Rational operation of a thermal storage tank with load prediction scheme by arx model approach

Thermal storage tanks are widely used in Japan mainly to shift electrical energy usage to night time for the purpose of peak demand reduction. However, the operation of the system has not often been accepted with satisfaction in a real field. Authors developed a method ensuring rational operation by utilizing predicted air-conditioning load based on an ARX model derived from building load simulation. The rational operation is achieved considering the predicted load and performance of HVAC components. The proposed method was tested in a real building equipped with a personal computer in which the algorithm was embedded. The results showed that the method has enough feasibility.