HVAC system with building infection control

A controller for a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building, the controller comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining one or more predictive models configured to predict values of a first control objective and a second control objective for one or more building zones of the building as a function of control decision variables for the HVAC system, the first control objective comprising an indication of infection risk that results from a predicted concentration of airborne infectious quanta, the indication of infection risk predicted by an infectious quanta model as a function of the control decision variables, wherein the HVAC system comprises one or more air handling units, rooftop units, or variable air volume units and wherein the control decision variables comprise at least one of a supply air temperature setpoint or a minimum ventilation setpoint for the one or more building zones, whether to operate ultraviolet (UV) disinfection devices or standalone in-zone filtration units, or a type of filter to be used in the HVAC system;
• performing an analysis of a previous time period using the one or more predictive models to determine an analysis set of values of the first control objective and the second control objective as a function of values of the control decision variables over the previous time period;
• performing a Pareto optimization for a future time period using the one or more predictive models to determine a plurality of sets of Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding sets of Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective for the future time period;
• and
• providing a user interface comprising multiple selectable control plan options, the user interface comprising for each of the multiple selectable control plan options (i) a set of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and (ii) a corresponding set of the Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective predicted to result from the set of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables;
• wherein the infectious quanta model is a dynamic infectious quanta model and the second control objective comprises an energy metric predicted by an energy model as a second function of the control decision variables for the HVAC system.

A method for operating a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system for one or more building zones, method comprising:

• obtaining one or more predictive models configured to predict values of a first control objective and a second control objective for the one or more building zones as a function of control decision variables for airside HVAC equipment, the first control objective comprising an indication of infection risk that results from a predicted concentration of airborne infectious quanta, the indication of infection risk predicted by an infectious quanta model as a function of the control decision variables, the airside HVAC equipment comprising one or more air handling units, rooftop units, or variable air volume units, the control decision variables for the airside HVAC equipment comprising at least one of a supply air temperature setpoint, a minimum ventilation setpoint for the one or more building zones, whether to operate ultraviolet (UV) disinfection devices or standalone in-zone filtration units, or a type of filter to be used in the airside HVAC equipment;
• performing a Pareto optimization for a time period using the one or more predictive models to determine a plurality of sets of Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding sets of Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective for the time period;
• providing a user interface comprising multiple selectable control plan options, the user interface comprising for each of the multiple selectable control plan options (i) a set of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and (ii) a corresponding set of the Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective predicted to result from the set of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables;
• and
• operating the airside HVAC equipment to provide the air to the one or more building zones in accordance with a set of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables over the time period corresponding to a control plan option of the multiple selectable control plan options selected via the user interface;
• wherein the infectious quanta model is a dynamic infectious quanta model and the second control objective comprises an energy metric predicted by an energy model as a second function of the control decision variables for the airside HVAC equipment.

A controller for a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building, the controller comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining one or more predictive models configured to predict values of a first control objective and a second control objective for one or more building zones of the building as a function of control decision variables for the HVAC system, the first control objective comprising an indication of infection risk that results from a predicted concentration of airborne infectious quanta, the indication of infection risk predicted by an infectious quanta model as a function of the control decision variables, the HVAC system including one or more air handling units, rooftop units, or variable air volume units, wherein the control decision variables for the HVAC system comprise at least one of a supply air temperature setpoint, a minimum ventilation setpoint for the one or more building zones, whether to operate ultraviolet (UV) disinfection devices or standalone in-zone filtration units, or a type of filter to be used in the HVAC system;
• performing an analysis of a previous time period using the one or more predictive models to determine an analysis set of values of the first control objective and the second control objective as a function of values of the control decision variables over the previous time period;
• performing a Pareto optimization for a future time period using the one or more predictive models to determine a plurality of sets of Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding sets of Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective for the future time period;
• selecting two or more of the sets of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective based on the Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective;
• and
• providing a user interface comprising two or more selectable control plan options corresponding to the selected two or more sets of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective, the two or more selectable control plan options also comprising a predicted energy cost for each of the two or more selectable control plan options;
• and
• operating the HVAC system to affect an environmental condition of the building in accordance with the values of the control decision variables corresponding to a set of the Pareto optimal values of the control decision variables and corresponding Pareto optimal values of the first control objective and the second control objective corresponding to a control plan selected via the user interface;
• wherein the infectious quanta model is a dynamic infectious quanta model and the second control objective comprises an energy metric predicted by an energy model as a second function of the control decision variables for the HVAC system.