From Automation to Intelligence: Enhancing Energy Performance of HVAC Systems
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2026 | Viewed by 69
Special Issue Editors
Interests: high-performance building equipment and control systems; large-scale building operation data analytics; the application of machine learning and AI methods to optimal control and operation and maintenance (O&M) in smart buildings
Interests: sustainable and resilient buildings; sustainable and smart cities; grid-interactive efficient buildings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce a Special Issue entitled "From Automation to Intelligence: Enhancing Energy Performance of HVAC Systems" to be published in the journal Buildings.
This Special Issue presents cutting-edge research on automation in buildings for HVAC energy efficiency. Contributions will cover a wide range of themes, including intelligent control algorithms, digital twins, fault detection and diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and the integration of renewable energy with building systems. By combining advances in sensing, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and data analytics, these works will illustrate the transformative role of automation in achieving both energy savings and enhanced occupant comfort.
Together, the articles in this issue will highlight not only technical innovations but also the pathways for translating these advances into practice. They offer a forward-looking view of how advanced automation technologies can drive the evolution toward smart, low-carbon, and resilient buildings.
Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Intelligent and adaptive control strategies for energy optimization in HVAC systems;
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence applications in building automation;
- Digital twin development for HVAC system monitoring, simulation, and optimization;
- IoT-enabled building automation and real-time sensing;
- Fault detection, diagnostics, and predictive maintenance of HVAC equipment;
- Occupant-centric control approaches balancing comfort and energy use;
- Demand response strategies and integration with smart grids;
- Integration of renewable and distributed energy resources with automated HVAC operations;
- Energy-aware building management systems and decision-support platforms;
- Cyber-physical systems and cybersecurity in building automation;
- Case studies and experimental demonstrations of automated HVAC solutions;
- Multi-objective optimization considering energy, cost, and indoor environmental quality;
- Human-in-the-loop automation and user interaction with building control systems.
Dr. Yimin Chen
Dr. Yunyang Ye
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- building automation
- HVAC systems
- energy efficiency
- intelligent control
- digital twin
- IoT (Internet of Things)
- machine learning/artificial intelligence
- fault detection and diagnostics
- predictive maintenance
- occupant-centric control
- smart buildings
- energy management systems
- building to grid
- renewable energy integration
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