Model identification of a tropical hotel suite room

Building modeling is a crucial part to implement optimal control strategies in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems. In this research, an alternative for modeling the thermal dynamics of a critical room from a case study hotel using TRNSYS is presented. The fan coil unit installed in the room is modeled using manufacturer datasheet and implemented in TRNSYS as a mechanical ventilation. In this simulation environment, the indoor dry bulb temperature of the room is modeled as a function of the supply chilled water temperature, ambient temperature and intensity of solar radiation. A linear discrete-time state space model is proposed for describing the system dynamics using subspace identification method and a comparison with other black-box parametric models is also presented. The model is simulated using real data collected every 5 minutes by the Building Automation System (BAS) installed in the hotel. Room modeling is an important tool for predicting the thermal behavior of rooms as well as implementing an optimal control application using the model as a comfort reference.