Optimization of MVAC systems for energy management by evolutionary algorithm

Energy management in existing building services installations is an essential focus of contemporary facilities management. The subway company that is one of the major utilities services in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has considered better energy management schemes in its subway stations to reduce the running cost. In the past few years, in order to achieve energy saving in the stations, some feasible measures in the Mechanical Ventilation and Air Conditioning (MVAC) systems were implemented, however the engineering decisions were supported by the trial-and-error or imprecise estimation. Improvement to this process would be possible if numerical optimization methods were to be used. Evolutionary algorithm coupled with external plant simulation programme was applied to determine the optimum conditions of the essential parameters of the MVAC systems, in order to provide a holistic energy management approach. For the centralized MVAC systems of the 5 subway stations under studies, the developed optimization and simulation model was found useful to appraise the energy management opportunities for effective design and facilities management.