Cost-Effective Indoor Temperature Control Strategies for Smart Home Applications

This paper deals with cost-effective strategies for controlling indoor temperature using different technologies, including inverter-based and thermostatic control systems. In this regard, the indoor temperature control model incorporates instant heat loss coefficient, heat transfer capability, and heat energy conversion coefficient. The decision variable is the power setpoint of the energy conversion system, which can be operated in both cooling and heating modes. The thermal system coefficients have been estimated based on historical data for energy consumption, indoor, and outdoor temperatures of the case study presented, which are the minimal datasets required for the coefficient estimation. The inverter-based model benefits from the quasi-continuous power consumption model, while the thermostatic model has a hysteresis functionality resulting in discrete power consumption with several turn-on and turn-off modes, which can be controlled by changing the thresholds. The flexible thermal range resulted in 4.715 % and 6.235 % cost reductions for thermostat-based and inverter-driven heat pumps, respectively.