English

This paper presents a methodology to measure the ef-fect of economic incentives on energy-cost optimal curves. A case-study using a net-zero energy home, located in Montréal, demonstrated the methodology. An EnergyPlus model evaluated the net-energy con-sumption objective function using 17 design variables. The life-cycle cost objective function was evaluated by post-processing energy simulation results. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm searched the solution space for energy-cost optimal curves.

This paper explores the thermal performance of the Global Earthship design. Earthship is an autonomous earth-sheltered home utilising passive solar principles. Hourly monitoring data of the indoor temperature in such a building in Taos, New Mexico, were used to calibrate a simulation model of the building. Using the calibrated model, the performance of this design is investigated in other locations: Paris, Albacete, Seville, Valladolid, and London.

In this study the coupling of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) differential and human thermal comfort (HTC) integral numerical models is developed and used. The HTC integral numerical model evaluates the thermal comfort in non-uniform environments, while the CFD differential numerical model evaluates the airflow inside the virtual chamber and around the manikins. The numerical simulation, using upper crossed ventilation and made in winter conditions, is applied inside a virtual chamber equipped with two seated manikins, one desk and two seats.

Whole building energy models have found widespread use in estimating the energy consumption of building sys-tems. Within these models, usage profiles are assumed when capturing the influence of processes such as occu-pancy, lighting, and equipment operation. Usage profiles are defined hourly, but are repetitive in the sense that their shapes are periodic, typically, from week to week. When evaluating a design, the use of periodic usage profiles is accepted since detailed knowledge of building operation is usually unknown.

This paper investigates the environmental conditions inside a highly-glazed cross-ventilated meeting room. A 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of an indoor environment is developed with the support of the field measurements performed in a normally operating room.  The work presented here follows the steps of the formal calibration methodology for the development of CFD models of naturally ventilated environments. This paper utilises the calibration methodology in order to predict environmental conditions within the highly-glazed cross-ventilated room occupied by people.

Many attempts have been made to automatically convert architectural 3D models into thermal models for building performance simulation. This paper describes a method that is capable of abstracting an arbitrary building massing into a meaningful group of thermal shoebox models. The algorithm is meant to bridge the existing gap between architectural and thermal representations of the same building and to facilitate the use of energy models during schematic design by providing instant performance feedback from the massing stage onwards.

In oasis cities urban forest shades the lower level facades of buildings. It is thus crucial to analyze the distributional patterns of sun radiation produced by trees on facades. On the assumption that lighting behavior of trees as sun control elements more closely resembles a louvers system rather than other frequently used solar control systems (ej. perforated obstruction), the present study seeks to verify which of these formal simplifications adjusts better to the real case. The methodology used in this study relies on simulation models generated with hemispherical images.