Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review of recent developments and technological advancements

of variable-air-volume (VAV) air-conditioning systems
Godwine Swere Okochi, Ye Yao n
Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dongchuan Road No. 800,
200240 Shanghai, China

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study reviewed VAV systems modeling and simulations, control strategies and optimization tools,
Received 27 October 2014 the airflow characteristics of VAV systems, some common VAV systems' faults, detection and diagnosis,
Received in revised form energy usage and analysis, and the current applications of variable air volume (VAV) air-conditioning
22 December 2015
systems. VAV system modeling is very complex as it involves complex structures and parameters a result
Accepted 23 December 2015
of which has led to lack of models that combine both the AHU and building with all the required
Available online 23 January 2016
parameters.
Keywords: The most common controllers used in VAV systems are the PID controllers. We saw that supply air
Variable air volume (VAV) temperature and the flow rate of supply air are the best parameters that can be optimized in a VAV
Modeling
system as they greatly minimize energy consumption. Genetic algorithms have good robustness, and can
Optimal control
be easily parallelized. However, they suffer from shortcomings such as slow convergence rates under
Control algorithms
INDOOR air quality (IAQ) some conditions, and have difficulty in adjustment of algorithms since there are no rules for determining
Energy efficiency the number of individuals in populations. FLCs boost of advantages such as less or minimum overshoot,
oscillation and power consumption compared to conventional PID controllers, can be used in MIMO
systems, and they do not require models as they can control non-linear processes.
Airflow control in VAV systems can be achieved through controlling static pressure and position of
the damper. Literature survey shows that balancing and distribution of airflow in VAV air-conditioning
systems can be considered to be one of the main challenging areas of research concerning VAV system
control. Most methods used today for detecting and diagnosing faults are hybrid. These are superior to
the conventional methods of FDD.
In conclusion, VAV air-conditioning systems are the most energy efficient systems in use today.
Despite of their current strengths, VAV systems energy saving potential can still be improved.
& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785
2. Modeling and simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
2.1. Model types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
2.1.1. Mathematical models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787
2.1.2. Empirical models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789
2.1.3. The hybrid models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
2.2. Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
2.3. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
3. Operations and control of VAV systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791
3.1. VAV controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
3.1.1. Classical controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
3.1.2. Optimal, predictive, and adaptive controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794
3.1.3. A combination of FLC, neural controller, adaptive and PID controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 86 21 13641943577; fax: 86 21 34206814.
E-mail address: yeyao10000@sjtu.edu.cn (Y. Yao).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.328
1364-0321/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817 785

3.2. Control strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794

3.2.1. Optimal start/stop control strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
3.2.2. Duct static pressure reset control strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795
3.2.3. Air temperature reset control strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
3.2.4. Demand controlled ventilation (DCV) control strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797
3.3. Control algorithms for optimization tools in VAV AC systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
3.3.1. Genetic algorithms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
3.3.2. Fuzzy-logic control algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799
3.3.3. Fuzzy-Genetic controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799
3.3.4. Direct Digital Control (DDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
3.4. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
4. Air properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
4.1. Airflow rate measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803
4.1.1. Airflow rate measuring devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803
4.1.2. Airflow control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803
4.1.3. Improvement of airflow control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803
4.2. Indoor climate requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
4.2.1. Indoor climatic problems related to VAV systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
4.2.2. Indoor air quality (IAQ) parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
4.2.3. Indoor air quality (IAQ) control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
4.3. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
5. VAV system faults detection and diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
5.1. Some common VAV system faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
5.2. Methods of fault detection and diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
5.3. Studies on fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) in VAV AC systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806
5.4. Energy penalty due to VAV systems' faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
5.5. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
6. VAV systems energy consumption analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
6.1. Energy saving potential (efficiency) of VAV AC systems compared to other systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
6.2. Improving the energy performance of VAV systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
6.3. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
7. Current applications of VAV AC systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
7.1. Working principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
7.2. Examples of VAV systems in practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
8. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
Definition of terms used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812

1. Introduction VAV systems work on the principle of opening or closing

The term variable air volume (VAV) first came into existence in
the mid to late 1960s after studies by Urban [1]. After the world
energy crisis of 1970s, these systems gained popularity in the
United Kingdom (UK) and other countries across Europe in early
1980s as part of the efforts by engineers to come up with energy
efficient air conditioning systems [2].This was necessary due to the
cost of energy that was increasing at that time and has continued
to increase up to date. VAV systems by definition are simply air
conditioning (AC) systems that are designed to promote existence
of constant temperature in a conditioned space by varying the
volume of air supplied to the conditioned space instead of varying
the temperature of supplied air [3].Therefore, these systems vary
supply air volume at a constant temperature in order to meet the
demand caused by the changing heat load in the conditioned
space [4]. Generally, VAV systems can be broadly classified into
two categories as chilled water VAV air conditioning systems and
direct expansion (DX) cooling coil VAV air conditioning systems.
The basic components of a VAV air-conditioning system are: a
central air handling unit (AHU) with a variable speed supply fan
(can vary volume of air), coils used for heating or cooling, controls,
filters, mixing box, return or relief fan, air supply duct, VAV
terminal unit (device) connected to thermostats and supply dif-
fusers and return duct or plenum.
mechanical dampers or by modulating the airflow through mixing
boxes powered by VAV fans as loads in various conditioned spaces
of a building. For instance, if a given conditioned space requires
more cooling, the damper to that space is opened wider to
increase the inflow of cold air until the required temperature is
achieved. During the opening of the damper, there is pressure
drop in the supply duct which signals the supply fan to increase air
delivery. On the other hand, if an area is too cool and requires
temperature rise, the damper is gradually closed so as to reduce
the inflow volume of cold air. This is usually applied in combina-
tion with variable-speed drives (VSDs). The result is decrease in air
flow which results in cutting down fan power needed thus saving
energy [5]. In a further effort to reduce the energy requirements,
most VAV systems utilize the return air in order to cut down the
power requirement and energy use when the outdoor tempera-
ture is higher than exhaust air temperature [6].
These systems have several advantages over other HVAC sys-
tems [7–11]. These include, less fan capacity compared to constant
volume systems since in VAV systems only the needed air is used;
greater flexibility with respect to varying loads; improved indoor
environment, the system can incorporate an economizer to utilize
the outside air to provide cooling at times when temperature is
appropriate; reduced size of the main ducts since there is no
simultaneous coincidence of the maximum cooling/heating load
demand in all spaces [12].
786 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817

Nomenclature T wdn Temperature of nth window (K)

T win Inlet water temperature (K)
Symbols
T wln Temperature of nth wall (K)
T wout Outlet water temperature (K)
adp , bdp ,ξdp Damper coefficients Tz Zone temperature (K)
Adp Area of the damper (m2 ) T zj Temperature of jth zone (K)
Awdn Area of the nth window (m2 ) ðUAÞahu Overall transmittance area factor of the air handling
Awln Area of the nth wall (m2 ) unit (W/K)
Az Is the area of zone floor (m2 ) U exsd Conduction heat transfer coefficient of external supply
Azj Contact area of thermal transmission of jth zone (m2 ) duct (W/m2 K)
C ahu Overall

 thermal capacitance of the air handling unit U insd Conduction heat transfer coefficient of internal supply
J=kg duct (W/m2 K)


C dp Thermal capacitance of the damper J=kg U sd Conduction heat transfer coefficient of supply duct
cout Coil outlet (W/m2 K)
C pa Specific heat capacity of air at constant pressure (J/ uðtÞ Input signal
kg K) U wdn Conduction heat transfer coefficient of nth window
C pw Specific heat capacity of water (J/kg K) (W/m2 K)
C ref Refrigerant mass flow coefficient U wln Conduction heat transfer coefficient of the nth wall
C sd Thermal capacitance of supply duct (J/kg) (W/m2 K)
Cz Zone thermal capacitance (J/kg) U zj The thermal transmittance of the exterior walls of jth
D Diameter of the valve (m) zone (W/m2 K)
Dsd Diameter of supply duct (m) V ahu Volume of air handling unit (m3)
eðtÞ Disturbance V on Is the sum of space ventilation airflows (m3/s)
f Fraction of the fan/pump power converted to vor Specific volume of the refrigerant leaving the expan-
thermal energy sion valve (m3/kg)
K Static gain V ot ¼ Y  V st Required system outdoor airflow (m3/s)
L Dead time V st Is the total supply airflow (m3/s)
m_ aex Mass flow rate of external air (kg/s) v_ sa Volume flow rate of supply air (m3/s)
m_ aj Mass flow rate of air in jth zone (kg/s) Vz Zone volume (m3)
m_ amix Mass flow rate of mixed air (kg/s) V zj Volume of jth zone (m3)
m_ aout=p Is the amount of outside air required per person (kg/s) v Air velocity (m/s)
m_ ra Mass flow rate of re-circulated air (kg/s) v Is the average velocity of duct air in (m/s)
m_ ref Refrigerant mass flow rate (kg/s) vin Box inlet air velocity (m/s)
m_ sa Mass flow-rate of supply air (kg/s) vout Box outlet air velocity (m/s)
m_ samin The minimum volume of supply air when the zone is w_ Water flow rate (m3/s)
not occupied (kg/s) W cout Humidity ratio of air exiting the coil
M sd Mass of supply duct (kg) W mout Humidity ratio of air exiting the mixing box
m_w Mass flow rate of water (kg/s) W sa Humidity ratio of supply air (WSA)
Npd Is the designed occupancy X ¼ V on =V st Is uncorrected outdoor airflow fraction.
pi Valve inlet pressure (Pa) Y ¼ V ot =V st Is the corrected outdoor airflow fraction
po Valve outlet pressure (Pa) yðt Þ Output signal
Ps Static pressure (Pa) Z Is the critical space ventilation fraction
PT Total pressure (Pa)
PV Velocity pressure (Pa)
Greek letters
q1 Back shift operator
Q exld External heat gains from solar radiation (W)
α ,β; γ; δ; φ Polynomials
Q inld Internal heat gains from occupants, and light (W)
ρa Density of air (kg/m3)
Q_ inldj Internal heat transfer rate of the jth zone (W)
ρr Density of refrigerant (kg/m3)
Q max Maximum heat transfer rate (W)
ρw Density of water (kg/m3)
r Re-circulation percentage
ε Effectiveness of heat exchanger
Rra Return air ratio
θ Damper angular position (deg)
T ain Inlet air temperature (K)
τ Time constant
T aout Outlet air temperature (K)
ΔP dp Damper pressure change (Pa)
T ca Temperature of conditioned air (K)
T cout Temperature of the outlet of the coil (K)
T ex External temperature (K) Abbreviations
T mout Temperature of the air exiting the mixing box (K)
Tr Temperature of re-circulated (return) air (K) a Air
T aex Temperature of external air (K) C spt Cooling set point
T amb Ambient temperature (K) compr Compressor
T amix Temperature of mixed air (K) dp Damper pressure
T insd Temperature of internal supply duct (K) elec Electrical
T sa Temperature of supply air (K) H spt Heating set point
T samax Max possible supply air (K) mech Mechanical
T spt Set-point temperature (K) Rspt Re-heating set point
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
r Refrigerant
rpm Revolutions per minute
st Saturated
This study shall review literature on VAV systems modeling and
simulations, controls, airflow properties, common faults' diagnosis
and control, energy consumption analysis, and current applica-
tions of VAV systems.
2. Modeling and simulation
VAV models can be broadly categorized as steady state models
or unsteady state models. Steady state (static) models are those in
which parameters are constant or do not vary with time while
unsteady state models are those in which parameters vary with
time. The unsteady state models are also known as dynamic or
transient models. These (transient models) are the most common
models used in VAV systems modeling.
The unsteady state (dynamic) models in VAV systems use three
approaches namely: physics based (white box/mathematical/for-
ward) approach, data driven (black box/ inverse) approach, and
gray box (hybrid) approach [13,14].
Previously, cooling or heating loads were found using simple
hand-calculation methods. In mid 1960s, computer simulation
programs for HVAC systems were introduced. According to GATC
[15], the first simulation algorithm imitated physical conditions of
the entire system by treating variable time as independent. Candy
[16], reports that mathematical models are the basis of most of the
earliest simulation methods. Even though mathematical models
received preference over empirical and the hybrid models since
they were easy to analyze, they suffered complexity problem
compared to the other two [14].
2.1. Model types
2.1.1. Mathematical models
The mathematical (white box) models can be distributed or
lumped parameters type. The lumped parameter method is
superior to the distributed parameter type because it is easier to
solve [14]. According to Orosa [17], universal laws, physical laws of
mass conservation, momentum conservation, and energy balance
form the foundation upon which process signals are constructed
using the mathematical methods. These model types are very
useful in understanding the behavior of indoor conditions since it
is able to describe the interactions between VAV system inputs and
outputs. The format of these kinds of models is usually of time-
domain differential equations type but they can be easily trans-
formed to frequency domain transfer functions [18] or time
domain state space representations [19,20]. Generally, the process
of modeling an entire VAV system is very complex. Therefore,
several sub-models are employed to describe the complete system
to avoid complexity [21].
The building model is the most complex part in the entire VAV
air conditioning system modeling process, since the components
to be modeled go beyond just parts of the building such as walls,
roof, floor, and windows; but puts into consideration internal
loads such as activity within the conditioned space, number of
occupants, and as well as modeling the heat gain from lighting
[14]. Due to the challenge of complexity associated with modeling
of an entire VAV air conditioning system, literature survey has
shown that studies that address the entire scope of building model
are rare if none. Just to mention but a few examples, in a study
787
sa Supply air
w Water
z Zone
carried out by Lü [22] to determine thermal and humid char-
acteristics of indoor air, he only considered heat and moisture
transmission across the walls, ceilings and roofs [14]. He ignored
heat and moisture transmission through ventilation, filtration via
windows and doors, and the internal load. In addition, the equa-
tion of moisture conservation he used assumed uniform tem-
perature across all phases. He applied Fick's law and Darcy's law of
transmission of moisture to address the law of mass conservation.
For energy, the author used Fourier's law.
In another study, Ghiaus and Hazyuk [23] approximated space
load in transient simulation using a mathematical model. To
obtain the model parameters, they applied the theory of super-
position for electrical circuits. The authors assumed a linear
building thermal model and used the lumped parameter method
to take care of the indoor air and thermal capacity of the wall. They
also assumed knowledge of series of disturbances which occur at
different times and occupational programs. This clearly shows that
the researchers made many assumptions in order to determine the
heat load which would result in large errors in the final result.
Furthermore, the authors used a single-input single-output (SISO)
model that ignores moisture transmission. Moisture transmission
is an important factor in determining moisture comfort.
Concerning the air-handling unit (AHU) model, Wang et al.
[24–27] used the law of conservation of energy and equation of
thermal balance on control volume to build models of heat
exchanger for air handling unit. The supply air and surface of heat
exchanger were also assumed to be at same temperature. They
went further to ignore the humidity of moist supply air since they
wanted to avoid consideration of the effect varying humidity on
thermal comfort.
Badescu and Sicre [28] developed a mathematical model to
compute the heating demand for a three-zone passive house (PH).
They used a 1D time-dependent conduction heat transfer equation
to analyze heat transfer through the high thermal inertia ele-
ments. They solved the heat transfer equation using a standard
Netlib solver (PDECHEEB). The authors used appropriate models
for conduction through low thermal inertia elements as well as a
simple approach for solar radiation transmission through win-
dows. Finally, they considered how internal heat sources affected
the model. The above work was later improved by introducing two
new equations in the solar collector model. The two elements
added included useful heat flux and the mean temperature inside
collector area [29].
In another work by Badescu et al. [30], they developed a time
dependent model for a passive building in which they noted that
for proper evaluation of space cooling/heating demand we must
account for heat flux entering into the building by conduction,
passive solar heating as a result of light penetrating via the win-
dows as well as internal heat sources and sinks. They also reported
that the thermal load changes continuously as a result of varia-
tions in both ambient temperature and solar irradiance.
In a later work by Badescu et al. [31], they developed a time-
dependent model to evaluate the thermal load of the AMVIC
building. They coupled the model with other the modules mod-
eling the ventilation-heating system. The ensemble constituted
time-dependent Passive House Thermal Transients (PHTT) model.
During comparison of results, the authors found out that the PHTT
could estimate an annual relative total thermal load value which is
788 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817

in reasonable agreement with the value predicted by the Passive  The thermal resistance of the coil is negligible.
House Planning Package [31].  The thermodynamic properties of the fluids are independent of
Mathematical (physical) based models can be used to model the temperature variations for the operating temperature range.
several sub-systems in VAV air-conditioning systems. These are  The coil mass temperature is taken to be constant within the
discussed below. coil, and
 Steady state heat transfer between the water and air.
2.1.1.1. The zone model. Addition and removal of heat into and from
the conditioned space maintains temperature by balancing various The energy balance between the air and water is given by
kinds of heat gains and losses [32]. The addition and subtraction of Eq. (2.3) below;
heat is done through the opening and closing of the damper [33].  
dT cout

Heat is transferred into the zone through the supply air, infiltra- C ahu _ ρw C pw ðT win  T wout Þ þ ðUAÞahu T ex  T cout
¼w
dt
tion, conduction through walls and windows, and the external and

þ v_ sa ρa C pa T mout  T cout ð2:3Þ
internal gains caused by solar flux and zone occupants [34].
Modeling of heat transfer to the zone is normally through the use
of the equation of heat conduction model, heat balance method, The mass balance is given by Eq. (2.4) below;
weighing factor and thermal-network method [14,35].  
∂W cout

