English

A recently completed extension to IEA BESTEST includes further work on tests suitable for the validation of ground coupled heat transfer modules within building energy simulation software. The model described here forms part of this work. A finite difference model was prepared and applied to ground coupled heat transfer in the environs of a building for a range of geometries and boundary conditions. The model was verified by demonstrating close agreement with an analytical solution and with two independent models; it is therefore fit for purpose.

This paper compares daylight simulation results generated with two simulation programs, 3ds Max® Design 2009 and Daysim 3.0, to indoor illuminance measurements in a sidelit space. The sidelit space was in a single location, but was configured with five fenestration and glazing options, and operated under a variety of sky conditions. Both programs were given external direct and diffuse irradiances as simulation input, from which they had to predict indoor illuminances on a grid of upward facing work plane sensors and downward facing ceiling sensors.

Velux Daylight Visualizer 2 is a software tool dedicated to daylighting design and analysis. It is intended to simulate daylight transport in buildings and to aid professionals by predicting and documenting daylight levels and appearance of a space prior to realization of the building design. The critical question is whether Velux Daylight Visualizer 2 produces trustable simulations the user can be confident in. A key point to answer this question is to assess the software capability to simulate the light transport in a physically correct way.

Building simulation must be calibrated to fit the customer’s bill before applying energy saving measures. However, existing calibration methods are usually too complex to be included in building simulation software. The author has developed and implemented in DOE2.1E based building simulation software a calibration method which assists the software user in the calibration process using built-in engineering rules as well as optimization algorithms based on Marquardt-Levenberg non linear least square method.

The main objective of this article is to present the calibration process of a computer model of a naturally-ventilated house built in southern Brazil. The house was monitored over two seven-day periods by using Hobo data loggers. The EnergyPlus computer program was used to create a computer model for the house; parameters related to air infiltration and natural ventilation were modeled by using the AirflowNetwork. The internal air temperatures obtained from the simulations were compared with those measured in the house.

This paper discusses modelling methodology of the energy use of a certain amount of building stock at the city/regional/national level. In the methodology, building stock is divided into several stock categories and unit energy consumption for each category is quantified by performing simulations using prototypical building models as simulation input each representing a building stock category. For accurately modelling the energy use and estimate potential contributions of energy-conservation technologies, classification of the building stock is crucial as it homogenizes the stock group.

The objective of this work is to present an inverse method solving the transient heat-transfer problem in walls aiming to estimate its thermal properties. The procedure uses a finite difference numerical scheme, simulated in the environment SIMSPARK that is non object oriented and allows solving highly non linear problems. A method aiming to estimate building envelope thermal characteristics is elaborated knowing experimental in situ measurements.

Energy-efficiency seems to be one key-driver for whole building and construction industry in the future. Therefore, new construction and building service concepts are obviously needed. Most likely better thermal insulation levels and at least partly new heating and cooling solutions will be adopted. To avoid unpleasant indoor environment outcomes in future buildings, a holistic approach focusing on occupant aspects is recommended.

Knowing the presence or the actual number of occupants in a space at any given time is essential for the effec-tive management of various building operation functions such as security and environmental control (e.g., lighting, HVAC). In the past, motion detection using Passive In-frared (PIR) sensors has been widely deployed in com-mercial buildings and can provide data on “presence” sta-tus.

Contemporary office buildings commonly experience changes in occupancy patterns and needs due to changes in business practice and personal churns. Hence, it is important to understand and accurately capture the information of such trends for applications in building design and subsequent building operations. Detection of occupant presence has been used extensively in built environments for applications such as demand-controlled ventilation and security, and occupancy profiles are widely used in building simulations.