Simplifying decision-making in model-based co-design of building energy systems through automatically generated optimal controls

Energy-efficient technologies and efficient engineering processes are two major prerequisites for the fast and cost-efficient energy transition of the built environment. This study analyzes the potential of automatically generated optimal controls to not only enable high-performing building operation but also to simplify and streamline the decision-making.

As a case study, the re-design of the energy supply system for a historic neighborhood in Bruges, Belgium, fully based on renewable and residual energy sources (R2ES) with air-source and ground-source heat pumps, PVT, and PV systems is used. Two design procedures, either using manually generated Rule-Based Controls or automatically generated Optimal Controls, using the Toolchain for Automated Control and Optimization, are compared in terms of the system performance and the design process efficiency.

The results illustrate that, for this case study, an optimally controlled system uses around 30 % less electricity than with rule-based control. Moreover, the potential of automatically generated Optimal Controls to simplify the decision-making process in model-based co-design processes and as system integrator, is highlighted.