According to Tashtoush et al. [18], the zone model is a char- V ahu ¼ v_ a W mout  W cout ð2:4Þ
∂t
acteristic of three state variables. These variables include; the
temperature of the inner walls (Tinwl), the zone temperature (Tz)
and the zone humidity ratio (W). To simplify the zone model and In a study by Tahmasebi et al. the authors modeled the heating
make it practical, the following assumptions are made during system by calculating the rate at which the radiators deliver heat
modeling: due to radiation and convection [39]. The heating or cooling coil
can also be assumed to have constant effectiveness [40–42]. This
 Uniform distribution of zone temperature due to proper mixing type of model is less complex and determines the outlet air and
of air. This enables the dynamics of the conditioned space to be outlet water temperature from the inlet air and inlet water tem-
expressed as a lumped parameter model. peratures as shown below;
 Effects of opposite walls on zone temperature are considered to
εQ_ max
be the same while the space floor has no effect on zone T wout ¼ T win  ð2:5Þ
_ w C pw
m
temperature.
 Constant air density.
εQ_ max
 Negligible pressure losses across the zone and in the mixing T aout ¼ T ain  ð2:6Þ
m_ a C pa
section.
 Uncontrolled inputs comprise of occupants, lights, and extreme
weather conditions. In which Q_ max ¼ m _ a C pa ðT ain  T win Þ when m
_ a C pa o m
_ w C pw ,
otherwise Q_ max ¼ m
_ w C pw ðT ain  T win Þ.
Under these assumptions, we can apply several energy gov- _ w is mass flow rate of water (kg/s), ε is effectiveness of
Here; m
erning equations to estimate the dynamics of air temperature of a heat exchanger, Q max is the maximum heat transfer rate (W), T ain is
single zone as given in Eq. (2.1) below [36]. the inlet air temperature (K), and T aout is the outlet air
  temperature (K).
dT z

ρa V z C z ¼m_ sa C pa ðT sa  T z Þ þ U wln Awln T wln T z
dt

 2.1.1.3. Mixing air box model. As a system optimization strategy,
þ U wdn Awdn T wdn  T z þ Q inld þ Q exld ð2:1Þ
part of return air is mixed with fresh air from outside. It is
assumed that no frictional loses occur in the mixing box and the
Eq. (2.1) above suggests that the change rate of zone energy is system is under steady state and adiabatic conditions. Therefore,
equivalent to the deviation between the gained and lost energy the temperature of the mixed air is a linear combination of return
inside the zone through heat transfer processes [36]. air temperature and fresh outside air temperature [18]. The
For a multi-zone model, air temperature of each jth zone is expressions that follow describe energy and mass balance;
given by Eq. (2.2) below: _ amix ¼ m
m _ ra þ m
_ aex ; ð2:7Þ
 
dT zj


ρa V zj C pa _ aj C pa T sa  T zj þU zj Azj T ex  T zj þ Q_ inldj
¼m ð2:2Þ T mix ¼ rT r þ ð1  rÞT ex ; ð2:8Þ
dt

Note: In Eq. (2.2) above, the influence of wall capacitance is In which:

neglected. _ ra
m m _ a2 T z2
_ a1 T z1 þ m
r¼ ;T ¼ ð2:9Þ
_ amix r
m m_ a1 þ m_ a2
2.1.1.2. The heating and cooling coil model. In a VAV air con-
ditioning system, the cooling or heating coil conditions the _ aex T aex þ ðm
m _ sa  m
_ aex ÞT z
T amix ¼ ð2:10Þ
supply air [13]. This facilitates maintenance of the conditioned m_ sa
space within the desired temperature. In VAV systems, a reheat
coil that is usually located in inside the mixing box is used to The above equation can also be used to calculate CO2 con-
control temperature of supply air. The dynamic temperature centration [43] and the humidity ratio [41] of mixed air by simply
model of the heating/cooling coil can be derived from the replacing the temperature variables with their corresponding CO2
energy balance in the air–water heat exchanger [18,33,37,38]. and humidity ratio variables respectively.
During modeling, it is assumed that:
2.1.1.4. Duct and pipe model. Ducts aid in supplying of conditioned
 The mass flow rates of both water and air are constant. air to the zone and extracting exhaust air from the zone [13]. There
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
is usually heat exchange between air passing through the ducts
and the ambient air. In this case, the rate of temperature change in
the supply duct model can be expressed as;
dT insd 4U sd ðT amb  T insd Þ
¼ ð2:11Þ
dt C sd Dsd ρa
where T amb is the ambient temperature (K), T insd is the tempera-
ture of the internal supply duct (K), C sd is the thermal capacitance
of supply duct (J/K), Dsd is the diameter of supply duct (M), and
U sd is the conduction heat transfer coefficient of supply duct
(W/m2 K).
The model of supply air duct by Tashtoush et al. describes the
relationship between exit air temperature and the inlet air tem-
perature [18]. This is shown below;
dT aout ðU insd þ U exsd Þṁa C pa
¼ ðT ain  T aout Þ
dt U insd M sd C sd
The above models only considered cases when the supplying
duct is placed in the ambient air. In some cases supplying ducts
may be burried into the ground. For a detailed explanation of such
scenerios refer to works by [44,45]. In the work by [45], the author
notes that the quantity of interest for the designer is the outlet air
temperature of the underground pipe. This temperature is sig-
nificantly affected by different design parameters such as the
depth of the pipe from the ground surface, diamemter of the pipe
and pipe's material. The author modeled the thermal behavior of
the heat exchager by means of numerical transient bi-dimensional
approach. It was claimed that ground surface boundary condition
can be derived from an energy balance equation comprising of
convective energy exchange between the air and the soil, solar
radiation energy absorbed by the ground, the latent heat flux due
to evaporation at the surface of the ground as well as the long-
wave radiation.
2.1.2. Empirical models
Here models are constructed on the basis of experiments or
available data [22,46,47]. The entire data based approach consists
of eight different types of models [13]. Description of the
approaches is as follows:
2.1.2.1. Frequency domain model with dead time. Temperature and
humidity in VAV systems requires a substantial period of time to
undergo change. This is due to the heavy thermal inertia of a VAV
system. Therefore, dynamics of temperature and humidity in VAV
systems are modeled using first and second order (over-damped)
models with dead time [22,48–50] as shown below;
i) Second-order dead-time model
Y ðsÞ 1
GðsÞ ¼ ¼ e  Ls ;
U ðsÞ as2 þ bs þ c
where
"
 jω L !#
e c
a ¼ c  real =ω2c ;
Gðjωc Þ
 
e  jωc L
Gðjωc Þ
b ¼ imag ; ð2:15Þ
ωc
1 assumptions of how a sample of data can be generated from a
c¼ ;
K huge set by following a certain trend. Here we describe averages,
Δyð1Þ
K¼ ; ð2:17Þ
Δuð1Þ
where Δuð1Þ is the amplitude of step change in process input
789
while Δyð1Þ is the deviation between the original value and
the new steady-state value of the output process, K is the
static gain, τ is a constant of time and L is the dead time.
ii) Step-method
Y ðsÞ K
GðsÞ ¼ ¼ e  Ls ð2:18Þ
U ðsÞ τs þ 1
2.1.2.2. Data mining algorithms (DMAs). DMAs are usually used to
model complex and non-linear system dynamics. Such algorithms
include Artificial Neutral Network (ANN) and Support Vector
Machine (SVM). A study by Kalogirou [51] provided a compre-
hensive survey on the application of Artificial Neutral Network
(ANN) in building energy systems. The authors reported that non-
optimum weights could lead to inaccurate results when a single
ð2:12Þ method (i.e. Artificial Neutral Network (ANN) or multilayer per-
ceptron (MLP)) is used [51]. Kusiak and Zhang [52] developed a
daily steam load model for HVAC system. They used five data
mining algorithms to construct the model.
Tang [53] developed sensors for predicting energy consump-
tion of AHU as well as IAQ using ANN models. Indoor air tem-
perature, humidity and CO2 concentration were used to describe
indoor air quality. An improved model was achieved when using
clustering of the Artificial Neutral Network (ANN) input variables
compared to a non-clustering model. Kusiak and Xu developed a
model based on dynamic ANN whose results showed significant
improvement in system performance [54]. Morisot and Marchio
[55] modeled a cooling coil for application in VAV fault detection
using ANN. In their study, they were able to detect cooling coil
faults by finding the deviation between the outputs of the actual
system and the modeled system. They found out that in the
absence of any fault, there was a small margin difference while in
the presence of a fault the margin difference increased. Ding et al.
[56] used a single variable time series to estimate a cooling load.
This is an example of using SVM in load forecasting.
Some dominant advantages of data mining algorithms are; easy
implementation, can model noisy data with complex relationships
etc. These models suffer from the following disadvantages;
requires training and data testing to facilitate construction of
models, it is not possible to physically interpret the developed
models and it is difficult to implement the algorithms online [13].
2.1.2.3. Fuzzy-logic (FL) models. The development of fuzzy-logic
models involves the implementation of the if-then-else state-
ments whose rules are expressed as a database or table [57]. These
kinds of models comprise of fuzzy adaptive network (FAN),
Takagi–Sugeno (T–S), and adaptive network based fuzzy inference
system (ANFIS). Chen et al. [58] used FAN to model thermal
comfort. T–S was used to model AHU [59] and thermal comfort
[32]. Soyguder and Alli [60] applied ANFIS to ambient and zone
ð2:13Þ temperature to achieve prediction of fan rotational speed and
degree of damper opening. ANN and Genetic Algorithm-based
ANFIS (GA-ANFIS) was used to project energy consumption in two
different buildings [55].
ð2:14Þ The main advantage of fuzzy-logic models is that they are
simple and easy to understand. However, these models also have
shortcomings. It is difficult to model due to lack of the huge
volume of data that needs to be known [13].
2.1.2.4. Statistical models. These are models built on the basis of
ð2:16Þ
probability distributions, regressions and so on. Examples of these
kinds of models are; single and multivariate regression, output
error (OE), Box Jenkins (BJ), autoregressive integrated moving
average (ARIMA), autoregressive exogenous (ARX), autoregressive
790 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
moving average exogenous (ARMAX) and finite impulse response
(FIR) [13]. The simple input/output relationship of statistical data
was given by Yiu [62] as follows;




 β q1 γ q1
α q  1 yðt Þ ¼
 1 uðt Þ þ
 1 eðt Þ ð2:19Þ
φ q δ q
where α, β; γ; δ; and φ are polynomials, q  1 is back shift operator,
yðt Þ, uðt Þ, and eðt Þ are output, input and disturbance respectively.
The type of model developed is determined by numerator and
denominator polynomials of input u(t), output y(t) and dis-
turbance e(t) that will be chosen.
Some examples of studies which have employed the use of
statistical model include; Dong et al. [63] used a second order
polynomial to model to study how the rotational speed of the
supply fan is related to the power consumption. They used the
method of curve fitting on measured data to derive the coefficients
of the polynomial.
Yoshida and Kumar [64] studied the AHU of a VAV system using
ARX model and adaptive forgetting through multiple models
(AFMM) online based real time. Later on, Yoshida and Kumar [65]
used an ARX model based on off-line identification to develop a
model of VAV air handling unit.
Evident merits of statistical methods include; promotes steady
state modeling using linear and polynomial time series regression
(essential for quick calculations), and models can be developed
with limited data. Some setbacks include; the linear and poly-
nomial time series models have low accuracy and cannot capture
the non-linear dynamics of VAV system.
2.1.2.5. Geometric models. These models use mathematical methods
to model real objects using computer graphics and computer aided
design (CAD). They use geometric principles to represent a system
through the use of curves, surfaces, and volumes. Geometric mod-
eling mainly focuses on two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional
(3D) representation of shapes. The spline surfaces are very common
tools used in geometric modeling. Examples of spline surfaces are
Hermite-splines, Bezier-splines, B-splines and the thin plate spline
(TPS). The thin plate splines can effectively be used to interpolate
scattered data. The thin plate spline uses a special function to map
the input-output data [66]. TPS is not affected by initial conditions
this makes it superior to ANN. However, TPS is sensitive to data
noise. In addition, TPS becomes computationally expensive as the
size of data increases [66].
2.1.2.6. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR). These kinds of models make
use of related or similar past cases to build new models [67]. The
CBR modeling which only uses a part of the given data is referred
to as topological case-based modeling (TCBM) [13]. According to
Nishiguchi et al. [66], this model is based on the similarity prin-
ciple i.e. it constructed around relating similar parameters. The
model has several advantages which include; suitable for non-
linear and ill-defined systems; minimizes measurement noise and
data [13]. Unseen cases pose a challenge to the models of this kind.
2.1.2.7. Stochastic models. These models are used to represent
processes with random variables in VAV AC systems such as fan
energy use. Zlatanovic et al. [68] used Gaussian probability density
functions (GPDF) to model the fan power consumption in a large
building. In their study, the authors assumed that variable speed
fans (VSFs) operated at the minimum power level during unoc-
cupied hours while the energy used during the occupied hours
followed a normal distribution function.
The advantage of the stochastic approach is applicable to many
physical processes which can be approximated to standard normal
and uniform distributions.
The approach suffers from the fact that a large amount of data
is required in order to generate an accurate shape of the prob-
ability distribution function (PDF) of a random variable.
The most common VAV components which adapt empirical
modeling approach include dampers, expansion valves, fans, and
pumps. These can be modeled as shown below:-
(1) Damper model
The main function of a damper is to control airflow rate in ducts
of a VAV AC system. It accomplishes control of flow rate by
varying resistance to air flow in the supply duct leading to a given
conditioned space. When the damper rotates in an air stream, it
regulates air passage to the space. According to Huang [69], the
signal uðt Þє½0; 1 controls damper opening, where ‘0’ indicates
fully closed and ‘1’ indicates fully opened. Thus, the signal
determines the rate of mass flow of air through the damper.
ṁa ¼ adp eξdp uðtÞ þ bdp ð2:20Þ
In which; adp , bdp , ξdp are damper coefficients and uðtÞ is the input
signal (position of the damper).
In some dampers, the rate of air mass flow through the damper
is dependent on the damper flow coefficient, pressure difference
and position is dependent on the damper flow cross-sectional
area [60]. An example of such model is as follows;
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ṁa ¼ C dp ρa ΔP dp Adp ðθÞ ð2:21Þ
In the above equation, the pressure drop (ΔP dp ) is relatively
constant [70]. This is because static pressure in the loop is self-
regulated due to fan characteristics that would maintain static
pressure at a specific value such that the fan power balances with
the rate of flow circulation in the loop [70]. In such a case the
mass flow rate (m _ a ) will be proportional to the flow area (Adp ðθÞ).
(2) Expansion valve model
Expansion valves control refrigerant and water flow rates in VAV
air conditioning systems. An expansion valve adjusts the
quantity of refrigerant at evaporator inlet thus controls the value
of superheat temperature of the refrigerant [71]. In addition,
expansion valves control the rate at which water flows into the
heating or cooling coiling of a VAV system. In an expansion
valve, the cooling load is assumed to be uncertain thus the most
effective variable for optimal operation of a valve is refrigerant
flow rate [72]. Since the expansion process is usually considered
to have a constant enthalpy, we can use the orifice equation to
describe refrigerant flow through an expansion valve. The rate
of refrigerant mass flow is calculated as;
!
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi


πD2
ṁref ¼ C ref ρr pi  po ð2:22Þ
4
In which C ref , is a function of several parameters. These are,
valve geometry, refrigerant's inlet and outlet conditions of
temperature and pressure as well as its thermo-physical proper-
ties [73]. It can be described as follows;
pffiffiffiffiffi
C ref ¼ 0:02005 ρr þ0:63vor ð2:23Þ
(3) Fan and pump model
Fans control air flow rate whereas pumps control water and
refrigerant flow rate through a VAV system [13]. The flow
rates, pressure difference between the inlet and outlet, and fan
efficiency or pump efficiency determine the power utilized by
the fan or pump [74,69,75,76].
If the fan motor is placed within the flow, there is heat
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
exchange between the fan motor and the air. According to
Tashtoush et al. [18], the air temperature may rise by a margin
of 1–2 °C. Fan exit air temperature can be calculated using the
formula given by TRNSYS [40] as shown below;
 
