English

This paper reports on a research that aims at identifying acceptable window configurations that suit the requirements of hospital Intensive Care Units located in the desert. It aims at achieving daylight adequacy and visual comfort in a typical assumed ICU space, in Cairo, Egypt. Annual simulations were conducted using Diva-for-Rhino, a plug-in for Rhinoceros modeling software that was used to interface Radiance and Daysim. Six window-to-wall ratios were investigated; in addition the effect of adding shading and daylighting systems was examined.

This paper demonstrates a reproducible methodology for calibrating detailed energy models using hourly measured data that has been applied to evaluation of a large naturally ventilated university building. The aim of the project is to develop a rigorous calibra-tion method and use it to investigate Energy Con-servation Measures (ECM) and retrofit renewable en-ergy technologies to achieve carbon emissions reduc-tion.

Simulating heat conduction in massive walls with commercial software is reported to cause numerical instability or reduced accuracy. As contribution to the discussion, we have simulated one-dimensional heat conduction in massive walls and their dynamic thermal responses to a step, a sinusoid and time se-ries in TRNSYS, EnergyPlus, Delphin and Matlab. As reference, we have used EN ISO 13786:2007 and a self-written Matlab response factor method imple-mentation.

This paper presents a high-level overview of a methodology for analysing window shade use in existing buildings. Time-lapse photography is paired with a robust image recognition algorithm to facilitate assessment of shade use and identify any possible trends. The methodology applied on a high-rise building consisting of multiple open plan offices. The analysis showed that the mean shade occlusion and the shade movement rate depend on façade orientation, with the near-south façade having the highest values and the near-north façade having the lowest ones.

Domestic heating systems often work with too high supply temperatures. This means that heat genera-tors and especially heat pumps work with a lower effi-ciency than possible.
The influence of the supply temperature on the effi-ciency of an air-to-water heat pump is discussed. An adaptive supply temperature control is presented that operates according to the heat load of the building whereas information of electronic thermostatic valve heads are used.

Traditional building simulation tools have achieved considerable success in the past. They provide the essential foundation for modeling highly sophisti-cated tasks. Nevertheless, new challenges and cur-rent progress in the energy domain require rapid pro-totyping capabilities for just-in-time model-based in-vestigation. Supporting these requirements is one of the many advantages of employing modern univer-sal modeling languages. This work addresses the in-tegration of the modern modeling language Model-ica with the traditional simulation tool TRNSYS.