English

Different wall construction configurations lead to different wall thermal behaviour which affects energy consumption and thermal comfort of the room. In this study, the thermal time constant, the time lag, and the decrement factor are calculated for different wall configurations in order to investigate the best insulation/thermal mass layer distribution in external walls. First, this is done for just a wall by developing a numerical model to solve the one dimensional heat transfer equation in a multilayered wall subjected to convective boundary conditions.

Calibration of Building Energy Simulation is an under-determined problem. There can be several correct solutions. The consequences of using the Building Energy Simulation for retrofit design can be significant. In this paper, we will propose a method that identifies different solutions in the entire field that was studied. It enables one to evaluate the uncertainty in energy saving estimations. The method uses an experimental design in order to reduce calculation time. It uses the coefficient of variation of root mean square error. We applied the method on an old building.

Architecture practice is on the front line directly applying best-case evidence-based solutions to conserve energy. Conserving resources through energy efficiency rely on energy modeling software to simulate performance, evaluate energy use, and optimize energy savings in building designs. Today’s powerful building performance simulation tools can be leveraged for energy modeling during early design phases. To further reduce building energy consumption, energy simulations done during conceptual design has potential to impact longterm energy use in architecture.

The main objective of this study is to develop a more accurate method to estimate the energy consumption of commercial buildings at the design stage. The study is based on the simplified model presented in the Regulation for Energy Efficiency Labelling of Commercial Buildings in Brazil. The first step was to evaluate the feasibility and relevance of more complex statistical modelling techniques, such as the neural network. The second step of the assessment consisted of applying the Latin Hypercube sampling technique to combine the effects of several input parameters.

Natural ventilation is a cost-effective way to reduce cooling energy for buildings. However, the performance of natural ventilation largely depends on outdoor climate. A good and feasible control strategy is the key to ensure high performance of natural ventilation. Typically, windows are operated by occupants. Therefore, a control strategy that based on human behavior can enhance the performance of natural ventilation. This paper studied four different control strategies that simulate human behavior based on temperature and humidity in a climate with high outdoor humidity.

In this paper, we give an overview of an on-going research work aiming at assessing the benefits that could be drawn from applying advanced software engineering techniques – namely model-driven architecture, component-based approaches and model-based system engineering – to support building life cycle tasks (especially design ones) which entail making use of digital models. 

This article shows the combination of a thermal-airflow simulation program with an energy systems analysis model in order to assess the use of natural ventilation as a method for saving energy within residential buildings in large-scale scenarios. The aim is to show the benefits for utilizing natural airflow instead of active systems such as mechanical ventilation or air-conditioning in buildings where the indoor temperature is over the upper limit of the comfort range.