W fan f
T aout ¼ T ain þ ð2:24Þ
ṁa C pa
where W fan is the fan power and f is the fraction of power
converted to thermal energy.
2.1.3. The hybrid models
The hybrid models are a combination of mathematical and
empirical models. They are aimed at improving the weaknesses of
individual approaches [14]. During hybrid modeling, physical or
thermodynamic principles are used to derive the structures of the
models while the catalog, commissioning, or operating data are
employed in the determination of the model parameters. This idea
has been supported by several works [77,78]. In their respective
studies, the authors developed effective models by considering the
specific heat of saturated air. The numbers of transfer units were
obtained from the catalog data at any operating condition.
Wang et al. [79] constructed a hybrid model for predicting
chiller performance under unchanging conditions. Their method
borrowed ideas from the approach previously used by Braun et al.
[77]. In another study, Ghiaus [80] used the hybrid model to
represent the AHU by making the following assumptions during
mathematical modeling; that difference in air temperature takes
place in the cooling coils while humidity ratio deviation is
restricted in the humidifier. This implies that the cooling coil is
under dry operating conditions and that in the humidifier air
temperature is constant. This was done to achieve separation of
elemental transfer functions so as to avoid coupling between
humidity and temperature. Experiments are used to determine
discrete parameters of these models. From the above, it is clear
that their assumptions are unachievable except in rare ideal
situations [14].
Jin et al. [81] developed a dynamic cooling coil unit (CCU)
model by extending the cooling coil unit engineering model and
combining the model with the mass energy balance equations.
They used commissioning information to estimate at most six
model parameters by a non-linear online identification method. In
their conclusion, they reported that the modeling method was
simple and exactly captured the non-linear characteristics over a
wide range of system operation. Vakiloroaya et al. [82] developed
a hybrid model of the cooling coil. Real-time experimental data
can be used to determine coil parameters.
The main advantages of the hybrid models are that they are
more accurate than black-box (physical) models. These models are
also easy to generalize.
The main shortcoming of the hybrid models is that they are the
most difficult to develop. Successful development of the hybrid
models requires both knowledge of underlying physical phenom-
enon and system input-output data. These may be difficult to
know and represent hence the difficulty in building hybrid models.
2.2. Simulation
The term simulation is mainly used to refer to the process of
creating a computer model (an abstract representation) of existing
or proposed VAV systems in such a way that we get to know the
factors affecting the systems and the future behavior of the sys-
tems in the real environment. Simulation is an important powerful
tool that provides a means of evaluating VAV systems without
having to carry out experiments on the real system. Thus, it pro-
vides a convenient and cheap method of testing, commissioning
and evaluating performance of VAV systems [83,84]. In order to
791
carry out simulation, engineers employ the use of simulation tools
such as TRYNSYS, ESP-r, DOE-2, HVACSIM þ , Building Loads Ana-
lysis and System Thermodynamics (BLAST), Matlab/Simulink,
EnergyPlus, SIMBAD (SIMulator of Building And Devices) etc. Each
of these tools is used depending on its field of application.
Most of the recent researches on simulation have focused on
dynamic modeling and simulation of VAV systems. There has been
a couple of simulation works carried out in the field of VAV sys-
tems optimization and control. Such works include that by Zaheer-
Uddin and Zhen [85] who developed transient model of a two
zone VAV air-conditioning system. Later on, during a study on
optimal control, House and Smith [86] simulated the building and
VAV air-conditioning system as a test facility.
Wang [83] developed dynamic models to carry out simulation
of various factors in VAV AC system under control of Energy
Management and Control Systems (EMCS). The author reported
that dynamic simulation is a convenient and suitable tool of
studying the dynamic, environmental and energy performances of
air conditioning systems.
Aynur et al. [87] carried out simulation of a VAV AC system in a
building. The mode of operation was of the system was cooling.
The authors used several parameters in the simulation package.
These included building design information, internal loads, and
manufacturer's data for VAV boxes and roof top unit (RTU). The
simulation results were validated with experimental data obtained
from the real system under similar conditions. The results revealed
that there was a variation of about 7 15% in more than 70% of all
simulated data on power consumption.
2.3. Summary
There are two main classifications of models namely, mathe-
matical models and empirical models. The third type of models
known as hybrid models is simply a combination of the two main
model classes. No single modeling approach can provide a perfect
system model due to the weaknesses associated with each indi-
vidual modeling approach. Therefore, the hybrid models have
proved to be superior in design as they compensate weaknesses
for individual models. Most of the work that has been done in VAV
systems modeling has addressed sub-models since the model of
the entire VAV system is complex to analyze.
The survey of the literature has shown that most of the mod-
eling and simulation research has focused under dynamic condi-
tions. We also saw that simulation only gives an approximate
picture of what we expect but not exactly what we have in the
practical sense. This is because most of the simulation results
varied from the practical values.
Some of the challenges experienced with different modeling
methods include: at least each modeling approach has a major
shortcoming derived from assumptions, unmeasured dis-
turbances, and uncertainties in some properties; there is no
complete system model with all the required parameters; and the
existing models for space zone do not address the effect of solar
rays incident on building walls, roof, and windows as well as lag
time cooling load. In addition, most of the AHU models analyzed
considered only the cooling coil and overlooked the precooling
coil while at the same time neglecting the effectiveness of the air
mixing chamber. For accurate modeling, we should try to mini-
mize assumptions as much as possible.
3. Operations and control of VAV systems
The operation and control of VAV air-conditioning systems is
very critical in increasing the efficiency of system energy usage.
Variables such as ambient temperatures, occupancy, and lighting
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loads are dynamic throughout the system operation. Thus, devia-

tions from the design set point result in drastic oscillations or
imbalances which cannot be ignored. Therefore, this gives us a
reason for implementing VAV system control which helps to elim-
inate zone overcool or overheat due to instability of the system.
Basically, a VAV control system has four basic elements namely;
Fig. 3.1. Proportional control.
sensor, controller, controlled device, and the source of energy. The
VAV system components which are in most cases under control
include, air handling unit (AHU), terminal unit, and Chiller plant
[88]. Basically, we have open loop (feed-forward) control as well as
closed loop (feedback) control. In feed-forward control, we cannot
monitor the accuracy of the control system whereas in feedback
control, we can compare measured parameters with set para-
meters and the corresponding signals are accordingly generated.
Thus, we are able to measure the effectiveness of the control
scheme. The feedback control scheme is the most widely used
control method in most VAV systems [89].

