Using Weather Data for Predictive Control (Emerging TECHNOLOGIES‪)‬

For building design and design of space conditioning systems (which starts with calculating space conditioning loads), weather information for the building's location is essential. The traditional approach has been to use information on temperature and humidity extremes (for example, the design conditions data tabulated in Chapter 14 of ASHRAE Handbook--Fundamentals) to determine design cooling and heating loads and specify cooling and heating equipment accordingly. However, buildings typically operate at design conditions for only a small fraction of the year, operating at part load the rest of the time. Information on the variation of temperature, humidity, and insolation throughout the year is needed to enable the most efficient, cost-effective equipment and control strategies to be specified and to assess how well the building will perform through an entire year.