Comparison of Rule-Based, PID and MPC Strategies for Flexible IAQ Control

The present paper proposes an Advanced Process Control system for controlling in a flexible manner different Indoor Air Quality parameters through natural ventilation, i.e., carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and Total Volatile Organic Compounds. Different control strategies are designed and compared, i.e., rule-based control strategy, Proportional-Integral-Derivative control strategy based on an override architecture and nonlinear Model Predictive Control strategy. A simulator based on an ad hoc process model is exploited and significant winter season scenarios are selected in order to test and compare the designed control strategies. Tailored Key Performance Indicators are defined and exploited to assess the performance of the designed controllers from a quantitative point of view.