3.1. VAV controllers

In VAV air-conditioning systems, there are usually several

variables that can be controlled during the operation in order to
achieve the desired system conditions. These variables include; fan
speed, static pressure, zone air temperature, humidity, ventilation,
flow-rate of supply air, and flow-rate of chilled water entering the
cooling coil.
Generally controllers can be classified into two main categories
as;
i) Classical controllers and,
ii) Optimal, predictive, and adaptive controllers.
3.1.1. Classical controllers
Thermostats were initially used for feedback control of tem-
perature [90]. But, the controllers were faced with a challenge of
frequent changes between two states of a thermostat. In order to
overcome this challenge, the introduction and use of thermostats
with dead zone was inevitable. The use of thermostats with dead
zone is known as bang–bang control with dead zone. However,
that did not solve the problem of overshoots in the controlled
temperature as a result of which more energy was wasted. In
attempt to overcome the overshoot challenge, the use of
Proportional-Integrate-Derivative (PID) controllers was adopted
[90,91]. Therefore, in the following discussion we will look at the
development of different types of controllers.
3.1.1.1. Proportional controller. Proportional control (PC) regulates
the output capacity of an AHU system by closing or opening the
damper to satisfy the cooling/heating load of conditioned zone
[92]. Here, the displacement of the final control variable is directly
proportional to the error between the value of controlled variable
and the set-point [92]. This phenomenon can be mathematically
expressed as:
u ¼ K p E þ u0 ð3:1Þ
where u is the output signal, K p is the constant of proportionality
(gain), E is the error/deviation, and u0 is the output value in the
absence of an error (i.e. E ¼0). The reset of the generated control
signal is manually accomplished by adding/subtracting it from the
output value. PC maintains the temperature with variations above
or below the set-point. Figs. 3.1 and 3.2 below show proportional
logic diagram and a curve of proportional control used in cooling a
zone respectively.
Kulkarni and Hong [93] designed a proportional control (PC)
system for residential building. They achieved their objective by
setting up transient simulation for the building and control
Fig. 3.2. A curve of proportional control used in cooling a zone.
system. During their study, they modeled the building using state-
space approach and implemented the simulation code using
MATLABTM. They concluded that proportional control is superior
to the two-position control for thermal comfort. But, the two
control schemes portrayed almost similar characteristics in terms
of energy consumption. The authors proposed that in proportional
control, and integral control element should be added in order to
do away with the steady-state error and improve the performance
of thermal comfort.
3.1.1.2. Proportional Integral (PI) Control. In PI controller, reset of
control mode is automatic [92]. In this system, deviation of the
controlled variable from the set point leads to an offset. This then
leads to a gradually and automatic shift of position of the pro-
portional band thus restoring the variable to the set-point [92].
According to Haines [94] PI controllers are preferred in the
control of VAV systems compared to proportional controllers.
Therefore, PI controller adds a component proportional to the
control algorithm. Thus, can be mathematically expressed as:
Z
u ¼ K p E þ K i E:dT þ u0 ð3:2Þ
where K i is the integral parameter, and dT is the time change.
According to Bai and Zhang [95], the transfer function of a PI
controller can be expressed as shown below:
U ðsÞ K
Gc ðsÞ ¼ ¼ Kp þ i ð3:3Þ
EðsÞ s
Since the reset modes of PI controllers are automatic much of
the research in this field has focused on design of efficient self-
tuning PI controllers [96]. Krakow and Lin [97] designed a
numerical model to determine the PI gains for digital controllers
which would maintain a constant discharge pressure at different
loads. They used an experimental system similar to the modeled
system to validate their results. Both systems gave close results
with some differences due to unaccounted inertial effects in the
numerical model.
Krakow [98] proposed the relationship between the sampling
and interval in digital PI control system performance by using
experimental and simulated response characteristics for a PI con-
trolled mixing valve air heating system. The results showed that
long sampling intervals may yield satisfactory response
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
characteristics compared to short sampling intervals if the system
is well tuned.
Zhou and Liu [99] developed an online self-tuning algo-
rithm for PI controllers used in heating or cooling coils in
buildings. They found out that the method could be easily
implemented in the VAV energy control systems when digital
filters are applied to do spectral analysis instead of Fourier
transformation.
Qu and Zaheer-Uddin [100] studied online adaptive method for
tuning parameters of proportional integrate (PI) controllers. They
investigated challenges related to online tuning of proportional
integrate controllers in HVAC systems. They used a first-order plus
dead-time model to describe the discharge air temperature sys-
tem. They estimated the model parameters online while main-
taining control in the closed-loop. H 1 adaptive tuning rules were
applied and new PI parameters were estimated. Results found
after studying both simulation and experimental data showed that
their controller is able to track changes in set-point, cancel out
disturbances and is robust.
3.1.1.3. Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller. This con-
troller adds a derivative function to PI controller. The aim of the
derivative is to oppose any change (works to bring the error to
zero) and is usually proportional to the rate of change [92]. The
corrective action initiated by the derivative is directly dependent
on the speed of change of the control point. Thus, PID control
improves the speed of response of a PI controller. The effect of the
deviation action is dependent on the rate time setting. The time
constants determine the PID setting status of the system under
control. The mathematical expression of the derivative part of PID
controller is given as [93]:
dE
u ¼ K dT d
dT
where
K d ¼differential parameter
T d ¼ action time in relation to proportional action
K d T d ¼rate gain value
dE
dT
¼rate of change error signal
Generally, components under control in HVAC systems follow a
PID-type control schematic that adjusts equipment settings based
on prevailing conditions. For instance in VAV systems control, the
damper opening is modulated based on the deviation between the
zone and set-point temperatures [101]. Therefore, the complete
PID controller can be mathematically expressed by Eq. (3.5) as
shown below;
Z
dE
u ¼ K p :E þ K i E:dT þ K d T d þ u0 ð3:5Þ
dT
Fig. 3.3. Proportional-Integral-Derivative control curve.
793
Eq. (3.5) above can generate a curve similar the one shown in
Fig. 3.3 below.
There has been intensive research work done in the field of
applications of Proportional Integrate Derivative (PID) controllers
in VAV systems. Here, we will briefly review some techniques
proposed for tuning and designing PID based control structures as
well as methods for assessing their performance in VAV systems.
Despite the advancement in control methods, PID controller
design and Ziegler–Nichols (Z–N) [102] techniques are still being
used in VAV air-conditioning systems industry. However, the
Ziegler–Nichols technique suffers from prolonged time of testing
and limited performance; thus, it is used as a first cut for tuning
PID controllers [95]. Use of control methods such as PID con-
trollers suffers from poor tuning of K p ; K i ; and K d parameters.
These methods are also unable to take into account the interac-
tions between various loops [103,104].
Dexter [105] studied a four-level HVAC control scheme. The
author assigned the fourth order or supervisory level to focus on
maintaining the desired indoor temperature and relative humid-
ity; the third order level was for temperature and relative
humidity control for supply air; the second order level maintained
the performance of plant actuators and local control loops; and,
finally, the first order level was to maintain the desired controller
setting based on system model.
Later on, Geng and Geary [106] studied how the overshoot and
settling time are affected by the disturbances in PID controllers.
Their study revealed that the tuning rules based on the Ziegler–
Nichols method can only be applied where we have small nor-
malized delay time and that when this is coupled with normalized
gain, they can tune PID controllers.
Lin et al. [107] used the theory of adaptive interaction to
design a new adaptation algorithm for PID controllers. The
ð3:4Þ algorithm achieves auto-tuning objective by minimizing the error
function. The PID auto-tuning algorithm proposed in their study
has advantages such as simplicity and independent of system
model. Results from simulations showed that the algorithm can
perform well under linear and non-linear systems; with or
without noise; stable or unstable systems; and with or without
time delay.
Bi et al. [48] developed an advanced PID auto-tuner for both
single and multi-variable processes in HVAC systems. The auto-
tuner incorporates recent PID design rules to achieve high control
performances with dynamic characteristics. Decoupling control is
used for multi-variable processes. Results from experiments
showed effective and superior performance of the proposed auto-
tuner over the manually tuned PID controller and the standard
relay auto-tuner. Wang et al. [108] developed an advanced auto-
tuner and its applications in HVAC systems. The auto-tuner first
identifies a second order plus dead-time model based on two
continuous relay feedback experiments. Then, the PID controller is
designed on the basis of gain and phase-margin specifications.
Results from experiments showed that the studied auto-tuner was
effective and had superior performance compared with the stan-
dard relay auto-tuner.
Kasahara et al. [109] investigated stability limit analysis and
tuning of PID controllers in bi-linear systems with time-delay
feedback. The results showed that instabilities are not produced by
the non-linearity of VAV systems. However, PID parameters for
linear systems must be slightly modified by finding the gain
reduction factors to suit real VAV systems.
During their study on development of PID tuning algorithm
using optimization subject to applying constraints on control input
parameters for a single-zone cooling system, Ozawa et al. [110]
achieved an over damped response with zero overshoot, which
prevented long oscillations during the utilization of integral
squared time error criterion in the performance index.
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Tashtoush et al. [18] described a procedure to derive a dynamic
model of an air-conditioning system. A PID controller was used to
maintain set-point values for indoor temperature and humidity. In
order to produce less oscillatory responses, the PID parameters
were carefully tuned using Z–N method. Simulation results
showed that the system was capable of efficiently controlling the
disturbance within a short time period with less error.
Lim et al. [111] presented recent advances in PID control design
and employed Hurwitz polynomials to improve performance and
robustness. The authors developed some simple yet intuitive
design tools and applied them to control supply air temperature of
a VAV system unit. They also used an electronic expansion valve to
control evaporator superheat temperature.
Yamazaki et al. [112] examined two PID controllers which use
fixed and adjustable resets. Their control results for the controller
with adjustable reset were encouraging.
3.1.1.4. Advantages of PID controllers. PID controllers are still the
most widely used controllers in VAV systems across the world
[113,114]. This is because of several advantages which include:
i) As can be seen from the diagram above, PID controllers restrict
the control system to the set-point. This causes the narrowing
down of the range of operation a VAV system to a very small
fraction of a degree. Thus, it eliminates the large temperature
variations (oscillations) dominant in the proportional control
(PC) and maintains space temperature close to the set-point
[114].
ii) PID controllers are easy to understand and use as they have a
simple structure [115].
3.1.1.5. Disadvantages of PID controllers. Despite the advantages
outlined above, there are several disadvantages that emerge while
using PID controllers. These include:
i) PID controllers have rapid control but processes in VAV sys-
tems don't need rapid response.
ii) The operation of this control method is not very energy effi-
cient since effective utilization of the method demands for a
substantial pressure drop under all operating conditions.
When applied to cooling or heating VAV systems, the required
valve pressure drop can largely increase the required
pump power.
iii) Inconvenient tuning parameters, faint anti-interference and
large overshoot [116].
iv) This method is largely dependent on model parameters and its
robustness is poor [117].
v) There is no assurance of satisfying all the loads at any given
time since PID loops operate in isolation to each other.
vi) Limited to single input single output systems (SISO).
Due to the above shortcomings, designers have recently
resorted to study optimal, predictive, or adaptive control
techniques.
3.1.2. Optimal, predictive, and adaptive controllers
Significant studies in this field were carried out during 1980s
and 1990s. The use of optimal control [118] or predictive control
[119] requires building models. Predictive control aims at estab-
lishing a model for future disturbances. The disturbances may be
from solar gains, presence of occupants etc., [119–123]. Also, pre-
dictive control improves thermal comfort by reducing overheating
through night cooling [123]. However, during the application of
this method, mathematical analysis of the thermal characteristics
of a building results in non-linear models.
Adaptive controllers self-regulate and adapt to the climatic
conditions in various conditioned spaces (buildings).These con-
trollers are believed to be the most promising building adaptive
control systems [125].
3.1.3. A combination of FLC, neural controller, adaptive and PID
controller
Due to the merits associated with Optimal, predictive, and
adaptive controllers, there has been increased research work done
to replace use of PID in buildings. However, there has been slow
response to replace PID controllers in industry because of a
number of reasons. The first reason is that it can prove difficult to
guarantee robustness especially for non-linear methods that occur
in buildings [125]. In addition, some methods require complex
computer control algorithm for even simple low-cost hardware
used in buildings [50]. Finally, Industrialists fear adaptation of
something that would appear as empirical after development of
PID control [89].
In order to promote the acceptance of recent developments to
replace PID control, researchers have come up with hybrid solu-
tions in which the PID element is retained [126–129]. One of the
most widely adopted adaptive controller in building industry and
which falls under this hybrid classification is based on pattern
recognition [130]. Since this controller (pattern recognition adap-
tive controller, PRAC) is an add-on element on to a conventional
PID controller, it has been received well by Industrialists. In this
controller, the PID loop is maintained and pattern recognition
controller (PRAC) makes adjustments to the controller parameters
so as to maintain consistent control performance. This method is
based on detecting load and set-point changes and acquiring
features that characterize the response. The main limitation is that
PRAC cannot represent characteristics of the VAV AC system but
can only estimate VAV control process noise [113].
In a study by Federspiel [131] on flow control with electric
actuators, the author developed an adaptive controller that is
specifically used for flow loops that contain constant speed
actuators. In these loops, the plant contains an integrator and the
static gain can vary considerably during normal operation. The
adaptive controller continually estimates the maximum static gain
and noise variance in order to determine the appropriate actuator
stroke times. They have the ability to self-regulate and adapt to the
climatic conditions in various applications [132].
3.2. Control strategies
The VAV air-conditioning system control strategies are the
approaches employed to achieve optimal system control. These
approaches are broadly divided into two classes namely; pressure
dependent and pressure independent control strategies [133].
Pressure dependent control uses the temperature sensor (ther-
mostat) fixed inside the conditioned zone to directly control
damper position. The damper inclination (position) determines
the actual air volume reaching the zone which is dependent on the
static pressure in the duct work at the terminal unit's inlet.
Therefore, the zone temperature sensor continually corrects the
damper position but its response can be slow and thus lead to
unacceptable variations of temperature within the zone. On the
other hand, in pressure independent control approach, the actual
volume of the primary air which flows into the conditioned zone is
under direct control. This is achieved through the employment of
two cascading control loops (i.e. the output of one loop establishes
the set-point for the other loop). The first loop (space temperature
sensor) controls zone temperature. The output of from the first
loop is fed to the second controller as a reset signal, setting the
airflow required to cool/heat the space. The second controller
varies damper position in the VAV terminal unit to maintain the
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airflow at the set-point. Thus, the damper position is not under
direct control but it is a result of regulating airflow through the
terminal unit. There are no studies which show clearly the merits
of one strategy over the other [133]. However, most operating
engineers prefer using pressure independent control (PIC) over
pressure dependent control (PDC) due to the fact that PIC gives
more stable VAV boxes operation controls [134].
The specific control strategies that are usually employed to
control VAV air-conditioning systems are discussed below.
3.2.1. Optimal start/stop control strategy
According to Murphy [135], optimal start makes use of building
automation system also known as BAS to determine the time
space needed to meet the set-point temperature of each zone.
Here, the system waits for the set point temperature to be realized
before starting. This ensures that zone temperature reaches
occupied set point in time [135]. This strategy minimizes system
operation time as well as energy saving by eliminating energy
usage when the building is unoccupied [136].
In optimal stop control strategy, the BAS determines the
shortest period within which each zone's heating and cooling
could be shut off [135]. This ensures a small drift of indoor tem-
perature from occupied set point. In this case, only heating or
cooling are shut off while the supply fan continues to operate. At
the same time, the OA damper remains open to ventilate the
building [134]. This strategy also minimizes system operation time
and saves energy [136].
3.2.2. Duct static pressure reset control strategy
The set point value for duct static pressure can be reset by
varying system supply airflow rate [137]. In VAV systems, the zone
load determines supply airflow [138]. According to ASHRAE
(1999), modulation of airflow is usually realized through the use of
variable frequency drive (VFD), inlet (entrance) guide vanes, an
eddy-current clutch, or outlet dampers [139]. The static pressure
sensor normally located about two thirds (2/3) downstream
within the main supply air duct controls the control devices [138].
Maintenance of a high level of constant static pressure set point
value as a control strategy is popular in use today. This ensures
sufficient airflow under design conditions. The main shortcoming
of this strategy is high static pressure under part load conditions.
The fan curve in Fig. 3.4 below illustrates the operation of the
above control strategy:
The diagram above shows that damper modulation towards the
minimum position is directly proportional to decrease in cooling
load. This results into an increase in the static pressure from point
W to point X. The pressure increase is as a result of increased
system resistance. Then the controller reduces fan speed as can be
seen from n1 to n2. This results into maintenance of a fixed static
pressure set point value (i.e. from point X to point Y) [138]. When
the fan attains new speed n2, the static pressure is kept at the
initial set point. However, at this instant in time, the position of
the damper in the terminal box is partially open signifying
increased system resistance. Thus, a high static pressure set-point
for this part loads condition.
To avoid changing airflow rate under the existing condition, we
can reduce the speed of the fan to n3 while t the same time
allowing the damper to open up as shown by path YZ. This solves
the challenge of wasting power used by the fan that could be
caused by the excess pressure head (PY–PZ) that has to be over-
come by the fan. In order to attain this and minimize the power
consumed by the fan, the control strategy can be converted to one
in which we maintain the position of the damper in the terminal
box to be fully open by modulating speed of the fan.
795
Fig. 3.4. Variation of operating point in a VAV system [138].
We notice that in order to avoid extremely low fan speed, it is a
fundamental practice to set a minimum value for either fan speed
or static pressure.
Several works have been done on static pressure reset control
strategy. This is discussed in the sections that follow.
3.2.2.1. Resetting static pressure using terminal box feedback tech-
niques. Hartman developed a concept known as Terminal Regu-
lated Air Volume (TRAV). This concept uses real time terminal unit
airflow demand to directly control supply fan speed instead of
satisfying duct static pressure set point value [140,141]. Therefore,
this concept relies on the difference between the terminal box set
point and measured airflows. Later on, Hartman [142] developed a
fan speed control algorithm for his previous studies. Englander
and Norford [143] suggested two control strategies. They modu-
lated fan speed by utilizing the error signal of primary airflow
from one or more zones. They compute the error signal as the
maximum or average deviation of the set point from measured
airflows. Rather than determining the difference between the set
point and the measured airflows, Warren and Norford [144] pro-
posed a control strategy in which terminal box controllers trigger
an alarm whenever the system cannot meet required airflow. The
number of alarms determines set point value for adjusting static
pressure. When the flow sensors function properly, the system can
save up to 42% of fan power energy consumption.
Wei et al. designed improved reset algorithm for controlling air
volume in which the air volume control logic is connected parallel
to the reset schedule [138]. In this strategy, the position of the
damper and the static pressure of the highest zone form the basis
for comparing the output. The smaller output signal is then
selected and sent to the variable frequency drive (VFD) controller.
The shortcoming of this method is that it is not applicable in
buildings with pneumatic terminal unitcontrollers.
Nassif and Moujaes proposed split-signal damper control
strategy [145]. In this control strategy, the outdoor air is controlled
only by one damper while other dampers are kept fully opened.
They found that since the two modulating devices (dampers) are
usually fully opened under occupied conditions, the strategy can
facilitate realization of minimum static pressure drop in inlet air
dampers and this result in use of minimum energy in both supply
and return fans.
Haasl et al. [146] proposed the polling of terminal units at an
interval of five minutes and that the adjustment of the set point
value of static pressure be carried out at a minimum and max-
imum value to ensure that at least one damper is always main-
tained at 95% open position. This type of static pressure reset
control was modified by Song et al. [147]. The authors carried out
the modification process by using VSD speed as the basis for
varying the minimum set point value. The speed range was from
796 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
Fig. 3.5. Resetting static pressure using terminal box feedback techniques.
30% to 70%. Pang et al. [148] polled each terminal box at intervals
of twenty minutes and used the maximum damper position using
a dead band from 85% to 95% as the basis for adjusting the set
point value.
Fig. 3.5 below depicts resetting static pressure using terminal
box feedback techniques.
3.2.2.2. Resetting static pressure without using terminal box feedback
techniques. Liu developed an airflow control for VAV AC systems
[149]. The author created a fan airflow station (FAS) whose role
was to calculate airflow using measured fan speed and fan head.
This was done in order to avoid inaccurate airflow measurements.
Liu and Liu [150] as well as Wu et al. [151] modified the previous
strategy developed by Liu [149] in their efforts to address system
stability. Their modifications accounted for the system load dis-
tribution profile using a load factor that increases with zone
load ratio.
Liu et al. suggested that the set point of static pressure should
be linearly reset as a function of system airflow [152]. They pro-
posed the use of VFD speed in the absence of measured total air-
flow. In their case study, they demonstrated that annual fan power
could be saved by between 68% and 75% through the application of
static pressure set-point reset based on VFD speed.
Zheng et al. [153] suggested that an effective control strategy
for envelop dominated buildings was linearly resetting the static
pressure set-point with reference to outdoor air temperature. In
such a strategy, energy savings are heavily dependent on the
minimum airflow setting and the OA temperature range.
3.2.3. Air temperature reset control strategy
3.2.3.1. Supply air temperature reset control strategy (SAT). This
control strategy resets supply air temperature (SAT) in warm and
cool weather conditions. This is implemented to cut down the
energy associated with cooling systems in VAV systems config-
uration when zones may require reheating of central supply air for
maintenance of desired temperature [154]. Raising SAT during part
load conditions result into saving reheat energy in a VAV system
[135]. At any time when temperature of outdoor air is lower than
the set-point value of SAT, compressors are shut down and return-
air (RA) and the outdoor air dampers adjust to provide the desired
SAT. Raising SAT whenever the supply airflow is decreased to a
minimum setting of a VAV terminal unit can also decrease reheat
at zone level for zones with low cooling loads [135]. However,
since the supply air is at a slightly higher temperature, we need
more air to satisfy the cooling load and that will result into
increasing fan energy [11]. Therefore, SAT reset strategy should be
able to minimize overall VAV system energy use. To achieve
simultaneous minimization of compressor energy, reheat energy,
as well as fan energy several researchers [155–157] have agreed on
general principles for balancing the competing issues as
outlined below:
Fig. 3.6. Supply air temperature reset control process.
When the outside air is warm keep the supply air cold so as to
benefit from energy savings due to fan unloading. During mild
weather, raise the SAT set point in order to enhance the benefits of
the economizer and reduce reheat energy [135]. For instance in
Fig. 3.6 below, the SAT set point is reset depending on the degree
by which outdoor dry-bulb temperature changes. Whenever the
dry-bulb temperature of outdoor air is warm or higher than 18 °C
the set point value of SAT remains constant at 13 °C (i.e. design
value). At this moment there is little or literary no cooling benefit
from outdoor air, and no reheat is needed since the cooling load in
most zones is high enough. The absence of reheat at this point
