A Multi-agent System for Supervisory Temperature Control Using Fuzzy Logic and Open Platform Communication Data Access

Independent temperature controllers are usually robust and energy efficient because they do not heat or cool the entire building, including spaces that are not occupied, to the same temperature. Moreover, they can use tested and true temperature control techniques such as Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID). Unfortunately, independent temperature controllers usually do not coordinate temperature control of multiple spaces in buildings or multiple buildings maintained by the same organizations to optimize total energy usage. In this paper, we present a multi-agent system that uses fuzzy logic to supervise independent PID temperature controllers. The system has a supervisor agent that adjusts the setpoints of the PID controllers based on total energy cost and other parameters managed by specialized agents. The agents are built using a mix of commercial off-the-shelf software, including LabView, Microsoft Excel, KEPServer Ex5 OPC server, and custom written code. In addition, the multi-agent system uses Open Platform Connectivity (OPC) technology to share data. OPC technology enables the supervisor agent to communicate with the independent temperature controller agents over the Internet making the system scalable to multi-building or multi-unit supervisory control – even if the buildings or the units are not in the same geographical location.