ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE FOR BUILDINGS

For many years environments within buildings have been controlled using analogue electromechanical devices. In more recent times the advent of the microprocessor introduced Direct Digital Control (DDC) to building services. This has popularly become known as 'BEMS' (Building Energy Management Systems). It represented a major development offering the ability to control services systems with greater flexibility than ever before whilst providing a better quality environment for the building user. This paper reviews the evolution of BEMS from its beginning in the 1970s to the present, concentrating on the control aspects. The current status of the technology in this fast-moving field is described in terms of system layout, system hardware and control techniques; current UK research is discussed, including that of the authors, together with its implications for the systems of the future. The main thrust of national control research in this area at present is towards the development of adaptive systems which maintain optimal performance as conditions change. The successful development of these self-tuning techniques will be a further step towards the truly intelligent building.