Example of a primary-only plant with four-pipe heat pump
This model illustrates the use of
Buildings.Fluid.HeatPumps.ModularReversible.TableData2DLoadDepSHC
to model a primary-only heating and cooling plant. The simulation
covers a 24-hour period with overlapping heating and cooling
loads. The heating loads reach their peak value first, the cooling
loads reach it last.
The plant model includes the following components.
- Modular four-pipe heat pump with three units
- HW and CHW isolation valves represented by an equivalent
actuator
- Three headered variable-speed primary HW and CHW pumps
- HW and CHW minimum flow bypass valves
A unique aggregated load is modeled on each loop by means of a
cooling or heating component controlled to maintain a constant ΔT
and a modulating valve controlled to track a prescribed flow
rate.
The closed-loop controls includes the following logic.
- Heating and cooling plant enable: See Buildings.Templates.Plants.Controls.Enabling.Enable.
The HW and CHW plant requests used in this logic are generated
based on an opening threshold of 10 % of the equivalent
terminal valves.
- Heat pump operating mode: When the heating plant is enabled and
the cooling plant is disabled, the heat pump is commanded in
heating-only mode. When the cooling plant is enabled and the
heating plant is disabled, the heat pump is commanded in
cooling-only mode. When both the cooling plant and the heating
plant are enabled, the heat pump is commanded in simultaneous
heating and cooling mode. When both the cooling plant and the
heating plant are disabled, the heat pump is commanded off.
- HW and CHW supply temperature: The heat pump is controlled with
constant setpoints equal to the design values.
- Primary HW and CHW pumps controlled to maintain a remote
differential pressure setpoint: See
Buildings.Templates.Plants.Controls.Pumps.Generic.StagingHeadered
for the staging and rotation logic, and
Buildings.Templates.Plants.Controls.Pumps.Generic.ControlDifferentialPressure
for the control logic.
- Minimum flow HW and CHW bypass valves controlled to maintain
the differential pressure across the heat pump HW and CHW headers
at design value.
Simulating this model shows how the plant responds to a varying
load by
- enabling or disabling the heating and cooling plants, and
switching the heat pump operating mode accordingly,
- staging or unstaging the heat pump modules in various
modes,
- actuating the corresponding isolation valves,
- staging, rotating and controlling the primary pumps to meet the
remote differential pressure setpoint.
- modulating the minimum flow bypass valve to keep the header
differential pressure at its design value, which, in conjunction
with the isolation valves' control, effectively results in a
flowrate through the heat pump heat exchangers varying linearly
with the number of enabled modules on each loop.
Contents
| Name |
Description |
Medium |
Main medium (common for CHW and HW) |
- March 23, 2026, by Antoine Gautier:
Refactored with two separate connectors for heating and cooling
on/off commands.
This is for #4507.
- July 1, 2025, by Antoine Gautier:
First implementation.
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