Optimization study of photovoltaic direct-driven air conditioning system based on occupants’ behavior and thermal comfort

The photovoltaic direct-driven air conditioning (PVAC) system is vital for enhancing the consumption of distributed PV generation and improving building energy efficiency. However, the energy mismatching problem is serious due to the fluctuating PV generation. Considering the characteristics of the temporal-spatial trait of building occupancy patterns and the thermal comfort temperature range (TCTR), this paper proposes a part-time part-space (PTPS) operating mode with TCTR for PVAC to improve PVAC's real-time energy matching. Energy control strategies for college office buildings vary based on occupancy patterns, focusing on self-consumption (SC), self-sufficiency (SS), real-time zero energy probability (RZEP), and thermal comfort satisfaction rate (TCSR). Lastly, PV capacity was optimized based on three energy control strategies. Results indicate that in full-time full-space mode with constant indoor temperatures, SS, SC, and RZEP attain only 63.57 %, 63.57 %, 30.77 %, respectively. When the PTPS mode with TCTR is implemented, they can be improved to 92.80 %, 72.39 %, 80.30 %. The optimized strategy can enhance TCSR from 60.2 % to 74.03 % while utilizing full PV generation. Moreover, the PTPS mode can reduce the required PV capacity by 20 %. This research provides a novel approach to the design and control of PVAC systems through PTPS and TCTR to achieve real-time energy matching target.