eliminates chances of over-cooling. The air is kept cold due to
reduced airflow emerging from the fan which is turned down at
this point. The turning down of the fan saves energy. The process
can be shown in Fig. 3.6.
When the outside air is cooler, the controls start to increase the
SAT set point value (i.e. upward reset). Under cooler conditions,
resetting enhances the benefits of the economizer. Also, in case of
any zone level reheat it is minimized or in some cases eliminated.
In addition, there is a likelihood of significant unloading of the
supply fan such that the extra energy used to deliver more air is
reduced. Finally, the maximum reset value is limited to 16 °C. This
allows the systems to meet cooling load demands in interior zones
without the need to oversize VAV ductwork and terminals.
Literature survey on this control strategy shows that indeed the
method contributes to substantial energy saving. Norford et al.
studied SAT and outdoor airflow control as well as its resulting
effects on energy consumption trend in a variable air volume
system [11]. They found out that varying the SAT led to a 10%
decrease in used energy during winter and between 11% and 21%
during summer.
Zaheer-Uddin and Zheng showed that there is an optimal SAT
in a climate. At this point, the supply air contains high relative
humidity and return air is used [158]. Zheng and Zaheer-Uddin
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carried out a case study and reported 20% energy saving as a result
of increasing outdoor air under certain conditions in a system that
used return air [159].
Ke et al. [160] simulated eight control strategies for ventilation
in VAV systems. Among the eight strategies three included varying
supply air temperature. They concluded that supply air tempera-
ture as well as supply airflow rate were the best parameters that
can be optimized in a VAV system. Ke and Mumma [161] presented
a method for determining the SAT set point in VAV systems. They
reported that the optimization concept simultaneously reduced
energy consumption and met ventilation requirements.
Engdahl and Johansson [6] investigated the influence of opti-
mal SAT on energy use in a VAV system. Their analyses showed
that optimal control of SAT is superior to fixed supply air tem-
perature as it results into significantly lower VAV system energy
use. Engdahl and Svensson [162] presented a theory for optimal
SAT with regard to energy use and analyzed its ability to save
energy when optimal temperature is applied to a complete out-
door air VAV system in northern Europe climatic conditions. Liu
et al. [152] published a guideline for SAT reset schedule in a con-
tinuous Commissioning Guidebook and provided some case stu-
dies to support the need for SAT reset schedule.
Advantages of SAT reset control strategy include:-
(1) Decreasing compressor energy;
(2) more compressor or chiller shut off hours when economizer
provides all necessary cooling, and
(3) significantly decreases reheat energy.
However, the SAT reset control strategy may increase fan
energy and cause increased levels of humidity in zones.
3.2.3.2. Discharge air temperature reset control strategy (DAT). In
this approach reset is realized through lowering or rising tempera-
ture at which air is discharged from the air handling unit. The raising
and lowering is carried out based on the corresponding fall or rise of
the temperature of return air. The objective of doing this is to ensure
that all conditioned space load demands are effectively met as well
as minimizing the total energy used in the entire process. Much of
the energy saving is realized when the actual load conditions are
less than design operating conditions. Such a scenario calls for
minimizing pumping, cooling and heating which are the major
points of energy consumption in the system. However, when dam-
per opening degree of the VAV terminal unit increases in response to
load demand, energy consumed by the supply fan will increase. VAV
terminal unit damper position reset is discussed here.
Reset of discharge air temperature is carried out on the basis of
damper position in VAV terminal units. Modulating actuators give
the signal of the actual damper position whereas fluctuating
actuators give the signal of an approximate damper position [163].
Whenever there is a decrease of heat load, air dampers start to
gradually close to reduce the supply air volume. This causes the
DAT to gradually increase until one or more dampers attain a
desired position. On the other hand, whenever there is an increase
of heat load, air dampers start to gradually open to increase the
supply air volume. This causes the DAT to gradually decrease until
one or more dampers attain a desired position [135]. Here, the set
point value of DAT is continually adjusted according to the pre-
vailing load demands.
3.2.4. Demand controlled ventilation (DCV) control strategy
Demand controlled ventilation is defined as automatic venti-
lation that uses occupancy to make adjustments. This strategy
reduces outdoor air intake rates below design rates when the
actual occupancy of zones served by the system goes below the
designed value [164]. The approach comprises of hardware,
797
software, and strategy for control, and is an important part of
building's ventilation design [165]. The main shortcoming of DCV
is that its implementation may be too complicated and require
proper hardware and software to operate. Also, location and
number of CO2 sensors or real time data pose a challenge to the
efficiency of the control algorithm if the system's outdoor air (OA)
intake is dynamic [166]. As part of their efforts to improve DCV, Yu
et al. designed new integrated demand controlled ventilation
(IDCV) for single duct VAV system with conference rooms [166].
This logic resets both the minimum and maximum airflow rates of
the terminal boxes based on the occupancy. The authors used a
model for one office building to demonstrate energy savings and
show how the indoor air ventilation can be satisfied under dif-
ferent conditions. This methodology can ensure acceptable Indoor
Air Quality (IAQ) and energy savings with lower AO intake ratio.
3.2.4.1. Carbon dioxide based DCV. ANSI/ASHRAE [167] recom-
mends that the acceptable ways to define instantaneous occu-
pancy are population counting, use of CO2 sensors, use of timers,
occupancy schedules and occupancy sensors. Among these
methods, CO2 based DCV is the most preferred design. After car-
rying out a review on several DVC sensors, Won and Yang
recommended CO2 sensors based on three criteria: performance,
cost and indoor air quality (IAQ) [168]. Scientifically, people take in
oxygen and generate CO2 and odorous bio-effluents. CO2 con-
centration is considered to be the most dependable indicator of
odorous effluent concentration compared to other methods [167].
It should be well understood that CO2 based DCV is applicable in
buildings with unpredictable variations in occupancy, where
cooling and heating is required during most part of the year, and
pollutant emissions from non-occupants sources are negligible
[169].
3.2.4.1.1. CO2‐based DCV for single‐zone VAV systems. In single-
zone VAV systems, the rate of intake of outdoor air is controlled by
the CO2 concentration sensed at the zone level. Several research
works have been ongoing in this field of study. Houghton [170]
proposed three control strategies as; CO2 set point control of
outdoor air (OA) damper to be at fully closed or fully opened
positions, proportional control (PC) where degree of opening of
the OA damper is proportional to the CO2 concentration, and PID
control which takes into account both change rate of CO2 con-
centration and concentration separately.
After the publication of Standard 62.1-2004 [171], Taylor [172]
illustrated how the control system designs should be modified in
compliance to this standard. The author established the relation-
ship between CO2 concentration and the set-point of air flow rate
by assuming steady-state conditions. Therefore, Taylor concluded
that for single zone VAV systems, the flow rate of the required
minimum OA intake is related to the difference between the
indoor and outdoor CO2 concentrations [172].
In buildings with dynamic occupancy schedules which change
on hourly interval, it is difficult to attain steady-state conditions. In
acknowledgment to this fact, Lu et al. [174] devised a strategy to
cover such scenarios. The authors proposed a strategy to supply a
base ventilation rate during unoccupied periods and to supply a
calculated ventilation rate during occupied hours by solving a CO2
mass balance equation which maintains indoor CO2 concentration
close to the set-point.
3.2.4.1.2. CO2 based DCV for multi‐zone VAV systems. Early stu-
dies in this field were mostly done with simulations [174–176].
Sorensen [176] modeled a two-zone office with one zone served
by a constant air volume (CAV) terminal box without DCV and the
other by a VAV system with CO2 based DCV. The author used both
temperature and CO2 concentration to control the supply fan
speed and OA damper position. Sorensen found energy savings of
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up to 31% for the VAV system with CO2 based DCV compared to the
CAV system without DCV for cold ambient conditions.
A CO2 based DCV control strategy (S-CO2-DCV) to maintain a
low supply air CO2 concentration set-point enough to dilute CO2
produced in critical zone so as to meet occupant needs was pro-
posed by Nassif et al. [177] and Nassif and Zaheer-Uddin [178]. In
this strategy, the set-point of supply air CO2 concentration is
reached at on the assumption that critical zone is fully occupied
[177,178]. This strategy has the shortcoming such that it can lead
to over-ventilation of zones, when it is not fully occupied. Over-
ventilation will lead to low CO2 concentrations in both return and
supply air. In response to this, the system closes the air-handler OA
damper until supply air CO2 concentration is achieved thus
decreasing over-ventilation.
A strategy similar to the above was also reported by Warden
[179]. Nassif et al. [177] compared their strategy with four other
strategies. They concluded that the S-CO2-DCV strategy can dyna-
mically reset the rate of outdoor air intake to be less than the peak
design flow-rate, yet the dynamic flow-rate of supply air is always
above that for the CO2 based DCV system. They reported that the
return air duct CO2 based DCV did not provide enough ventilation to
the critical zones [177]. Nassif [180] updated his S-CO2-DCV strategy
in response to the new requirements in Standard 62-1-2010. In his
study, he proposed a robust DCV strategy based on CO2 con-
centration. The proposed strategy offers great benefits in terms of
better indoor air control and improved energy efficiency.
Several possible approaches for dynamic ventilation reset with
or without DCV were summarized by Stanke [181]. In his study,
Stanke included several occupancy sensing methods other than
CO2 sensors. The advantages and disadvantages of each method of
dynamic ventilation reset were outlined but no single method
emerges as a clear best solution.
Xu et al. proposed a model based optimal ventilation control
method for multi-zone VAV systems [182]. The strategy uses
genetic algorithms to seek an optimized solution for temperature
set-points of critical zones, while considering the dynamic chan-
ges in occupancy.
Advantages of DCV mainly include energy cost savings in var-
ious types of buildings as was reported by Mansson [183] and Meir
[184]. However, DCV also suffers from disadvantages such as;
(1) Difficulties in maintenance, frequent calibration, drift, tem-
perature effects, and uncertain proper location of sensors.
(2) Sensor unreliability as was identified by [185–188]. In the event
that the sensors are out of calibration such that measured CO2
concentration is higher than the actual value, the system will
allow inflow of excess outdoor air into the air-handling system
to meet the inaccurately measured CO2 concentration in the
zones served by the air handler. Houghton [170] examined the
impact of free cooling by an economizer on DCV systems. He
found out that prolonged periods of economizing decrease the
potential energy savings from DCV.
3.3. Control algorithms for optimization tools in VAV AC systems
3.3.1. Genetic algorithms
Genetic algorithms (GAs) use Darwinian evolution theory to
realize the optimization objective [189]. According to Koza [189]
GAs use operations of evolution to produce new populations with
fitness values of higher average. The higher the fitness value an
individual possesses, the closer it is to the optimal result. These
algorithms were developed in early 1970s but their utilization in
HVAC systems is recent [190]. The phrase “genetic algorithm” was
first brought into existence by Bargley [191]. GAs have so far
addressed issues to do with design of VAV systems, or control of
the systems to minimize cost, energy consumption and
maximizing comfort. The system performance is mainly evaluated
using algebraic equations. A typical genetic algorithm has the
following steps:
i) Generating a random initial population of potential solutions
which contains several individuals.
ii) Evaluation of the fitness value of each individual with speci-
fied cost function.
iii) Check whether the population meets the prescribed criteria of
optimization; if not, apply genetic operations such as selec-
tion, crossover, and mutation to the population to create a new
generation of potential solution.
iv) Repeat step (ii) and (iii) until the optimization criterion is
satisfied.
3.3.1.1. Applications in VAV systems. Application of genetic algo-
rithms to optimize HVAC systems has had its share in the research
field. Lu et al. [192,193] employed a GA to minimize the total
power required for a HVAC system. In another study by Lu et al.
[194], they used a binary elitist GA to minimize power consump-
tion of chillers, pumps and fans in VAV system. Nassif et al. [195]
reported simultaneous minimization of predicted percentage dis-
satisfaction (comfort zone) and energy use by a GA in the real-time
computation of the setting of HVAC system. The GA determined
optimal parameters such as set point values for duct static pres-
sure, supply air temperature, temperature of water in the chiller,
the temperature set-points of all zones and the required reheat. Jin
et al. [196] reported minimization of used energy when a GA was
applied as an online control tool to control outdoor air for a VAV
air conditioning system.
Huang and Lam [197] optimized the proportional and integral
parameters of a PID controller for regulation of a HVAC system.
Their results showed that the genetic algorithm based optimiza-
tion procedures yielded minimum overshoot and minimum set-
tling time. In a study by Wang and Wang [198] the authors
designed a PID controller for a VAV air conditioning system. In
their design, the controller parameters were chosen by a GA to
minimize the deviation between the set-point and measured
temperature in a test room. The authors concluded that the
method of genetic algorithm is an effective way to optimize the
controller parameters of a VAV system.
Xue et al. [199] proposed a method that predicts and optimizes
the inlet flow conditions using various objective functions. They
reported that the program can accurately predict the inlet
boundaries conditions, with given space variables with reduced
CFD cases.
3.3.1.2. Advantages of GAs
(1) Easy to use and readily available [200].
(2) Have good robustness. This drawn from their probabilistic
nature which ensures that the initial guess has a low incidence
on the final result of the optimization.
(3) Genetic Algorithms have features that allow the designer to
use a simplified model to perform a pre-optimization. This
aids to identify good designs, and then evaluate more pre-
cisely with a better model a certain number of the best
individuals produced by GAs [201].
(4) Genetic Algorithms are easily parallelized. The objective
function of several individuals of a population could be cal-
culated simultaneous on different processors.
3.3.1.3. Disadvantages of GAs
(1) At times they can be slow to converge in case of complex
problems compared to other optimization methods that have
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been developed specifically for a problem. This problem can
be solved by coupling genetic algorithm with artificial neutral
network [202].
(2) Difficulty in adjustment of the algorithm. This due to the
reason that there are no rules for determining the number of
individuals in the population, the number of generation or
cross-over and mutation probability [203].
3.3.2. Fuzzy-logic control algorithms
The fuzzy logic controls (FLCs) have received increased atten-
tion in recent years due to their compatibility with multi-input
multi-output (MIMO) systems. The basic idea of this approach is to
incorporate the experience of human operators in the design of
controllers. Basically a fuzzy logic model entails mapping input
values to output values using simple IF - THEN statements for
instance; “IF room temperature is high, THEN supply more cool air to
the room” [204].
According to Ralston and Ward [205], a control algorithm can
be constructed from a set of linguistic rules describing the control
strategies of the operator. A fuzzy logic algorithm is basically
composed of three steps:
i) Fuzzification (input stage) – here input values are obtained
and transferred to fuzzy type via transfer functions such as
Gaussian distribution curve, trapezoidal, triangular etc.,
ii) Fuzzy reasoning unit/inferencing/processing stage (linguistic
description) – generates inferred results based on previously
fuzzified values and linguistic IF…..THEN statements, and
iii) Defuzzification (Output stage) – converts the fuzzy control
signals into the real control output.
These stages can be summarized in Fig. 3.7.
The fuzzy If-Then Rule:
Let, x and y, be two system inputs and z be the output. The
fuzzy if-then rule will be:
If x is Ai and y is Bi ; then z is Ci
where x, y and z are linguistic variables,Ai , Bi , and C i are fuzzy sets.
They are characterized by membership functions.
Another type of fuzzy if-then rule is Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) type
which contains fuzzy set rules involved only on the antecedent
[206].
If x is Ai and y is Bi; then z ¼ c0i þ c1i x þ c2i y
where, the consequent rule is a linear function of input variables.
When the order is zero, T-S fuzzy rule is reduced to,
If x is Ai and y is Bi ; then z ¼ zi
where zi is a crisply defined number.
3.3.2.1. Applications in VAV systems. FLC methods have been widely
applied in VAV AC systems over time. In a study by Kaymaz [207],
the FLC method employing two inputs was comparatively tested
with on/off control for a HVAC system in a hospital building. The
FLC method displayed decreased overshoot, oscillation, and power
consumption than the other three methods employed in the study.
In addition, the FL controllers displayed a better performance
when system parameters were changed. So et al. [208,209] applied
FLC to the control of an AHU plant in VAV systems. The authors
used triangular membership functions for error and error rate to
generate FLC outputs for the AHU plant air damper, fan, cooling
coil, humidifier, and reheat coil. The performance was compared
with tuned and detuned PID control using computer simulations
and it was found that FLC compared well with tuned PID control
but was more robust and response time and offset of FLC was
superior to that of detuned PID control.
799
Karunakaran et al. [210] developed a simple VAV building
model and experimentally investigated the energy utilization of
the VAV air-conditioning system. Input data for fuzzy logic were
zone temperature and duct static pressure while the output was
supply fan speed. They claimed that the energy saving potential of
the VAV system was close to 30% when not operating at full load
conditions compared with a CAV system. They also reported
achievement of the required thermal comfort using FL controller.
In another study by Karunakaran et al. [211], they employed a
Fuzzy Logic Controller in variable air volume (VAV) AC system and
variable refrigerant volume (VRV) AC system to optimally control
temperature and air quality in which FLC generated compressor
speed, fan speed, and damper opening were the outputs. This
system provided improved air quality, thermal comfort, and
energy efficiency, compared to the constant air volume air con-
ditioning system.
3.3.2.2. Advantages of FLCs
(1) No mathematical model is needed as is the case of genetic
algorithms.
(2) Possible to use all available information about the process in
the design of the fuzzy approximator scheme.
(3) Can control non-linear processes.
(4) Capable of fine controlling and energy conservation.
3.3.2.3. Disadvantages of FLCs
(1) Consists of many local variables which many it difficult
to tune.
(2) Many unclear options as thousands of different fuzzy system
configurations may arise depending on conjunction, disjunc-
tion, implication and diffuzification choices.
3.3.3. Fuzzy-Genetic controllers
The properties of genetic algorithms make them suitable to use
in design and optimization of fuzzy systems. Genetic algorithms
are basically used to tune fuzzy logic controllers so as to enable the
implementation of complex control techniques [212]. FLCs are
applied in VAV systems to solve simple problems such as that of
thermal regulation [213]. However, in in order to minimize energy
consumption and maintain desired level of comfort, many vari-
ables have to be considered and this makes the strategy more
complex. Therefore, researchers have in the recent years resorted
to the combination of fuzzy logic and genetic algorithm controllers
to optimize VAV systems.
The applications of Fuzzy-Genetic controllers in VAV systems
have been widely studied by several scholars. Alcala et al. [212]
proposed the use of genetic algorithms to develop smartly tuned
fuzzy logic controllers to control energy performance and indoor
requirements of air-conditioning systems. The proposed technique
yielded much better results than On–Off controller showing the
good behavior that the FLCs can achieve.
Parameshwaran et al. [213] developed a fuzzy based genetic
algorithm program to optimize the energy saving potential for
VAV air-conditioning systems. The authors concluded that VAV GA
optimization system with FLC is superior to CAV system in terms of
energy saving. In addition, the optimal static pressure obtained
through this approach leads to improved air distribution. Finally,
the approach improved the merits of uniform air distribution,
thermal comfort and improved energy savings potential [213].
In another study, Parameshwaran et al. [215] combined the
fuzzy and genetic algorithms to experimentally investigate energy
conservation in VRF system and VAV system. The method gave
good results for thermal comfort and IAQ requirements with
substantial energy saving. Homod et al. [216] proposed an online
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Fig. 3.7. Block fuzzy logic controller.
Fig. 3.8. Dual maximum logic operation modes.
control strategy of HVAC system whose main objective is to
effectively deal with characteristics which are coupled and tackle
nonlinearities. The results showed superior performance of the
studied system compared to normal fuzzy control schemes.
3.3.4. Direct Digital Control (DDC)
A Direct Digital Control (DDC) uses a single computer or
interconnected computers to control the environmental condi-
tions of a building. The DDC system consists of a microprocessor
based closed control loop. The microprocessor performs the con-
trol function by directly transmitting a control signal (can be
electronic or pneumatic) to the damper [217]. The main function of
VAV systems control algorithms is to decide the control inputs in
order to promote maintenance of good thermal comfort and IAQ in
a conditioned space. The control inputs are usually supply air
temperature (T sa ) and mass flow rate of supplied air (m_ sa ) [218].
This section will review four VAV systems DDC control algorithms
namely as discussed below;
3.3.4.1. Baseline (BL) control. Generally, there are two categories of
baseline control known as single maximum and dual maximum BL
control logics [219]. Here, the dual maximum BL control algorithm
will be discussed. Dual maximum baseline controller uses the zone
temperature measurements obtain temperature and flow rate of
supply air. The temperature of conditioned air as well as the return
air ratio is held constant. This control algorithm is specifically used
to control single zones in places where VAV air conditioning sys-
tems are employed.
Under this control logic, we can have four operation modes
[220]. These are, Re-heating, Heating, Dead-Band and cooling as
shown in Fig. 3.8 that follows.
The discussion of control logic for dual maximum can be
summarized into the following operation as given in Ref. [221];
If the temperature of the zone is below the re-heating set-point
(Rspt ) longer than a specific set time, the reheating mode is auto-
matically turned on. If the temperature of the zone is held above
the cooling set-point (C spt ) longer than a specific set time, cooling
takes place. If the zone temperature remains between re-heat set
point (Rspt ) and heating set-point (H spt ) longer than a specific set
time, heating is activated. If the zone temperature remains
between the H spt and C spt longer than a specific set time, the dead-
band mode is turned on. During re-heat, temperature of supply air
is given a maximum possible value (T samax ) and the rate of flow of
supply air is changed using PID controller in order to maintain
actual space temperature as close as possible to the set-point
(T spt ). During heating, the rate of flow of supply air is given a
minimum permissible value while the temperature of supply air is
gradually adjusted by a PID controller in order to maintain actual
space temperature as close as possible to the set-point (T spt ). The
minimum permissible value for the rate of airflow is chosen
according to ASHRAE ventilation standard 62.1. 2010 [164] as fol-
lows;
_ sa=p N pd þ m
Minimum Allowed Flow RateðKÞ ¼ m _ samin ð3:6Þ
m _ aout=p Þ=ð1  Rra Þ; m
_ sa=p ¼ ðm _ samin ¼ m
_ aout=z Az =ð1  Rra Þ; ð3:7Þ
where m_ aout=p is volume of OA needed per occupant, is the N pd
designed occupancy (number of occupants), m_ aout=z is volume of
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outside air needed per given area, m _ samin is the minimum volume
of supply air when the zone is not occupied, Az is the area of the
floor, and Rra is the return air ratio.
But since BL method doesn't use the occupancy data, we use
designed occupancy (N pd ) to compute the minimum permissible
flow rate. In the Dead-band mode, no re-heating is done i.e. value
of supply air temperature (T sa ) is equivalent to the temperature of
conditioned air (T ca ), and supply air flow rate is continually
adjusted to a minimum allowable value as given in the
equation above.
During the cooling mode, the value of supply air temperature
(T sa ) is equivalent to the value of conditioned air temperature (T ca )
but, the supply air flow rate is changed in order to match the set-
point ðT spt Þ in the zone.
The main advantages of dual maximum baseline (BL) controller
are as follows:
(1) Maintains code ventilation requirements at low airflow rates
in the dead-band and the first stage of heating. This results
into reduced reheat and fan energy;
(2) The reduction of the minimum airflow rate in the dead-band
eliminates overcooling of spaces, and
(3) since the reheat valve can be controlled to maintain discharge
temperature of supply air rather than zone temperature, the
temperature of supply air can be limited in order to eliminate
stratification and short-circuiting of supply to return [220].
However, dual maximum baseline (BL) controller suffers from
the following disadvantages:
(1) There are high chances of dumping and poor air distribution
in case of improper diffusers which might lead to greater
airflow turndown.
(2) Despite meeting ventilation code requirements, the reduction
in airflow rates results into increased indoor contaminants.
3.3.4.2. Zone-Level Feedback Control (Z-FC). This control algorithm
requires measurements of occupancy and zone temperature. The
main differences between Z-FC and BL control logics are; first, the
actual occupancy is used in place of the design occupancy to
compute the minimum permissible flow as shown below:
Minimum Allowed Flow RateðK Þ ¼ msa=p Np ðkÞ þ msamin
where Np ðkÞ is the occupancy measured at time index k.
The second difference is that the temperature set-points are
