An indoor airflow distribution predictor using machine learning for a real-time healthy building monitoring system in the tropics

Indoor air quality is the foundation of a good indoor environment. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of providing real-time airflow distribution information within the Building Environmental Monitoring System (BEMS) to minimize the risk of infectious airborne transmission. This paper discusses the process of developing a predictive model for indoor airflow distribution prediction with indoor and outdoor input parameters using machine learning and its implementation in healthy BEMS for a classroom in the tropical climate region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This paper encompassed field measurement and simulation involving outdoor climate conditions and the operational status of the classroom’s windows, Air Conditioning units, and fans. Three machine learning models were constructed using OLS, LASSO, and Ridge methods. Datasets for the modeling were generated from CFD model simulations in IES VE and were assessed for correlation. The mean temperature and velocity differences between the CFD model simulation and measurement results are 0.21°C and 0.083 m/s, respectively. Outdoor climate conditions and the operational status of the classroom’s utilities significantly influence the indoor airflow distribution characteristics. The three models indicate a relatively poor performance, where the classroom had a relatively low sensitivity to input changes. However, the best model performance was achieved using the LASSO method, with average values from post-normalization of (Formula presented.) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.336 and 0.077, respectively. The model was implemented in healthy BEMS on the “Platform for Healthy and Energy Efficient Building Management System.” Practical Application: This research proposed a machine learning model of indoor airflow characteristics of a classroom in Yogyakarta. The proposed model can be adapted to produce monitoring systems that best represent the related conditions. The method can be adopted to develop a relatively simple, low-cost sensor or model to monitor an indoor environment. Future studies may explore the results of the real-world implementation in a case study. © The Author(s) 2024.