This work proposes a method for developing an accurate correlation to predict thermal comfort (TC) as function of occupant physiological and environmental parameters. This method is implemented for a space that relies on hybrid natural ventilation (NV) and personalized ventilation (PV) cooling. Multivariable linear regression was adopted to develop the TC correlation while retaining variables based

Performing a probabilistic assessment of a building component can easily become computationally inhibitive. To solve this issue, the hygrothermal model can be replaced by a metamodel, which mimics the original model with a strongly reduced calculation time. In this paper, convolutional neural networks are used to predict hygrothermal performance. Because neural networks do not extrapolate well outside

ABSTRACT Fluid temperature predictions of geothermal borefields usually involve temporal superposition of its characteristic g-function, using load aggregation schemes to reduce computational times. Assuming that the ground has linear properties, it can be modelled as a linear state-space system where the states are the aggregated loads. However, the application and accuracy of these models is compromised

ABSTRACT The growing use of intermittent renewable energy sources requires an increased amount of storage capacity to match uncertain generation with uncertain demand. A possible solution is the use of thermal and electrical storages. This paper compares several model formulations: mixed integer linear programs (MILPs), nonlinear programs (NLPs), mixed integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs) for optimizing

Effective and scalable methods for modelling existing non-domestic buildings and their HVAC systems under uncertainty continue to be instrumental in risk-conscious building performance assessment, recommissioning, and retrofit practice. This study makes such an attempt for large buildings with radiator system with a modelling method that builds upon detailed state space models of radiator-heated spaces

In order to improve the performance of a surrogate model-based optimization method for building optimization problems, a new active sampling strategy employing a committee of surrogate models is developed. This strategy selects new samples that are in the regions of the parameter space where the surrogate model predictions are highly uncertain and have low energy use. Results show that the new sampling

Perceptions of occupants to energy use, collected in questionnaire surveys, were used as input variable for building simulations. These perceptions are related to occupant interactions with lighting, plug loads, heating, cooling, windows opening and shading. The simulations were performed to a green-rated (GB) and a non-rated building, in Sydney Australia, with similar characteristics. The simulation

ABSTRACT With recent advancement in energy-based sustainable design of building structures, the need for inclusive yet practical models to integrate resilience and sustainability is increasingly recognized. This paper integrates structural seismic resilience and sustainability assessment methods with whole-building energy simulation techniques to present a new comprehensive decision model for the design

This study presents a new integration of air-source heat pumps, solar collectors, and phase change material tanks regarding the dynamics of outdoor swimming pools, and investigates its application in outdoor swimming pools to extend their availability in the winter in subtropical climates. Since multiple heat sources are used, two issues in the development are addressed: (1) main component sizing and

Power consumption in buildings show nonlinear behaviours that linear models cannot capture, whereas recurrent neural networks (RNNs) can. This ability makes RNNs attractive alternatives for the model-predictive control (MPC) of buildings. However, RNNs are nonlinear and non-smooth functions which makes their use challenging in optimization problems. Therefore, this work systematically investigates

To improve the prediction of the building’s energy performance, it has become necessary to evaluate their interactions with the urban microclimate. This study aims to propose an integrated model in the TRNSYS software with a simplified approach to assess building energy demand, including microclimate interactions on buildings. This model is based on thermoradiative and aeraulic modelling by considering

In this paper, the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method and the discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM) are combined to construct a reduced-order model for a cost-optimal simulation of heat and moisture transfer in building materials. The POD-DEIM performance is assessed via two applications: a relatively simple case study on nonlinear heat conduction and a more complex case study on

The present study aims to examine the effects of medical staff’s turning movements on the number of particles falling onto the patient. A simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the operating room was developed and validated based on the published data. An RNG k-ε turbulence model based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations was used to simulate the airflow, while a

Buildings energy efficiency is highly dependent on occupants’ energy and environmental lifestyle. In this view, this work aims at identifying the potential benefits of human-based energy retrofit strategies, namely human behaviour triggering actions and associated energy awareness, through large-scale surveys and calibrated building dynamic simulation. In detail, a questionnaire is submitted to office

Office lighting installations often inefficiently expend energy illuminating space that is unoccupied and/or already receiving adequate daylight. Illuminance and occupancy sensors can enable substantial energy savings by deploying electric lighting only in proximity to occupants, and at levels required to supplement available daylight. Savings vary based on sensor granularity, daylight availability