determined by the zone occupancy status (i.e. occupied or unoc-
cupied). The choice of design temperature variables involves a
tradeoff between energy saving and thermal comfort. The range
between the maximum and minimum allowable zone tempera-
ture set points should be well chosen to ensure that temperature
of the zone is within the right range in order to guarantee comfort
to the occupants. A wide range means decreased energy usage due
to reduced re-heating under small heat load and decreased airflow
when the heat load is large. However, too wide range comes with
increased occupant discomfort. Therefore, the parameters for
unoccupied period should be selected to unsure that the range
between minimum and maximum zone temperature during
unoccupied period should be greater than the range between
minimum and maximum zone temperature during occupied
period.
A number of researchers have studied this field and given
different findings. Yu et al. [222] designed a smart logic for
conference room VAV terminal unit of single duct system. Eva-
luation of their control algorithm was via simulation. They used
the simulated results of thermal performance and energy con-
sumption to compare conventional and improved control logic
sequences. Results showed that the proposed strategy can
improve both IAQ and energy saving.
801
Taylor [223] during his study on increasing efficiency with VAV
air conditioning system static pressure set point reset claimed that
static pressure set point reset logic requires knowledge of required
static pressure in each zone since the critical zone varies
depending on thermal loads the zones and their location in the
distribution system. The author further reported that the highly
interactive relationship that exists between duct static pressure
and damper position can pose a challenge in realizing the
control logic.
Cho [224] developed an algorithm for terminal unit control
with variable minimum rate of airflow and used it in conven-
tional single duct VAV terminal box control sequences. Valida-
tion of simulation results was done through evaluation of the
actual building for indoor air quality (IAQ), comfort, and energy
usage. The energy consumption and thermal performance of
terminal units operating under two control algorithms were
compared. The results showed that the ratio of constant mini-
mum rate of airflow causes significant concurrent heating and
cooling cycles; the terminal box can maintain room thermal
comfort conditions to meet the various load changes in addition
to reducing fan power and saving reheat energy; and the energy
usage of the variable minimum rate of airflow ratio is smaller
compared to that of the conventional constant minimum rate of
airflow ratio.
3.3.4.3. AHU-Level Feedback Control (A-FC). This feedback strategy
computes four inputs namely; the supply air temperature (T sa ),
supply air flow rate (m _ sa ), conditioned air temperature (T ca ), as
well as return air ratio (Rra ). The algorithm comprises of four steps
as follows; at every time index k,
(1) Obtain measurements.
(2) Then determine the return air (Rra ) by carrying out exhaustive
search.
(3) Determine the conditioned air temperature (T ca ) based on the
enthalpy of mixed air (MA), and
(4) Finally, re-calculate return air (Rra ) to ensure satisfaction of
zone humidity constraints.
Two special cases can be considered while evaluating the per-
ð3:8Þ
formance of A-FC algorithm. The first case is that conditioned air
temperature (T ca ) remains unchanged at the minimum value,
T camin . This means that, T camax ¼ T camin . The second case is that the
return air ratio (Rra ) remains unchanged implying, Rramax ¼ Rramin .
Several research works has been accomplished in this field of
study. Rajkumar et al. [225] carried out a study on optimization of
AHU control strategy. They designed a strategy for controlling
chilled water valve. They compared this strategy with the existing
control strategy to realize the desired results. Their results showed
a significant decrease in power consumption of the AHU.
Yu et al. [226,227] proposed an integrated AHU (IAHU) opera-
tion for office buildings where there exists a continuous air path.
Its operation is different from those of previous AHUs where the
control of units is independent without interactions; IAHU brings
interdependence among the AHUs based on the varying conditions
of outdoor air and modes of system operation in order to realize an
energy performance that is synergized and maintain acceptable
indoor air quality. The strategy for synergization allows intake of
the outdoor air and airflows be properly relocated among the air
handling units (AHUs) during appropriate conditions. To imple-
ment the strategy, the authors adopted a zoned-AHU system lay-
out with interior and exterior regions virtually separated in order
reduce thermal compromising due to difference in cooling and
heating modes across the spaces. The authors concluded that their
strategy achieve high energy efficiency when implemented in
buildings with open spaces.
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Fig. 3.9. Schematic diagram of a model-based predictive controller [216].
3.3.4.4. AHU-Level Model Predictive Control (A-MPC). This algorithm
also determines all the four inputs just as in A-FC. However, its
strategy is based on model predictive control that is able to obtain
control inputs by solving an optimization problem with con-
straints. This requires extra information such as a model of ther-
mal dynamics, hygro-dynamics as well as predictions of the
environmental weather conditions [229]. Occupancy prediction
helps to determine acceptable zone temperature range when the
zone is occupied or not. The process of model predictive control
[216] is as shown in Fig. 3.9.
We can analyze the control logic under two scenarios namely
occupied and unoccupied modes. The occupied mode is invoked if
the occupancy is measured at the initiation of the process when
the time interval is at least 1 [218]. The unoccupied mode is
invoked if the occupancy measured at the initiation of the process
is measured to be zero.
Literature survey shows that Model Predictive Controllers
(MPC) have been have widely developed for energy saving and
building comfort [230]. It controls the Predictive Mean Vote (PMV)
[231], a criteria for ensuring thermal comfort in buildings. Chen
[232] carried studies on use of MPC to control a system for heating
building floor with a large thermal lag. Several researchers [233–
236] have used the method to improve performance of VAV sys-
tems. MPC combined with adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems
[237] has been applied in the field of building energy
management.
3.4. Summary
Control of VAV systems helps to increase the working and
energy efficiencies of the systems. The VAV system components
which are usually under control include, VAV air handling unit
(AHU), VAV terminal box, Boiler plant, and Chiller plant [88]. In
VAV systems, variables that are usually controlled include; fan
speed, static pressure, zone air temperature, humidity, ventilation,
flow-rate of air entering zones, and flow-rate of chilled water
entering the cooling coil.
PID controllers are simple to understand and use as their
structure is less complex compared to optimal, predictive and
adaptive controllers. The control process in PID controllers is rapid
and this makes them unfavorable to use in VAV AC systems which
don't need rapid response. In addition, these controllers (PID) are
limited to SISO systems. Optimal, predictive adaptive controllers
are superior in control compared to PID controllers but they
require building models to carry out control. Recent control sys-
tems are hybrid types which combine PID elements with adaptive
and predictive elements. An example of a hybrid controller is the
pattern recognition adaptive controller (PRAC).
Duct static pressure set point can be reset by varying the supply
airflow rate in the system. According to ASHRAE [141], airflow is
usually modulated by means of a variable frequency drive (VFD),
an eddy-current clutch, inlet guide vanes, outlet dampers, or a
vane axial fan with adjustable pitch blades. The following points
are worthy noting here, that;
 The improved air volume control logic reset algorithm elim-
inates the possibility of high speed operation of the fan due to
faulty conditions. However, it is not suitable in buildings with
pneumatic terminal box controllers.
 The split-signal damper control strategy can lead to minimum
static pressure drop in economizer dampers which results in
use of minimum energy in both return and supply fans.
 The set point of static pressure should be linearly reset as a
function of system airflow.
 An effective control strategy for envelop dominated buildings
was linearly resetting the static pressure set-point on the basis
of outside air temperature.
 Many scholars have agreed those supply air temperature and
supply airflow rates are the best parameters that can be opti-
mized in a VAV system [6,160,161] as they greatly minimize
energy consumption.
The genetic algorithms have good robustness drawn from their
probabilistic nature, and can be easily parallelized. However they
suffer from shortcomings such as slow convergence rates under
some conditions, difficulty in adjustment of algorithms since there
are no rules for determining the number of individuals in popu-
lations. The fuzzy-logic algorithms entail mapping input values on
to output values using the IF…..THEN statements. They are used in
VAV systems to solve difficulties in thermal regulations and
maintenance of temperature set-point. These algorithms have
several advantages which include less overshoot, oscillation and
power consumption compared to PID controllers, can be used in
MIMO systems and do not require models as they can control non-
linear processes.
The direct digital control algorithms reviewed in this study are
namely, Baseline (BL) control, Zone-Level Feedback Control (Z-FC),
AHU-Level Feedback Control (A-FC), and AHU-Level Model Pre-
dictive Control (A-MPC). Among these, A-MPC has recorded more
interest in recent research works as it proves superiority to
the rest.
4. Air properties
The air properties comprise of velocity/airflow rate, duct static
pressure, supply air temperature, and air humidity in the
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conditioned space. This section basically looks at two main areas
namely; airflow rate measurement and indoor air quality (IAQ).
4.1. Airflow rate measurement
Measurement of airflow rate in buildings' air conditioning
systems is an important exercise that should not be overlooked.
This is because different airflow rates greatly affect other impor-
tant VAV system parameters such as static pressure and condi-
tioned room temperature. Also, airflow measurement can sig-
nificantly improve the performance of a building served by a VAV
AC system since airflow measurement provides stable compart-
mentalized net pressure control [238]. In addition, air flow mea-
surement can reduce VAV system energy consumption by
increasing system efficiency and simultaneously minimize energy
wasted on conditioning the excess outside and supply air.
Airflow rate measurement in VAV systems can be done in two
ways. The first approach is to calculate total volume flow rate
through a duct by using the relationship below;
Q ¼ vA
where v is the average air velocity in m/s and A is the cross-
sectional area in contact with the air in the duct in m2. The average
velocity (v) can be determined by dividing the duct opening into a
number of equal areas and taking the velocity reading of each area
then calculating the average.
The second approach of determining airflow rate is by using
pressure drop method. The basic principle in this approach is that
any obstruction in the air path will cause a pressure drop in the
moving air due to frictional resistance and turbulence. By char-
acterizing the obstruction in the air duct and calibrating the
pressure drop against known flow rates, the value of pressure
difference may be used to determine volume airflow rate.
According to Bernoulli's principle, the square of air velocity is
directly proportional to the pressure difference between tubes
when measurements are done using a standard pitot-tube as
shown in the equation below;
ρv2
PT  Ps ¼ ¼ PV
2 airflow is accurate. However, cases of air leakage in most buildings
where P T ¼total pressure (Pa), P s ¼static pressure (Pa), ρ¼ air
density (kg/m3), v ¼air velocity (m/s), and P V ¼velocity pressure.
The above equation can be applied to measure pressure drops
in VAV terminal boxes as shown below [239];
ΔP T ¼ ΔP s þ ΔP v
 v 2  v 2
in out
ΔP T ¼ ΔP s þ  ð4:4Þ
4005 4005
" 2  2 #
4Q 4Q
ΔP T ¼ ΔP s þ  ð4:5Þ
4005πD2 4005WH
where vin and vout are the box inlet and outlet velocities, Q is the
volume airflow rate, D is the inlet diameter of the box, W is the
inside width and H inside height of the box outlet.
4.1.1. Airflow rate measuring devices
Proper selections of airflow rate measuring devices are a very
important aspect for efficient operation of VAV AC systems [238].
The performances of these devices differ even under similar
operating conditions. VAV systems airflow rate measuring devices
include but not limited to.
4.1.1.1. Pitot-static tubes. These are mostly used to measure airflow
in terminal boxes. The Pitot tube is placed into the air stream when
measuring the velocity of an air in ducts, so that the sensing tip
803
points directly into the moving air stream [240]. Then the Pitot
tube along with a differential pressure measuring device will
generate a signal which represents the difference between the
total pressure and the static pressure [241]. The resultant pressure
magnitude represents the true pressure caused by air movement.
Pitot-static tubes have a disadvantage in that their accuracy
usually falls off at low end of the range.
4.1.1.2. Hot-wire anemometer. Hot-wire (thermal) anemometer can
accurately measure airflow in buildings when adequate number of
sensors are used across a duct section [242]. The main advantage
of hot-wire anemometers is that they can provide analog outputs
that are proportional to flow and doesn't need calculation of
square root to measure airflow. However, the application of this
device is unpopular due to the following disadvantages. Hot-wire
anemometers can only measure one point in the duct cross-
section and may also require periodic calibration [243].
The set-up for the airflow measurement is as shown in Fig. 4.1.
4.1.2. Airflow control
ð4:1Þ
Airflow control in VAV systems is a very important aspect. The
main objective of airflow control is to ensure each zone or space
receives sufficient airflow, proper control of outside air intake and
maintenance of positive building pressure [149]. We can use
damper position control as well as static pressure control to
ensure delivery of sufficient air to each conditioned space [149].
Intake of outdoor air often utilizes the direct method [245], the
fixed damper position, the plenum pressure control, and the CO2
demand control.
In many applications, control of outdoor air is achieved by
setting both the outside air damper and return air damper at fixed
positions. The positioning of dampers is done during the process
of system balancing and testing. The prevailing conditions during
testing dictate intake of outdoor air. This can be higher or lower
than the set-point value. The outside air damper is usually
modulated by a controller in order to maintain the needed outdoor
airflow. Accurate measurement of airflow requires provision of a
minimum outdoor air fan or duct [246]. The direct method can
provide efficient outside air control as long as measurement of
ð4:2Þ
can lead to reduced accuracy of measurement of outside air. This
may occur when the maximum outdoor air damper by-passes the
flow station [149].
The plenum-pressure control method is able to maintain the
desired level of pressure inside the air mixing box by regulating
ð4:3Þ
the speed of return air fan or the position of return air damper
[247]. In this control method, the flow meter is the air damper.
4.1.3. Improvement of airflow control
There have been several studies done to improve airflow con-
trol strategies. Cheong [248] studied airflow measurements bal-
ancing of air distribution system. The author studied the applic-
ability and precision of tracer-gas method. Results showed that
tracer-gas method can be a good substitute of pitot-static trans-
verse method in measuring flow during balancing.
Tan and Dexter [249] investigated the design of simple airflow
actuators or control signals. The authors carried out simulation of
the air-circuits of a VAV AC system and experimentally validated
their findings. They used simulation to investigate the relationship
between supply airflow, inlet airflow, extract airflow. They further
used simulation to draw relationship between fan control signals
and mixing air-box dampers in the AHU [249]. Linear estimators
were proposed for determining airflow rates on the basis of results
from simulation. Chow and Liu [250] developed and implemented
practical terminal box control sequences for resetting minimum
airflow in a single duct terminal boxes in VAV systems. A
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Fig. 4.1. Schematic diagram of airflow measurement and control set-up [243].
measured data was used to carry out a comparison of the thermal
comfort and energy usage between conventional and improved
control sequences. Results showed that the improved sequences
for terminal box control can stabilize temperature of air in the
room and lead to substantial energy saving compared to the
conventional sequences.
Recently, Kang et al. [251] proposed a control algorithm for
minimum airflow rate in a VAV system terminal unit for an office
building. They analyzed the temperature of vertical air in order to
determine the value of supply air temperature that does not lead
to stratification. After carrying out comparisons of the proposed
control algorithms and the existing control algorithms, they found
out that the proposed method was superior to the existing
methods. Liu et al. [252] investigated the solution of using a VAV
flow conditioner to control the upstream velocity profile in a VAV
system airflow sensor and increasing the measurement accuracy
of the VAV airflow. They used computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
modeling to evaluate several flow conditioners. For all the inlet
conditions that were tested, the prototype reduced the VAV air-
flow reading error when installed immediately before the VAV box
inlet, irrespective of upstream duct conditions [252].
4.2. Indoor climate requirements
The main goal of air-conditioning systems is provision of good
indoor climate for building occupants with reference to indoor air
quality (IAQ), thermal comfort and the acoustic environment
[253]. The indoor environment is affected by several factors such
as movement of air, temperature, rate of air exchange, humidity,
ventilation, gaseous, particulate and biological pollutants [254].
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) can be defined as the chemical, biological
and physical characteristics of air inside a conditioned space.
Before 1970, IAQ was not a matter of concern to HVAC designers
but after the energy crisis of 1973, attention was given to indoor
air quality in buildings. Good indoor air quality can be realized in
VAV system by provision of a sufficient volume of fresh air to the
occupied zone while avoiding drafts large air temperature gra-
dients, and large radiant asymmetry [255]. Poor indoor air quality
can lead to diseases such as sick building syndrome (SBS)
[256,257].
4.2.1. Indoor climatic problems related to VAV systems
Common indoor climatic problems associated with VAV air
supply include:
i) Insufficient supply of outdoor air
This problem is prevalent in places where circulated air is used
in exhaust air in an “outside air economizer cycle” for cooling/
heat recovery system. Several studies have been carried out in
attempt to determine the best ratio of outside air to supply air
in order to realize both proper indoor air quality and realiza-
tion of energy savings [11,159,258–260].
ii) Stagnant air
This problem usually occurs in events where the minimum
airflow rates from the supply air device do not guarantee
sufficient air movement. This condition is dominant during
heating whenever the temperature of supply air is equal to or
raised above room temperature level. So far there are no clear
values given for minimum air motion needed for comfort.
However, it is known that increasing the speed of air motion
may increase comfort if the air temperature is too high [262].
iii) Draught
Draught has been reported to be a common problem associated
with VAV systems air distribution [2]. Draught in simple terms is
the unwanted cooling of human body caused by movement of air
in the room. The thermal balance of human body is affected by
draught in the sense that convective heat loss of the body is
increased as well as the evaporation of the skin moisture.
The draught problem in rooms is caused by the use of improper
diffusers or low supply air temperatures.
iv) System noise
Varying airflow rates result into varying static pressures in
ducts. VAV system characteristics changes as the airflow rates
at the terminal units/diffusers decrease. Consequently, an
increase in the total pressure of the fan occurs when fan speed
is held constant. In addition, as rate of airflow is reduced, the
pressure drop in the duct system is reduced. The combined
effect of the above factors will lead to higher static pressure at
supply air terminal units as airflow is decreased. The excess
pressure must be throttled off somewhere within the system.
As a consequence, the noise levels of the system devices will
increase [262].
4.2.2. Indoor air quality (IAQ) parameters
According to Novoselac and Srebric [255], the level of con-
centration of contaminants in an occupied space indicates IAQ. The
air quality for a given location in a room can be determined by the
degree of contamination [263,264]. This degree of contaminant
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concentration is also known as dimensionless concentration [265]
or contaminant removal efficiency [266] calculated as shown in
Eq. (4.6) below;
Ci  Cs
μ¼ ; ð4:6Þ
Ce  Cs
where C i is pollution level in a given location i, C s pollution level in
the supply air and, C e is pollution level in the exhaust air.
The degree of contaminant concentration is dependent on
spatial distribution of the contaminant sources as well as airflow
pattern within a space. A typical value for degree of contamination
for perfect mixing ventilation is 1.0. In such a case, the exhaust
contaminant tends to be equal to the local room concentration.
4.2.3. Indoor air quality (IAQ) control
Control of level of concentration of indoor air pollutants and
improvement of IAQ is very critical in the provision of a comfor-
table and healthy indoor air environment. The recent approaches
used to control IAQ consist of control of pollution sources, venti-
lation and indoor air purification.
4.2.3.1. Control of pollution sources. According to Guo et al. [267],
control of pollution sources is the most economical and effective
approach in improving IAQ. The best way of controlling indoor air
pollution is to use filters during the design of a VAV air con-
ditioning system. These help in preventing external pollutants
from entering the conditioned space. In addition, since dust and
liquid drops are breeding medium for bacteria, it is necessary to
carry out cleaning on components that are easily infected (e.g.
filter, heat exchanger, and muffler) in VAV AC systems [253].
4.2.3.2. Dilution of indoor air contaminants through ventilation.
Another control strategy is dilution of indoor air contaminants by
ventilation. Ventilation is defined by ASHRAE as “the process of
supplying or removing air by natural or mechanical means to or
from any space.” VAV air-conditioning systems supply air at a
constant temperature and ensure thermal comfort by varying
airflow to occupied spaces. Most early VAV systems did not allow
control of outdoor air quantity, such that a decreasing amount of
outdoor air was provided as supply airflow was reduced. Some
more recent designs ensure a minimum supply of outdoor air
stream.
ASHRAE Standard 62-2001 suggests Eqs. (4.7) and (4.8) below
for calculating the minimum outdoor airflow required at the sys-
tem level.
X fault detection and diagnosis at different times and regions across
Y¼ ð4:7Þ
1 þX  Z
V ot ¼ Y  V st ð4:8Þ
where
X ¼ V on =V st is uncorrected outdoor airflow fraction.
Y ¼ V ot =V st is the corrected outdoor airflow fraction
Z is the critical space ventilation fraction
V on is the sum of space ventilation airflows.
V ot ¼ Y  V st ¼ required system outdoor airflow
V st is the total supply airflow.
The challenge of VAV design is to properly ventilate all spaces
at all load conditions. Supply air in VAV systems is a mixture of
ventilation air and re-circulated air that is carried to the space by a
single duct. This therefore means that the proportion of air in this
supply air mixture must change as the supply airflow changes to
maintain proper ventilation levels in conditioned spaces [268].
805
4.3. Summary
The most important properties of air in VAV air-conditioning
systems are airflow rate, duct static pressure, humidity, outdoor
and supply air temperature, space temperature and return air
temperature of the conditioned space. Airflow rate measurement
can be done using hot-wire anemometer, pitot-static, flow sta-
tions, trace-gas technique etc.
Airflow control has the main objective of ensuring sufficient
airflow capacity to each conditioned zoned, proper control of
outside air intake, and maintaining positive building pressure.
Airflow control in VAV systems can be achieved through control-
ling static pressure and damper position. Accurate measurement
of airflow requires a minimum outside air duct or fan.
Literature survey shows that balancing and distribution of air-
flow in VAV air-conditioning systems is one of the main challen-
ging areas of research concerning VAV system control. So far, there
is no standard method given for balancing and distribution of
airflow through zones in VAV air-conditioning systems.
5. VAV system faults detection and diagnosis
VAV air conditioning systems' faults can occur at different
system levels [269]. Potential fault areas may include subsystems,
components, sensors and controllers. Absence of VAV system
faults can lead to energy saving of up to 30% [270]. Research in this
field in HVAC systems began more than 30 years ago [268,271,272]
and have since then become a popular field of study.
According to Pimenta and Mendoza [273], faults can be defined
as an unfortunate/unexpected condition that leads to mal-
functioning of a system. Faults found in VAV systems are mostly
due to improper system design, application, operation or main-
tenance of the VAV systems [274,275]. Haves [276] noted that
these faults can be categorized as abrupt (e.g. a sudden failure of
sensor) or they can develop over a period of time. Those faults
occurring over a period of time are also known as degradation
faults. Wang et al. [277] suggested that we could also classify faults
as soft and hard faults depending on whether their occurrence is
abrupt or gradual.
5.1. Some common VAV system faults
Several researchers have agreed on some very common faults
in VAV systems. These scholars have documented a collection of
reports on common faults in HVAC system during their studies on
the world [278–282]. These faults are as shown in table 5.1 that
follows.
5.2. Methods of fault detection and diagnosis
FDD systems carry out timely detection of faults and diagnose
their possible causes, enabling correction before additional
damage occurs to the system [283]. Usually faults are detected by
comparing set-point values and measured values of variables.
When an abnormal deviation is present, we conclude detection of
a possible fault. Thereafter, a detailed description of the type of the
fault, its magnitude (i.e. energy penalty, discomfort etc.), location
and cause is given. This stage is called fault diagnosis [273,287].
According to Isermann [284] there are two basic approaches
used to detect faults. These are state variable estimation and
parameter estimation. The state variable estimation approach
assumes process parameters are known then it monitors the sig-
nals. On the other hand, parameter estimation method aims at
directly monitoring the process, detecting any variation in
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Table 5.1
A list of some common VAV system faults [288].

