English

An index of local thermal comfort and pollutant distributions have been computed with the TEMPEST computer code, in a transient simulation of an air-conditioned enclosure with an incomplete partition. This complex three-dimensional airconditioning problem included forced ventilation through inlet vents, flow through a partition, remote return air vents, an infiltration source, a pollutant source, and a thermostatically controlled airconditioning system. Five forced ventilation schemes that varied in vent areas and face velocities were simulated.

Proposed construction of high rise buildings near the U. S. Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. caused astronomers to ask what effect the heat released by these buildings would have on their ability to make accurate observations. Models of the thermal performance of the proposed buildings were developed and used to estimate the rate of heat release to the atmosphere.

Collaborative efforts among building simulation researchers in Europe and the US have resulted in wide acceptance of certain features as necessary attributes of future simulation environments. As identified 'in the Energy Kernel System (EKS), the principal features are those of the object-oriented programming (OOP) paradigm, in which a hierarchy of submodels is readily defined and interconnected to form system models of widely varying purpose, solution methodology, and implementation description.

The heat transfer processes occurring in the earth surrounding a building have a substantial effect on the building's energy consumption. During the heating season, for example, heat loss through ground- contact surfaces may be one of the most significant contributors to building heating load. Equipment sizing procedures and building energy analyses must use some method for calculating heat exchange between the building and the surrounding earth if they are to adequately calculate the building heating and cooling loads.

Modellers ands users of simulation softwares need to agree on a standard way to state the physical bases of their models The proposals presented in this paper are not new; they refer to the very classical way of describing thermodynamical systems. The basic piece of this description is the reference volume which may be "crossed" by mass and energy flows and which may also have some (mass and/or energy) "capacity". R-C networks are nothing more than "degenerate" or "simplified" sets of reference volumes.

This paper describes a general purpose software, Florida Software for Engineering Calculations (FSEC 1.1), that is capable of solving various transport equations used in building science (e.g., combined heat and moisture transfer, fluid flow, contaminant dispersion equations, etc.). The governing equations are solved by finite element methods. General capabilities and an overview of the software structure are given.

Many criticisms have been made about existing software for building energy analysis and simulation. In this paper, we try to show the interest of the model-based approach. The credibility of simulation results is pointed out. Main aspects of the CSTB contribution, in the framework of the GER ALMETH, are presented : the PROFORMA project about model documentation, and the MODELOTHEQUE project aiming to the design of a specific model base and its intelligent management system.

Traditionally, the lighting engineering community has emphasized illuminance, the amount of light reaching a surface, as the primary design goal. The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) provides tables of illuminances for different types of tasks which lighting engineers consult in designing lighting systems [Kaufman8l]. Illuminance has proven to be a popular metric because it corresponds closely to the amount of energy needed to light a building as well as the initial cost of the lighting system.

The Indoor Air Quality Simulator for personal computers (IAQPC) has been developed in response to the growing need for quick, accurate predictions of indoor air contamination levels. Many building energy use programs are currently in use, but heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system designers need a way to determine if a planned system will ensure the health of building occupants. Scientists will find this program useful as an experimental design aid, and building personnel will be able to use it to determine approaches that will alleviate contamination problems.

Lighting energy conservation measures are typically recommended in commercial bui1ding energy audits. Over 60% of the cost in Bonneville Power's commercial building energy conservation programs are related to lighting. To estimate lighting energy savings it is not uncommon to ignore detailed energy simulations which account for interactions of lighting with heating and cooling systems and simply multiply hours of use by wattage reduction. This paper investigates the potential error in performing simplified 1ighting calculations which ignore interactions.