Annual luminance maps provide meaningful evaluations for occupants’ visual comfort and perception. This paper presents a novel data-driven approach for predicting annual luminance maps from a limited number of point-in-time high-dynamic-range imagery by utilizing a deep neural network. A sensitivity analysis is performed to develop guidelines for determining the minimum and optimum data collection

This paper analyses structural and acoustic performance interactions of a building covered with a cable net and membrane roof following a multiphysics approach. The problem has three different variables: the roof time-depending deformed shape under wind action (duration 1800 s), the extremely variable position of a singer on the stage (30 s speaker recorded movements were expanded through a 6th order

In the UK, heating systems are the most prominent contributor to residential energy demand, with about 80% of the share. Their representation has thus been at the core of all UK-focussed Housing Stock Energy Models (HSEMs). However, these HSEMs estimate heating demand based on monthly or annual energy balances, with correspondingly approximate representations of heating systems and practices (incl

Operational parameters of air handling units (AHUs) play an important role in the energy and comfort performance of commercial buildings. Current guidelines to determine these parameters are based on heuristics and are not informed by formal optimization. This paper presents a building performance optimization method to derive sequence of operations for multi-zone AHUs. To this end, 27 variants of

Full integration of building energy modelling into the design and retrofit process has long been a goal of building scientists and practitioners. However, significant barriers still exist. Among them are the lack of available: (1) configurable technology stacks for performing both small- and large-scale analyses, (2) different classes of algorithms compatible with common design workflows, and (3) analysis

Predictive controllers can greatly improve the performance of energy systems in buildings. An important challenge of these controllers is the need of a building model accurate and simple enough for optimization. Grey-box modelling stands as a popular approach, but the identification of reliable grey-box models is hampered by the complexity of the parameter estimation process, specifically for multi-zone

This paper compares Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) and Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) standard to conduct coupled energy modelling and control for academic and research campuses. The intent is to systematically compare BCVTB and FMI. As proof-of-concept demonstration, building energy models of Colorado School of Mines are developed in EnergyPlus and coupled through BCVTB and FMI. The

Developing a computationally efficient but accurate building energy simulation (BES) model is important for many purposes. Model order reduction (MOR) methods are attractive and much more reliable than identification approaches, since it directly extract a lower-dimensional model from a detailed physics-based model without any pre-simulations. However, because of computational and data storage requirements

The present study numerically and experimentally investigates, for the first time in the literature, the thermo-fluid dynamics and ultrafine particle (UFP) concentration in surgical smoke, with diameters smaller than 100 nm, inside an actual operating room (OR) equipped with a turbulent circular diffuser system. The velocity values and temperature fields measured during the experimental analysis at

Planning the operation of large ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems requires accurate models of borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) that are not computationally intensive. In this paper, we propose parameter estimation using measured data as a method to improve the analytical models of BHE. The method was applied to a GSHP system operating for over 3 years. The deviation between modelled and measured

ABSTRACT Active chilled beams (ACBs) are often modelled as generic cooling devices. Due to induction, the air flow discharged from an ACB is several times higher than supplied from the air handling unit, and due to its design, it affects the temperature of the ceiling to a greater extent than an arbitrary cooling device. This paper investigates the impact of taking these features into account when

Occupant behaviour (OB) is recognized as a leading source of uncertainty in building performance predictions. Neglecting the potential influence of uncertainties on building performance could result in erroneous decision-making during the design phase. Therefore, it is essential that uncertainties are appropriately considered within building performance simulation (BPS) models. As for OB, there are

Event-driven optimal control was recently developed for central air-conditioning systems to speed up the response of optimal control to irregular changes in the system optioning conditions. In a time-driven paradigm usually, the optimization is carried out with a constant frequency, however the event-driven optimal control triggers optimization actions by events, which will be essentially defined to

ABSTRACT The World Championship in Cybernetic Building Optimization (WCCBO) was held in 2019 to test participants’ ability to optimize buildings cybernetically. Office buildings with a total floor area of 10,000 m2 were built in cyberspace, one for each of the 33 participating teams. The cyber buildings were controlled by BACnet, and the participants competed to show their operational skills by tuning

Building performance simulation can support parametric explorations of design option spaces. Resources available for modelling and computing often require the reduction of the descriptive information of a design solution at the level of design-space model rather than at that of building model. To obtain that reduction, two design-space models of different scope (for example, one full-scope and simplified