Faults Symptoms

Clogging of pipes in the plant loop 1. Increased energy consumption due to increased pressure drops in the plant loop.
2. Occupant discomfort due to insufficient water flow rate in the plant loop.
Fouling of water heating/cooling coils 1. Reduction in coil capacity due to reduced overall conventional heat transfer coefficient (UA).
Stuck/leaking outside air economizer dampers 1. In case of stuck OA damper, no air modulation. This results into energy penalty when OA conditions allow
free cooling or minimum OA is demanded for mechanical cooling/heating mode.
2. In case of leaking OA damper, an energy penalty when rate of leakage is higher than the needed OA
flow rate.
Zone temperature sensor offset 1. Energy penalty and thermal discomfort due to improper control of outside air damper, return air damper,
and cooling/heating valve.
Fan/pump stuck at full/intermediate speed and fails to 1. Higher energy consumption by the fan/pump in case it is stuck at higher speed than that required.
respond to control signal 2. Reduced indoor air quality when the fan is operating at low speed than that required.

Fig. 5.1. (a) Flow diagram of state variable estimation approach, and (b) parameter estimation approach [284].

parameters with regard to the theoretical ones. The two processes
can be depicted as shown in Fig. 5.1 below;
Generally, the classification of FDD methods can be summar-
ized as depicted by the diagram in Fig. 5.2 below.
5.3. Studies on fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) in VAV AC
systems
Literature survey suggests that early research on FDD in VAV
systems focused on main VAV system components namely, AHUs,
water pumps, and fans. During that era, several FDD methods were
studied, developed and applied to various VAV systems.
Dexter and Benouarets [285] investigated the application of
fuzzy models to detect and diagnose faults on AHUs and terminal
units. Faults were detected in the cooling coil. In another study,
Ngo and Dexter [286] developed a robust model-based strategy for
simultaneously detecting faults and avoiding false alarms which
can arise due to sensor bias in AHUs. No false alarms were
reported in practice. Later, Dexter et al. [287,288] focused on the
process of coil heat exchange in AHUs. In their studies, they made
analyses of five modes of faulting namely; fouled coil, valve stuck
open, valve stuck midway, valve stuck closed and valve leak. A
robust fuzzy model for AHU fault diagnosis which considered the
temperature sensor error was designed.
Yoshida et al. [289–291] investigated VAV damper faults and
tested their occurrence as both abrupt and successive faults. They
showed the robustness of RARX method. Lee et al. [292] described
more than 10 system faults and the utilization of a two-stage ANN
to diagnose faults in a simulated air handling unit (AHU). The
authors found out that the estimated temperature of supply air
could be implemented in a feed-back control loop to restore the
supply air temperature (SAT) value to the set-point value.
Katipamula et al. [293,294] designed an ‘OA/economizer diag-
nostician’ to monitor AHU performance and automatically detect
problems with operation of economizer or automatically detect
ventilation problems for systems without economizers using a
decision tree method. The authors noted that it is difficult to
detect economizer failure and in many cases faults may be com-
pletely unnoticed. Dodier et al. [295] investigated both damper
failure and power failure in fan powered mixing box containing
two electric reheat stages. They adopted probabilistic inference
methods in real-time diagnostic system (RTDS). After presenting
laboratory data for application of real-time diagnostic system to
heating, ventilation and air-condition (HVAC), they reported that
the system yielded positive results but there were also some
shortcomings of misdiagnoses of states of failure.
Seem et al. [296] studied online control of terminal unit of
variable air volume (VAV) system. The authors described control
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
Fig. 5.2. A summary of classifications of FDD methods [283].
loop performance assessment indices and showed how the indices
work during fault detection in both VAV terminal units and AHUs
[296]. The performance indices are integrated into VAV terminal
unit controllers and they are able to detect terminal boxes with
faults through comparison among a number of terminal units.
House et al. [297] examined a number of AHU faults. They used
five classifiers to detect and diagnose seven faults of a simulated
air handling unit (AHU). The authors went further to propose an
expert rule set with 28 simple rules to use to detect faults in AHUs
[298].
McGhee et al. [299] made a summary and classification of
typical faults in valves and actuators. They used experiments and
simulation tests to validate an ANN method applied to valve fault
diagnosis process. Han et al. [300] proposed an overall model-
based FDD system to address problems from diversified levels.
Their FDD method assumed that all system sensors were reliable
and fault free. However, sensor faults which could not be detected
by a simple pre-test would make the FDD rules malfunctional.
Wang and Chen [301] investigated faults related to airflow
sensors in sensor-based demand control ventilation systems. They
reported that it was possible to apply the fault-tolerant control
using neutral networks for outdoor ventilation airflow rate in
buildings.
Norford et al. [302,303] during their investigation of both
abrupt and gradual faults on several sections of three air handling
units, they proposed two FDD methods. These methods are phy-
sical and hybrid (gray) box methods. Nearly all faults in the two
matched AHUs were detected by using both methods. Field trials
of expert set rules were able to identify two occurrences of faults
in the air mixing box damper. They noted that there was limited
effort given to the development of diagnostic capabilities of VAV
boxes when compared to the effort given to AHUs and other types
of HVAC components [304].
Later on, Schein and House [305] proposed a diagnostic method
used to assess the performance of VAV terminal units. After their
study, the authors reported that their strategy gave encouraging
results as far as fault detection was concerned [305].
Qin and Wang [269] investigated faults in VAV terminal boxes.
They proposed a strategy that can use hybrid method to
807
automatically detect and diagnose faults in VAV air conditioning
systems. They reported that the method developed can effectively
detect faults in VAV systems. They concluded that, Principal
Component Analysis (PCA) based approach using system models at
different levels is a good strategy for for detecting and diagnosing
faults in flow sensor at the VAV terminal unit. Yi and Chen [306]
proposed a PCA method to detect sensor and identify sensor fault
in VAV systems. The PCA method partitions the measurement
vector space into principal component subspace (PCS) and residual
rubspace (RS). In case of occurrence of sensor fault, the sample
vector projection on RS will have a remarkable increase and con-
sequently the value of square prediction error (SPE) will increase
and beyond the confidence limit a fault will be detected. Their
results showed that PCA method can effectively detect and iden-
tify sensor faults, and then reconstruct sensor fault data by PCA
model of VAV system. Du et al. [307] designed two complementary
methods for single sensor fault detection and diagnosis in VAV
systems. The PCA-FDA method presented by the authors has
merits such as; easy of setting up in VAV systems, FDA does not
need complicated knowledge to commission, PCA has strong
capacity of detecting faults, and FDA is good at isolation of faults.
Xu et al. [308] developed an enhanced sensor AFDD strategy for
centrifugal chillers using PCA method and wavelet analysis
method. Their results showed that the proposed strategy per-
formed well when compared to other related technologies.
Brambley et al. [309] studied self-correcting controls for VAV
system faults on filters, fans, coils, and terminal boxes. They
developed a set of algorithms to aid automatic correction of faults
in VAV systems. The algorithms were able to effectively detect,
diagnose and correct faults in most of the tested cases.
Recently, Zhu et al. [310] designed a method of diagnosing
faults in sensors located in AHU. The authors applied wavelet
analysis at 3-levels to decompose data from measurements, and
then extracting fractal measurements of each frequency band and
uses these to depict the characteristics of sensors with failure.
Then extract the signal into an eigenvector comprising of a num-
ber of fractal dimensions. Finally, is the introduction of the
eigenvector into a neutral network and then tuned to diagnose the
808 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
faults in sensors. The results suggest that the method can effi-
ciently diagnose various types of faults.
Wang et al. [311] proposed an online model-based FDD strategy
to diagnose sudden faults of VAV air-handling units (AHU). The
proposed FDD strategy is a hybrid method. Faults in AHU are
detected using a self-tuning model. The adjustment of model
parameters is accomplished by an optimization strategy based on
a genetic algorithm. If the fault detection threshold is less than the
corresponding residual, this suggests presence of faults in air
handling unit system. The results showed that the strategy can
effectively detect and diagnose faults of AHUs.
Yang et al. [312] designed a hybrid model-based strategy for
detecting faults occurring in sensors located in air handling units.
The authors combined the statistical residual-based method and
the fractal correlation dimension (FCD) algorithm. They claimed
that, considering the strengths and weaknesses associated with
each individual approaches, the hybrid fault detection technique
can give mutual strengths and complement each other.
Sterling et al. [313] studied a model-based detection and
diagnostic solution underpinned by modelica models that uses a
qualitative approach to diagnose that was applied to diagnosis of
AHU. The authors pointed out that modelica-based approach can
adapt to different plants and to changes in the same plant. Xiao
et al. [314] proposed a diagnostic Bayesian network (DBN) for
detecting and diagnosing VAV system terminal faults. Two rules
were adopted to isolate the fault on the basis of the fault prob-
abilities to make the method more robust. When compared with
previous rule-based methods, the proposed method can work well
with uncertain and incomplete information since the faults are
with probabilities rather than in the Boolean format. Results
revealed that ten typical VAV terminal faults could be effectively
diagnosed.
5.4. Energy penalty due to VAV systems' faults
Madjidi [315] carried out a research on the dynamics in energy
use and comfort, as result of presence of faults in VAV systems. It
was reported that 20% or 30% of energy consumption can be saved
in small VAV systems of commercial buildings after debugging and
correction of faults [316]. Roth et al. [317] reported preliminary
results during their study to quantify the national energy impacts
of buildings faults in the U.S. Their results showed that key faults
can be estimated to cause annual energy wastage of between 4%
and 18% of the total energy used in commercial buildings. Kati-
pamula and Brambley [283] reported that a reasonable amount of
energy in buildings can be lost due to poor ineffective control, bad
maintenance, and degradation of VAV system components. Lee
and Yik [318] presented the results of the energy penalty related to
various air-side VAV system faults. They found out that extra
cooling energy may be required for a single VAV terminal unit
damper that is stuck open on every floor.
5.5. Summary
The main function of a fault detection and diagnosis system is
timely detection of faults as well as diagnosis of their possible
causes, enabling correction before additional damage occurs to the
system [283]. VAV air conditioning systems' faults can occur at
four levels. Absence of VAV system faults can lead to energy saving
of up to 30% [270]. VAV faults can either be abrupt (e.g. a sudden
failure of a temperature sensor) or they can develop over a period
of time (e.g. a temperature or humidity sensor that drifts over time
or fouling of heat exchange devices).
The two basic approaches used to detect faults in VAV systems
are state variable estimation and parameter estimation. Most of
the studies done on FDD in VAV systems in earlier years were
mainly focused on the air handling unit as one of the main com-
ponents in VAV systems. Recently, attention has been given to the
study of faults in VAV sub-systems like heating/cooling coils,
dampers etc. A few points to note here are that;
 It is difficult to detect economizer failure and in many cases
faults may be completely unnoticed.
 RARX as FDD method is robust and can even detect various
faults including stuck dampers [289–291].
 Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based approach using
system models at different levels is a good strategy for VAV
terminal flow sensor FDD [269].
It is evident from literature available on recent studies in this
field that hybrid methods have taken the lead in FDD as they prove
to be the most efficient. Finally, VAV system faults contribute to a
substantial amount of energy wastage as has been reported by a
number of authors [283,315–318].
6. VAV systems energy consumption analysis
The analysis of energy consumption of any HVAC system is
essential for design engineers to make sound choice decisions on
which kind of air conditioning systems they ought to recommend
for installation in buildings. In this section, we shall review
available literature on energy saving potential of VAV air con-
ditioning systems compared to other existing systems, optimiza-
tion of energy efficiency of VAV air conditioning systems, and the
tools used for energy simulation in this field of study.
6.1. Energy saving potential (efficiency) of VAV AC systems compared
to other systems
There has been continued research works geared towards the
evaluation of energy efficiency of VAV AC systems in relation to
other HVAC systems. Sekhar [319] made a critical comparison of
performance of a VAV system with an equivalent CAV system in
five different conditioned spaces in hot and humid environments.
The VAV system was found to have better performance than the
CAV in terms of energy savings.
Wang et al. [311] proposed an online model-based FDD strategy
to diagnose sudden faults of VAV air-handling units (AHU). The
author reported that a minimum of 11.5% energy savings is
expected with a VAV system. This energy saving is closely asso-
ciated with building envelope variations for identical floor plan
and similar internal loads. A year later, Sekhar and Yat [320]
evaluated the thermal comfort performance and energy con-
sumption of five different types of AC systems using an energy
simulation program. The systems evaluated were VAV system, CAV
system, Two Pipe Fan Coil System (TPFCS), Two Pipe Induction
Unit System (TPIUS), and Packaged Variable Air Volume System
(PVAVS). Results from simulation suggested that the VAV AC sys-
tem has one of the lowest energy consumption characteristics,
second only to TPIUS.
Yang and Ting [321] developed an innovative simple energy
calculation methodology for estimating energy savings. The
authors compared VAV and CAV systems. The results of a full scale
experiment procedure performed to validate this calculation
methodology implied that the energy saving effect could be as
high as 49.7%. In addition, the year round experiments demon-
strated a 30–50% energy savings when VAV systems are employed
compared to CAV systems.
Pan et al. [322] investigated two high rise office buildings in
installed with VAV systems in Shanghai, China. They selected four
separate spaces on a standard office floor in each building facing
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
different directions (i.e. north, south, east and west) in order to
carry out on-site measurements of outdoor airflow rates and IAQ
on an hourly basis during the four seasons. They recorded the
monthly electrical energy consumption of the two buildings. The
authors then carried out computer simulations of building elec-
trical energy consumption and cost using two different outdoor air
control strategies of a typical VAV system as well as a fan coil unit
(FCU) system. A comparison of on-site recorded data and simula-
tion results revealed that the VAV system consumed 5.4% less
energy compared to the FCU system.
Yao et al. [12] developed energy simulation models for com-
paring three kinds of HVAC systems namely, VAV, CAV, and FCU in
small office buildings for six different cities in China. They
obtained the energy model parameters either from the field test-
ing data or the performance data from the manufacturer. Their
results revealed that the VAV system has the potential to save
between 17% and 37% of the energy when compared to the CAV
system, between 4.6% and 10.2% when compared to the fan coil
system. These energy savings are dependent on the prevailing
climatic conditions.
6.2. Improving the energy performance of VAV systems
Zheng and Zaheer-Uddin [159] developed steady-state models
of HVAC system components in their effort to study optimization
of thermal processes in VAV systems. Their results showed that
optimization of economizers resulted into significant energy sav-
ings of up to 20% without compromising IAQ.
Westphalen [323] developed an improved energy efficient roof
top VAV AC system. The system used blower modulation rather
than cooling to control SAT. This technique can be called reverse
VAV. In this approach, the adjustment of compressor speed was
executed on the basis of space temperature and the speed of
blower was adjusted to maintain desirable SAT. The author made a
comparison of the developed prototype and the conventional VAV
system in a field performance test. Experimental results showed
that the proposed VAV system possessed better performance while
using 25% less energy compared to the conventional roof top VAV
system.
Engdahl and Johansson [6] investigated how optimal supply air
temperature (SAT) affects energy consumption of a VAV system.
They examined the energy saving potential of a controlled SAT of a
VAV system as compared to a constant SAT. Their results showed
that varying SAT had 8–27% energy saving potential compared to
the constant SAT scenario.
Gao et al. [324] used building experimental data to compare
how electric and hydronic reheat modes perform in VAV systems.
Their results showed energy saving of about 24% when hydronic
reheat is applied in AHU as compared to using electric reheat. The
claimed that the energy saving is caused by demand for low
minimum airflow across the reheat coil.
Ke et al [325] developed an innovative system to improve the
shortcomings of energy saving and indoor comfort found in VAV
systems. Experimental results of the innovative system prototype
showed that, compared to the traditional unit, we can prevent the
overdraft through the adjustment of by-pass damper which leads
to a decrease of the supply or return air differential.
Yao and Wang [326] studied the influence of different econo-
mizers on energy use of a VAV system in six office buildings
scattered in different climate zones in China. The two types of
economizers used were based on temperature and enthalpy cycles.
Comparison of energy simulation results showed that the econo-
mizers will lead to better energy savings ration in hot humid cli-
mates as compared to when they are applied to dry cold climatic
conditions.
809
In another study to enhance energy conservation in space air
conditioning, Parameshwaran et al. [327] developed a concept
involving the combination of VAV-based chilled water AC system
with thermal energy storage [TES] system. They observed that the
total energy used for cooling and ventilation was conserved due to
the good charging and discharging characteristics that were
exhibited by the phase change material (PCM). Results obtained
from experimental investigation of the system during summer and
winter climatic conditions under DCV and DCV integrated with the
economizer cycle were employed to validate the energy saving
capability of the proposed system. Based on the results, the system
is capable of achieving 28% energy saving each day under DCV and
47% energy saving each day under combined DCV-ECV mode,
when compared to the chilled water AC system.
In a recent research, Kusiak et al. [328] proposed a method of
minimizing energy consumption of AHU with computational
intelligence approach. The authors combined data-mining with
optimization. The multi-layer perceptron ensemble algorithm was
applied to develop predicative models of the energy consumption
of pump, chiller and the supply fans as well as return fans. Results
showed that chiller energy could be significantly reduced by
slightly increasing the energy consumed by fans and pumps. The
total energy consumption of AHU was reduced by almost 23%.
6.3. Summary
VAV AC systems are one of the most energy efficient systems in
use today as has also been reported by several researchers
[12,319–322]. Despite their current strengths, VAV systems energy
saving potential can still be improved. This can be done through
utilization of economizers resulting into significant energy savings
without compromising IAQ [159], use of blower modulation rather
than cooling to control SAT [323], varying SAT [6], using hydronic
reheat [324], reducing supply/return air differential via adjust-
ment of bypass damper to prevent overdraft [325], use of air-side
economizers in hot humid climates, increasing the temperature
set point of indoor air [326] etc.
7. Current applications of VAV AC systems
7.1. Working principle
The main aim of using VAV air-conditioning systems is provi-
sion of thermal comfort. This objective can be achieved by heating,
ventilation, and cooling processes. VAV AC systems are of different
kinds. They can be broadly divided into central VAV systems and
distributed VAV systems. These systems can vary the amounts of
outside air supplied by the fan unit and also vary volume of
delivered air through a given supply air diffuser. As such, it is able
to save energy and maintain comfortable environment in multiple
individual zones or areas. Each end of a supply duct branch con-
tains variable air volume dampers which control the volume of air
delivered to a zone. Temperature sensors located in the zone
control VAV dampers. When the temperatures in the zones are
high, temperature sensors call for cooling and the dampers
respond by opening to allow the required amount of cool air to
flow into the zones to bring the temperatures to the set-point.
When heating is needed (i.e. temperature in the zones is low), the
temperature sensors call for increase of temperature and the
dampers respond by closing to reduce the amount of cool air that
flows into zones to bring the temperatures to the set-point.
In order to provide favorable working conditions to VAV
terminal units, a constant pressure is maintained at the outlet of
supply fan. This pressure must be sufficient to compensate for all
810 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817

