This paper describes a performance-based evolution model using Genetic Algorith as the evolution algorithm and CFD as the evaluation mechanism. The advantages of such an evolutionary performance-based design approach is that diverse instances of the state space can be investigated in relation to specific goal requirements that will enhance the possibility of discovering a variety of potential solutions. The model allows the user to explore and visualize the design evolution and its form generation in an attempt to stimulate the designer creativity that might contribute to their output.

A comfortable indoor climate environment is necessary for modern buildings and therefore the Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems are widely used. Faults or disturbances are normally unavoidable in the systems and they will lead to more energy consumption or degradation of comfort level of indoor climate. Energy consumption is useful to detect the

Occupant responsive optimal control is developed for so called smart façade systems. The control optimizes the performance of the system by rotating a motorized louver slat in the cavity and ventilation dampers at the top and bottom of exterior and interi

Whole building simulation may play a key role in the optimization and assessment of the market potential of new building components. In the SOLVENT Project, ESP-r was used for such purposes, in the case applied to a new reversible ventilated window. The innovative character of the window required the development of a specific simulation approach within ESP-r, in order to account for buoyancy in the air channel. A multi-zone approach with an air flow network was developed, and several variations studied.

To provide additional validation data for the multizone airflow and contaminant model, CONTAMW, experiments were performed in an occupied 3-story townhouse in Reston, VA. A tracer gas, sulfur hexaflouride (SF6), was manually injected within one room of the house and the concentration of SF6 was measured in each zone. This same process was then recreated in CONTAMW and the resulting predictions were statistically compared to the measured values. A total of 10 experiments were conducted and simulated between May 2000 and June 2001.

The set points of supervisory control strategy are optimized with respect to energy use and thermal comfort for existing HVAC systems. The set point values of zone temperatures, supply duct static pressure, and supply air temperature are the problem variables, while energy use and thermal comfort are the objective functions. The HVAC system model includes all the individual component models developed and validated against the monitored data of an existing VAV system.

The practical use of building simulation software requires a global and comprehensible interpretation of results for decision support in design. We propose a method in which the temperature of the free-running building is used to express: 1) the ratio between energy consumption for heating and cooling, 2) energy saved when ventilation is used instead of mechanical cooling, and 3) the degree of building adaptation to the environment.

In the standard design process of a building, total building simulation using building simulation software is encouraged to be incorporated into the design process as early as possible. However, this paper demonstrates that building simulation can be used as late in the process as the early construction phase of a building project, though usually with increasing cost of building modifications.

In tropical humid climate, thermal environment can be controlled using natural ventilation. But this technic raises the problem of acoustic comfort. Some technical devices coping with aeraulic and acoustic comfort constraints exist but they are not suitable in all economic context. Thus the urban research is exploring built configurations performances for future urban planning. This article presents an exploratory simulation method of these physical parameters, and analyses results of two guadeloupean urban fabric tests.

People that work in office buildings have new needs in terms of comfort within their work place. We suggest to develop a multicriteria office cell façade, allowing to control luminous, thermal and airflow parameters. It will be controlled to offer global