IBPSA2011

This work shows the optimization of natural ventilation within buildings at the stage of design and behaviour of the occupants. An evaluation is done by coupled multizone air modelling and thermal building simulation by using a deterministic set of input factors comprising among others climate, local environment, building characteristics, building systems, behaviour of occupants, heat loads. Selected deterministic input factors were varied to generate additional information applied in an optimization loop. 

In 2005, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) in the Victorian State of Australia introduced a new design for relocatable classroom buildings known as the „N1‟ design.  This was further refined in the „N2‟ design incorporating additional Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) features.  This paper presents further improvements made to the „N2‟ relocatable classroom particularly with respect to operational and embodied energy through the use of building energy and lifecycle modelling during the early stages of the design process.

This paper focuses on the study of the office room, investigating the influence of temperature sensor placement on the heating energy consumption and thermal comfort in the central European climate conditions. Temperature simulation of the zone focused on different boundary conditions at points on the location of the sensor compared to the centre of the room. A new approach in the use of ESP-r for evaluation of resultant temperature for different locations in the room, using MRT (mean radiant sensor) function and air temperature was tested.

Since the last decade, it has seen a surge in the need of uncertainty analysis for building energy assessment, but it is often overlooked that the vital part of uncertainty analysis is the determination of uncertainty in model parameters. Significant discrepancy in microclimate state variables has been observed between the predictions and the true climates around the building.

This study compares the performance of three different double skin facade configurations in prevailing summer conditions in a temperate climate. CFD simulation results compare cavity air velocity profiles and indoor temperatures to examine the potential for natural ventilation. Of particular interest, is the possibility of vitiated air flowing from one level to the other and increasing the contamination level on subsequent floors.

The use of thermal insulation in the building envelope in hot and humid climate is investigated through computer simulation. A total of 1,944 parametric simulation runs were carried out for three different cities and climate zones in Brazil (Curitiba, Brasilia and Salvador), considering variation of window-to-wall ratio, SHGC of the glazing system, insulation thickness in exterior walls, type of walls, and internal load densities. The results have confirmed that the building envelope has more influence on cooling energy consumption for building models with low interior load densities.

This research studies the influence of changing patterns of land use on natural ventilation using a cfd tool, with a case study in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. This urban area is intensifying its occupation through tall buildings and constructive densification. Virtual three-dimensional models were reproduced. The first model represents the present situation of this part of the city, the second one expresses the maximum occupancy permitted by urban legislation and a third scenario indicates an intermediate proposal as a criticism of law permissiveness.

Within the scope of the HOMES programme, five pilot sites (real buildings) were chosen to study the benefits of active energy efficiency on building energy performance. This article deals with using simulation to assess control functions impact on energy consumption and comfort. Model’s data came from audit report, expert knowledge but also from the use of site monitoring. Main goal for this first step was to compare the actual building performance with a similar building equipped with HOMES control solution. 

This paper presents a novel simulation system which couples a computational fluid dynamics program with a model of human thermal comfort and thermo-regulation. The coupled system is used to predict the performance of a buoyancy-driven natural ventilation strategy for a typical school classroom in the UK. Results of the coupled system are compared with uncoupled (CFD alone) approaches to simulation. These comparisons highlight areas where a coupled modelling approach is likely to be beneficial.