Fig. 7.1. Schematic diagram of a multi-zone VAV system.

pressure loses occurring in the air duct network during very
severe conditions (maximum airflow rate).
Fig. 7.1 shows schematic diagram of a multi-zone VAV system
showing airflow sequence and control parameters.
VAV systems have found application in various fields of life.
They are most commonly used in modern high rise large com-
mercial office buildings. These systems have also been useful in
areas such as modern residential apartments, hospitals, factories,
auditoriums, arenas, hotels, libraries, shopping malls, educational
facilities (schools and universities), marine vessels (ships, sub-
marines), trains, aerospace industry (planes) etc.
The application and scope of use of these systems is dependent
on number of zones served, and zone load requirements [329].
Central VAV air-conditioning systems are mainly used in most
commercial and industrial buildings. These come in different types
such as dual duct, all air systems, and air-water systems. The all-air
systems are the most commonly used central VAV systems
because of their simplicity and effective control. However, these
systems suffer from the fact that air is not an efficient medium of
heat transfer and as such, all-air VAV systems may require
extensive building volume for distribution of ductwork. In cir-
cumstances where it is difficult to accommodate ductwork in
building design, air-water systems are preferred.
Some VAV systems are used for cooling only. Such systems
work well in areas with fluctuating cooling loads for instance in
conference rooms where the loads fluctuate due to occupancy, or
exterior zones of a building where loads fluctuate due to solar
orientation [330].
VAV induction systems have widely found use in hospitals
[329]. According to Trane [331] increased focus to reduce energy
usage has promoted the use of single-zone VAV systems in smaller
zones. As the popularity of application of VAV single zone systems
in smaller zones increase, they are also being employed in smaller
air conditioning facilities. According to Chen et al. [332] direct
 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
expansion (DX) VAV systems are favorable for applications in light
commercial and low rise residential buildings. Multi-zone VAV
systems which have a single air handler with a hot and cold deck
which has a series of automatic hot and cold deck dampers can be
used to condition multi-zone buildings. In these systems different
zone requirements are met by mixing hot and cold air through the
zone dampers at the central air handler. System powered VAV air-
conditioning systems which use supply duct air to power the
controls on the terminal unit instead of pneumatically or elec-
trically powered control systems are popular in smaller office
buildings which range from 10 to 50 tons.
7.2. Examples of VAV systems in practice
VAV systems have been widely employed in practice. Pan et al.
[322] reported the installation of VAV systems in two high-rise
office buildings in the Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone in the Pudong
New Area in Shanghai, China. They claimed that in VAV systems,
the outdoor airflow rate distributed to each zone varies greatly,
especially during part-load hours, making it difficult to ensure that
the zones meet ventilation requirements every hour. Nassif et al.
[333] evaluated a simplified process for finding set point values in
a variable air volume (VAV) system installed in an existing system.
The results showed that the VAV system developed lead to sig-
nificant energy savings.
Yee et al. [334] carried out a study in a commercial office
building at TaiKoo Place, Quarry Bay, in Hong Kong. Rohdin and
Moshfegh [335] studied energy use and thermal climate for
existing VAV systems in a large Swedish light alloy foundry. This
study showed that a VAV system is an interesting HVAC control
technique for the foundry industry. In this case the technical
potential for reducing energy use in terms of both heat and elec-
tricity was predicted to be about 30% (heat 30.3% and electricity
28.9%). It also revealed that neither the thermal comfort nor the
ventilation efficiency is negatively affected. In addition, the VAV
system reduces power usage during the cold season, when the
demand for district heating and electricity is highest. Han et al.
[336] reported the existence of a VAV air-conditioning system in
an office building called Beijing Fortunate building in China during
their study to improve control performance of the system in use.
Aynur et al. [87] reported existence of a VAV system in the Che-
sapeake building located on the campus of University of Maryland.
Murphy [337] studied dehumidification performance of a VAV
system in a 30-person classroom in Jacksonville, Fla. The author
reported that VAV systems dehumidify well over a wide range of
indoor loads. Yao and Wang [326] reported the installation of VAV
systems with and without air-side economizers in Shenyang,
Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Guangzhou cities in China.
The results of their study showed good performance of VAV sys-
tems installed compared to other air-conditioning systems.
Alvarez et al. [338] studied an existing VAV system operating
under tropical conditions in Colombia. The authors modeled and
simulated the VAV system in order to quantify its energy con-
sumption. In-Hout [339] gives a report of a recently completed
study on single-duct VAV terminal unit with hot water reheat and
DDC systems installed in different locations in Northern California.
The settings of VAV terminals units were modified in response to
observed system behavior.
Different applications have different challenges. In applications
such as auditoriums, problems with latent heat loads are likely to
arise. In equipment located just above the ceiling, control of sound
pollution can be a challenge. Lastly, when installed in hospitals
and nursing facilities it requires an alternative means of main-
taining pressurization.
811
8. Conclusion
In this review we have discussed VAV systems modeling and
simulations, control strategies and optimization tools, the airflow
characteristics of VAV systems, some common VAV systems' faults,
detection and diagnosis, energy consumption and analysis, and the
current applications of VAV air-conditioning systems.
There are two main classifications of models namely, mathe-
matical models and empirical models. The third type of models
known as hybrid models is simply a combination of the two main
model classes. Some of the challenges experienced with different
modeling methods include: at least each modeling approach has a
major shortcoming derived from assumptions, unmeasured dis-
turbances, and uncertainties in thermal properties of elements
that make up the structure; there is no model that combines both
the AHU and building with all the required parameters; and the
existing models for space zone do not address the lag time cooling
load and the effect of solar rays incident on building walls, roof,
and windows. For accurate modeling, we should try to minimize
assumptions as much as possible.
Control of VAV systems helps to increase the working and
energy efficiencies of the systems. The most common controllers
used in VAV systems are the PID controllers. The most common VAV
control strategies are the static pressure reset control strategy and
supply air temperature control strategy. Duct static pressure set
point can be reset by varying the supply airflow rate in the system.
Modulation of airflow is usually realized means of a variable fre-
quency drive (VFD), inlet guide vanes, an eddy-current clutch, or
outlet dampers. The following were noted on VAV control, that;
 The improved air volume control logic reset algorithm elim-
inates the possibility of high speed operation of the fan due to
faulty conditions. However, its shortcoming is that it cannot be
used in buildings with pneumatic terminal box controllers.
 The split-signal damper control strategy can provide minimum
static pressure drop in economizer dampers which results in
use of minimum energy in both return and supply fans.
 The set point of static pressure should be linearly reset as a
function of system airflow.
 An effective control strategy for envelop dominated buildings
was linearly resetting the static pressure set-point on the basis
of outside air temperature.
 There is an optimal supply air temperature in a climate where
the relative humidity is high and return air is used.
 Many scholars have agreed that, supply air temperature and
supply air flow rate are the best parameters that can be opti-
mized in a VAV system as they greatly minimize energy
consumption.
The genetic algorithms have good robustness drawn from their
probabilistic nature, and can be easily parallelized. However they
suffer from shortcomings such as slow convergence rates under
some conditions, difficulty in adjustment of algorithms since there
are no rules for determining the number of individuals in popu-
lations. The FLCs are used in VAV systems to solve difficulties in
thermal regulations and maintenance of temperature set-point.
Their advantages include less overshoot, oscillation and power
consumption compared to PID controllers, can be used in MIMO
systems and do not require models as they can control non-linear
processes. AHU-Level Model Predictive Controllers (A-MPCs) are
the most common direct digital control algorithms in use today.
Airflow control has the main objective of ensuring sufficient
airflow capacity to each conditioned zoned, proper control of
outside air intake, and maintaining positive building pressure.
Airflow control in VAV systems can be achieved through control-
ling static pressure and damper position. Literature survey shows
812 G.S. Okochi, Y. Yao / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 59 (2016) 784–817
that balancing and distribution of airflow in VAV air-conditioning
systems is one of the main challenging areas of research con-
cerning VAV system control. So far, there is no standard method
given for balancing and distribution of airflow through zones in
VAV air-conditioning systems.
The main function of fault detection and diagnosis system is
timely detection of faults as well as diagnosis of their possible causes,
enabling correction before additional damage occurs to the system.
Common faults in VAV systems include clogging of pipes in the
plant loop, fouling of water heating/cooling coils, stuck/leaking
outside air economizer dampers, zone temperature sensor offset,
fan/pump stuck at full/intermediate speed and fails to respond to
control signal etc. A few points to note here are that;
 It is difficult to detect economizer failure and in many cases
faults may be completely unnoticed.
 RARX as FDD method is robust and can even detect various
faults including stuck dampers.
 Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based approach using
system models at different levels is a good strategy for VAV
terminal flow sensor FDD.
 The PCA method can effectively detect and identify sensor
faults, and then reconstruct sensor fault data by PCA model of
VAV system while the FDA technique can reduce the dimen-
sionality of data by maximizing the scatter between classes
while minimizing the scatter within classes. Therefore, a hybrid
of the two methods (i.e. PCA-FDA) method has merits such as;
ease of setting up in VAV systems, FDA does not need compli-
cated knowledge to commission, PCA has strong capacity of
detecting faults, and FDA is good at isolation of faults.
 The use of wavelet neutral network as FDD method increases
the efficiency of detecting and diagnosing faults since when the
two methods are combined they compensate for each other's
weaknesses.
 A fault diagnosis method for sensors in AHU based on neutral
network pre-processed by wavelet and fractal (NNPWF) can
efficiently diagnose different kinds of faults.
 A hybrid approach integrating model-based FDD method and
rule-based FDD method can provide an effective tool for
detecting and diagnosing the faults in AHUs.
Finally, we conclude that VAV AC systems are one of the most
energy efficient systems in use today as has also been reported by
several researchers. Despite their current strengths, VAV systems
energy saving potential can still be improved. This can be done
through optimization of outdoor air economy cycle results into
significant energy savings without compromising IAQ, use of
blower modulation rather than cooling to control SAT, varying SAT,
using hydronic reheat, reducing supply/return air differential via
adjustment of bypass damper to prevent overdraft, use of air-side
economizers in hot humid climates, increasing the temperature
set point of indoor air, etc.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China under Contract no. 51076100.
Appendix
Definition of terms used
Control point – The actual condition (temperature, humidity,
pressure etc.) that is being sensed.
Error/offset – This is the amount of deviation from the set-
point. It is the difference between the set-point and the
control point.
Flow-rate of air entering the zone – This is the rate at which
cooled or heated (conditioned) air enters the zone in a given
time period.
Set point - This is the desired condition (which must be main-
tained) of a variable under control such as pressure, tempera-
ture, among others.
Static pressure – This is the pressure of air that is not in motion
within the duct. It can also be understood as the amount of
resistance to air flow within the duct work. A high static pres-
sure or resistance means more energy is needed to move air
within the duct work.
Throttling range (TR) – This is the change in measured variable
(pressure, temperature, humidity etc.) that causes the controller
to travel from one end of its stroke to the other. An example of
this can be the amount of temperature range that causes an
actuator to travel from a completely open position to a com-
pletely closed position.
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