Parameter tuning in distributed Home Automation Systems: towards a tabu search approach

This paper deals with the problem of designing an efficient metaheuristics optimization method to tune the parameters of a Home Automation System (HAS). Using a simulation environment, the performances of a home automation system in exploiting limited resources (electricity, gas, hot water) can be described in terms of suitable indices that depend on behavioural parameters of the individual appliances and can be practically evaluated. The choice of the best set of parameters for the model is the common intention of most simulation studies and for this reason in recent years the field of the simulation optimization has received increasing attention. Our method has proven effective in finding good parameter configurations, even starting from very poor initial solutions.