The target of the paper is to study how to devise an efficient discrete-event model for the yearly energy simulation of buildings. Conventionally, software tools use time-driven schemes and many components must be computed at every sampling time-point. Event-driven simulation aims at lowering this burden, by calling only those components whose state is evolving quickly. The article explores a model

This study proposes a replicable approach for evaluating the impact of different weather data sources during the building refurbishment. Starting from a deep energy diagnosis, the numerical model is calibrated by using the weather data and the energy billings of the same year. Then, the performance gap is evaluated due to the adoption of conventional or new weather files defined with data recently

With the increasing integration of multiple energy carriers in district energy systems, an accurate simulation of the district energy demand becomes more crucial. To reduce the required computational power, the district energy demand is often quantified through a limited set of archetype buildings, representing the whole district. As the temporal behaviour is important to assess district energy systems

Overheating in buildings arising from climatic extreme heat events has been identified as a health concern to vulnerable occupants. However, there have been very limited studies to generate suitable weather data to evaluate by simulation the overheating risk and its effect on the comfort and health of occupants. This paper develops a methodology to identify reference summer weather years (RSWY) for

The virtual acoustics provide an important tool in the comprehension of the architectural evolution of a historical place, offering the possibility to consciously operate for its preservation. St. John’s Baptistery represents an outstanding example of medieval architecture, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage and popular for its huge reverberation. When compared to other similar central-symmetry buildings

Simulation tools for predicting building thermal performance and solar system performance must accurately calculate solar irradiance to surfaces of arbitrary orientation. This is imperative to correctly predict passive solar gains to buildings and to accurately estimate thermal and electrical production of solar collectors. In cold climates, where snow covers the ground for long periods of time, ground

A bottom-up building energy modelling at the urban scale based on Geographic Information System and semantic 3D city models can provide quantitative insights to tackle critical urban energy challenges. Nevertheless, incomplete information is a common obstacle to produce reliable modelling results. The residential building heating demand simulation performance gap caused by input uncertainties is discussed

Computational optimization is gaining popularity in energy-efficient building design. For choosing an algorithm or setting its parameters, often mathematical test functions are employed. This study, therefore, investigates differences and similarities between such test functions and building energy optimization (BEO) problems. A fitness landscape analysis (FLA) is conducted with existing and newly

Technical-grade and mixed solid/liquid phase change materials (PCM) typically melt and solidify over a temperature range, sometimes exhibiting thermal hysteresis. Three phenomenological phase transition models are presented which are directly parametrized using data from complete melting and solidification experiments. They predict hysteresis phenomena and are used to calculate effective PCM properties

Data-driven models replicate the irregular Bidirectional Scattering Distribution Functions (BSDFs) of optically Complex Fenestration Systems in daylight simulation. RADIANCE employs the tensor tree to store the BSDF at high directional resolution. Its application in backward ray-tracing is however challenging, since the density of stochastic samples must match the model resolution. BSDF proxy and peak

Underfloor air distribution (UFAD) systems are known to provide thermal comfort and good indoor air quality (IAQ) at relatively low energy cost. The aim of this paper is to develop an analytical model to predict the vertical CO2 distributions inside contaminated thermal plumes and in the surrounding air in UFAD spaces. The 2D model is based on thermal plume and turbulent fountain theory and it accounts

Energy-efficient retrofits have become crucial in building sector as approximately 80% of buildings in developed countries are over 10 years old. Building simulation tools are now being used to provide estimates of energy consumption and implement various models which differ on the basis of enclosed details. Not all of these models are effective in terms of computation and the associated computational

The purpose of this article is to present and validate a computationally efficient numerical approach for the calculation of the ground-coupled heat transfer in buildings with periodic boundary conditions. When the boundary conditions of the heat transfer problem are described by periodic functions, it is possible to consider the transient state problem as a quasi-stationary problem with considerable

Non-prescriptive design within fire engineering is becoming more prevalent as buildings get taller and more complex. This necessitates the increased use of reliable deterministic predictions, typically computational fluid dynamics-based models. Driven by time constraints, modellers are required to limit the domain to reduce wall time. This ignores the two-way coupling of a fire and a total building

