Modelling of a Hybrid-Ventilated Building Using ESP-r

This paper reports the results of computer simulations of a hybrid-ventilated building using ESP-r (Environmental Systems Performance for research). A new school building in Norway was used for this simulation study. The research attempted to verify the use of this model for the simulation of a real building utilising hybrid ventilation technologies. The simulations and their analysis focus on the buildings thermal and ventilation performance. The model building has been simulated in three different categories: building thermal simulation, air flow simulation, and building + air flow integrated simulation. Measured weather data were used to define the outdoor conditions of the building. It covers a representative heating period comprising time-series of minutely measured values of air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, and wind direction. In addition, to assist verification, some measured parameters of the indoor environment, such as temperature, were compared to model predictions. The research concludes that modelling of hybrid ventilated buildings using this type of approach is possible and the resultant outputs are feasible and practical in terms of both the thermal and ventilation points of view. However, at the same time, limitations do exist when it attempts to model complicated building systems or to model CO2 based control systems.