, PMV Prediction model and window actuators. At the same time, a building model was built up, and the simulation indicates that an energy conservation rate of 67.8% can be achieved when applying natural ventilation properly.