The growing share of renewable energy sources in building energy systems leads to more complex energy conversion and distribution systems. The current process of developing appropriate control functions for energy systems is insufficient and consequently error-prone. Regarding this problem, a new method is expected to systematically develop appropriate control functions for buildings and reduce design errors in this process. This paper introduces the MODI method, aiming at a structured development process of mode-based control algorithms to reduce errors in the early design stages of buildings. A complete framework and a standardized application process of the MODI method will be established to systematically design mode-based control algorithms described through signal-interpreted Petri nets. Furthermore, we performed a simulation-assisted evaluation approach to test and improve the performance of the control algorithms generated by MODI. In a case study, we applied MODI to develop a mode-based control strategy for an energy system containing heating and cooling supply networks. The desired control strategy was tested and tuned in a simulation phase. Compared to a reference control, the mode-based control algorithm shows an improvement in system efficiency by 4% in winter and 8% during the transitional season phase.
The increasing integration of renewable forms of energy into building energy systems raises the need for the use of more complex energy conversion and distribution systems. These are often equipped with complex automation systems, which require methods for structured development of control algorithms. In practice, textual descriptions of control algorithms represent a considerable source of failures. The digitization of the planning process is a core element in facilitating control development and supporting the engineering in the process automation. With regard to the digitization of the planning process, we have introduced the MODI-method in previous work. This method allows structured control development in early stages of the planning process and can be extended by performing simulations, i.e. an algorithm implemented as a Petri-Net. In this paper, we investigate the integration of this method into the simulation-based planning and an approach to model an algorithm based on Petri-Net. The case study shows the functionality of this method and the modeling approach. In future work, the MODI-method will be compared with other control strategies and applied in complex systems for further development.
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