Application of ANN (Artificial-Neural-Network) in residential thermal control

This paper presents Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based predictive and adaptive thermal control strategies for residential buildings designed to advance thermal comfort. For residential buildings, we developed a thermal control strategy framework, with four thermal control logics therein, including two predictive logics with ANN models incorporating the Neural Network (NN) toolbox in MATLAB. Using computer simulation with International Building Physics Toolbox (IBPT), a typical two-story single-family home in the U.S. was modelled for testing each logic’s performance. Through analysis, we found that application of ANNs in thermal control of single-family homes has potential for enhancing thermal comfort with increased comfort period and reduced over and undershoots.