Classic wall gas boiler regulation and a new thermostat using fuzzy logic - Improvements achieved with a fuzzy thermostat

The present payer deals with the improved performances and thermal comfort of individual forced hot water heating systems equipped with a gas fired wa ll boiler, for homes. The problems of such systems are due to the high powe r of the burner which causes cyclic running. Furthermore, the installation of a room thermostat is imposed by the French thermal regulations. Develope d independently from the boiler, the thermostat does not fit its environ me nt. The manual aquastat set point adjustment at the boiler can lead to a se t point conflicting with that of the thermostat. Hence, the authors have de veloped a new room thermostat, based on a fuzzy logic function, which takes into account the system reactions. This thermostat assimilates the charact eristics of the different parts of the system: boiler, heaters, building, c limate, etc. The new thermostat was tested in simulation and good results w ere obtained. Then. it was validated experimentally. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd. All rights reserved.