HVAC Control in the New Millennium.pdf - HVAC.Amickracing

HVAC Control in the New MillenniumBeyond the improved effectiveness of local control, the increaseduse of peer-to-peer control systems brings Metcalfe’s Law with its exponentiallyincreasing effectiveness into play. This results in a differenttype of control which is the use of complex adaptive systems.The operation is much different from that of conventional, deterministic,hierarchical control. Independent, intelligent, autonomous I/Oand controls operate and interact using rule-based mechanisms. As thecomplexity of the interaction increases and changes, the system respondsand adapts to the changing events and requirements. Thesechanging events could be fuel availability and costs or seasonal variations.This is the equivalent of genetic algorithms which exclude nonproductiveoperations and stimulate improvements.There will be significant advances through reduced software, fasterand easier installation, more robust performance, improved flexibilityand the ability to handle more parameters and parameter variations.The system will be more robust because performance is not dependenton single failure points. The failure of any single portion of the systemis accommodated. Higher levels of performance are also achievedthrough emergent behavior and self-organizing capabilities.These systems are rooted in the work being done on artificial lifeand genetic algorithms. During the next decade, the results of this researchwill become visible in factory automation and process controlsystems.SoftwareIn the future the notion of software as a separate and externalentity will largely evaporate. Software will become a part of the productin which it inhabits similar to today’s firmware. Many of the currentsoftware functions will migrate downwards into firmware and objectdrivenapplets.The only external software needed will be in the browser. Everythingelse will be Java applets or similar client-type operations triggeredby the servers when connected, or by the objects that reside within theproducts.Among the products that have generated much of the growth forsoftware companies in the past were graphic human-machine interface(HMI) packages and applications that furnish display and control func-©2001 by The Fairmont Press, Inc. All rights reserved.