English

Water heating in the U.S. has been identified as a major component of total energy consumption used in buildings, mostly coming from the residential sector at around 11%. A potential opportunity for energy savings in water heating systems is to improve the design of hot water distribution systems (HWDS). Due to the complex heat losses of HWDS, models are needed to optimize HWDS by reducing heat losses. There are three models currently used to simulate thermal performance of hot water distribution systems (HWDS): HWSim, ORNLHWDS, and TRNSYS.

While most current building simulation tools consider occupants as predictable robots the true nature of human behaviour is more complex. This article describes a set of stochastic models aimed at capturing this complexity by decoupling occupant presence from occupant behaviour, then considering separately each means of occupant interaction (use of appliances, of windows, of lighting, etc.) with the building and finally modeling each of these  appropriately.

The Canadian residential sector contributes approximately 80 megatonnes (Mt) of greenhouse gases (GHG) to the environment each year. With the ratification of Kyoto protocol, Canada has committed to reduce its GHG emissions by at least five percent between 2008 and 2012 on the basis of its 1990 emission levels. To meet this target Canada has to evaluate and exploit every feasible meaning to reduce the fossil fuel energy consumption and the consequent GHG emissions. In this work, test-case Canadian houses were modeled in the building energy simulation software ESP-r.

An ESP-r component model for gas-fired water storage tanks was developed within the context of the simulation for building-integrated cogeneration systems. Charged by the cogeneration unit with gas back-up, the tank can be used to satisfy both domestic hot water needs and space heating.

Thermal stratification in solar tanks is essential for a better performance of energy systems where these tanks are integrated. As a consequence, various technological solutions allow, on the one hand, to support stratification and, on the other hand, to decrease its disturbance. A state of the art on existing technologies and the various levels of modeling leads us to propose a pressure zonal model to predict annual performances of a generic solar tank.

Based on results from a field survey campaign, this paper describes three new developments which have been integrated to provide for a comprehensive basis for the evaluation of overheating risk in offices. Firstly, a set of logistic regression equations have been derived to predict the probability of office occupants’ adaptation of personal and environmental characteristics. Secondly, empirical adaptive increments (offsets in comfort temperature) have been derived for each of these modes of adaptation.

The elements and classification of ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are expounded and its prospects in the Yangtze River Area of China were also indicated in the paper. The energy consumption of a model building in the area was simulated with eQUEST tool. Furthermore, the monthly and annual HVAC electric consumption of air source heat pumps (ASHP) and GSHP are contrasted and analyzed, and it is concluded that the GSHP is more efficient than conventional ASHP in the Yangtze River Area.

The moving human (MH) influences the airflow and contaminant distribution, this paper use the commerce software FLUENT6.2 to simulate the influences of the MH to the airflow and TVOCs distribution in both mixing ventilation and placement ventilation. In a three-dimension ventilation room, a pollutant source (TVOCs) was located on the floor and a flesh in a certain zone moving was assumed,  and the unsteady, k-ξ turbulent model be used, According to the simulation results, we studied the influence of MH in the indoor air quality in both mixing ventilation and displacement ventilation.

A data set of myriad and time-varying inhabitant-behavior schedules with a 15-minute time resolution, generated by the authors in a previous study, is validated through a comparison analysis. We show three comparisons. The first and second compare the estimated demand with a time series of actual utility demand. The comparisons indicate that the generated data and its algorithm, described by the authors, have an appropriate robustness.

Building indoor environment quality (IEQ) has received growing attentions lately because of the extended time people spend indoors and the increasing reports of health problems related to poor indoor environments. Recent alarms to potential terrorist attacks with airborne chemical and biological agents (CBA) have further highlighted the research needs on building vulnerability and protection.