This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based approach able to predict the internal lighting conditions in a working environment, taking into account the daylight entering the respective space as well as the special requirements of each user. The model training procedure is based both on real illuminance and occupancy data (measurements throughout a year) and on simulations, in order

State-of-the-art Modelica tools for modelling and simulating multi-physical systems have reached certain maturity among the building physics community. Hence, simulation is widely used for control, sizing and performance assessment of energy systems. However, serious efficiency issues arise for large-scale models. This article proposes a practical application of co-simulation methods on detailed district

A “performance gap” arises when the actual value of building energy consumption during the operational phase deviates from the value predicted using simulation during the design phase. One cause of this performance gap is that operation is not ideal, as assumed in the simulation, and the control of the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is not optimized. These problems occur because

The energy needed for the production of domestic hot water (DHW) represents an important share in the total energy demand of well-insulated and airtight buildings. DHW is produced, stored and distributed above 60°C to kill Legionella pneumophila. This elevated temperature is not necessary for DHW applications and has a negative effect on the efficiency of hot water production units. In this paper,

This study describes the development of the optimal control strategies of eight parallel heat pumps in an existing building. The building consists of seven floors above ground and two floors underground with a total floor area of 22,440 m2. The chilled water generated by each of the eight parallel heat pumps runs through a common primary pipe to multiple air-handling units in the building. Because

(2019). Guest Editorial. Journal of Building Performance Simulation: Vol. 12, Building Performance Simulation and the User, pp. 243-245.

There is currently no established methodology for the generation of synthetic stochastic internal load profiles for input into building energy simulation. In this paper, a Functional Data Analysis approach is used to propose a new data-centric bottom-up model of plug loads based on hourly data monitored at a high spatial resolution and by space-use type for a case-study building. The model comprises

This article describes the development of a new instructional design (ISD) to promote building energy simulation (BES) education. The study is based upon education fundamentals combined with computer-based learning and hypermedia to enable the development of a BES-based distance learning system. Some cognitive tools are established such as: (i) an interdisciplinary knowledge tree of BES that can be

One of the promising use cases of building performance simulation (BPS) is its role as a virtual laboratory in research and development (R&D) projects that aim to bring innovative building components from initial idea towards market introduction. By facilitating what-if explorations and whole-building insights, BPS can create complementary value, alongside actual experiments. However, explorative R&D

Quick U-building (QUB) is a method for short time measurement of energy performance of buildings, typically one night. It uses the indoor air temperature response to the power delivered to the indoor air by electric heaters. This paper introduces a method for estimating the expected measurement error as a function of the amplitude and the time duration of the input signal based on the decomposition

The authors present a novel method for using electrical meter data to synthesize realistic equipment use schedules that can improve models of electrical demand in buildings. Other methods exist for creating schedules based on historical data from a limited set of past field studies, but the method presented here is unique because it allows a modeller to customize and calibrate equipment use schedules

Modelica is a promising open-source modelling language for simulation and derivative-based optimization of multi-zone buildings, including detailed pressure-driven flow networks and building controllers. Such Modelica models have however not yet been demonstrated for buildings with many zones and complex HVAC systems. This paper presents and provides implementation details of the simulation model of

The paper deals with the comparison of the one-dimensional (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) models of a thermally activated wall panel with a microencapsulated phase change material. The 3D model was created in the off-the-shelf simulation tool COMSOL Multiphysics. The 1D model was an in-house developed TRNSYS type. The main advantage of the 1D model is the short computation time but it comes at the

Reflected sunlight from the Walkie-Talkie building in 20 Fenchurch Street, London, was reported to have caused the melting of plastic components of a car parked at street level in late August of 2013. The incident was explained by the concave-shaped south façade of the building, which converges solar radiation into a hotspot. In this study, we test the sunlight concentation hypothesis with a lighting

Energy-related occupant behaviour is crucial to design and operation of energy and control systems in buildings. Occupant behaviours are often oversimplified as static schedules or settings in building performance simulation ignoring their stochastic nature. The continuous and dynamic interaction between occupants and building systems motivates their simultaneous simulation in an efficient manner.

The present work is aimed at performing a qualitative analysis of the effect of maintenance intensity on energy consumption, energy costs and emissions in healthcare centres. Most relevant variables involved in the maximization of the building efficiency were determined by means of fuzzy cognitive maps. Twelve variables were observed to show a direct connection to the energy and environmental efficiency