DElight is a simulation engine for daylight and electric lighting system analysis in buildings. DElight calculates interior illuminance levels from daylight, and the subsequent contribution required from electric lighting to meet a desired interior illuminance. DElight has been specifically designed to integrate with building thermal simulation tools. This paper updates the DElight capability set, the status of integration into the simulation tool EnergyPlus, and describes a sample analysis of a simple model from the user perspective.

Daylighting Simulation is a complex task, involving many parameters, but an important step to design buildings, especially when the main purpose is more comfort and energy conservation. For architects, sim­ulation is still something far from the professional practice, due to the software’s complexities, difficul­ties to use software’s interface, hard interpretation of the results and many other reasons. This article analyses and compares 4 daylighting soft­ware: Desktop Radiance, Rayfront, Relux 2004 Vi­sion and Lightscape.

A brand-new methodology for considerably accurate time-series cooling load calculation in a dwelling is established, motivated by the fact that dwelling energy requirements so significantly affect the so-called urban heat island. Calculation that takes variation among dwelling-inhabitants’ behaviors into consideration appears to be important. The proposed method contains two crucial features. The first is a procedure for cooling load calculation based on a series of Monte Carlo simulations where HVAC on/ off state and indoor heat generation schedule are variable time-step by time-step.

This paper presents the performance of a computer simulation code for modelling the evaporative cooling of buidings by water spray vaporization, bring together the scales of the droplet, spray and building. The capability of the models to predict evaporation and building behavior was examined in a series of parametric tests. The parametric explorations have served to demonstrate that the model is sufficiently consistent and react qualitatively well to variations of input parameters. 

This paper deals with the use of computer simulations both for design support of a new building including its heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and for optimization of the HVAC control strategy during operation of the completed building. In the early design phases for a new commercial building in Prague computer simulations were carried out in view of possible effects of night cooling ventilation.

This paper describes the results of a computational study on the feasibility of cooling houses in the Netherlands with a system consisting of a heat exchanger in the soil, a heat pump, and a low temperature heating system.

This paper presents the results of a comparison between measurements of a co-heating test in a passive house and the simulated response of the building to the same outdoor conditions calculated with the building simulation program Trnsys. Special attention is paid to the level of modelling necessary to get an acceptable level of corresponddence with the measurement results. Several improvements are put to the test in order to quantify their impact. Finally, some guidelines for simulating passive houses are formulated.

This paper presents the results of a case study in which Low Temperature radiators, High Temperature radiators and floor heating systems are compared using a TRNSYS16-model of a typical erraced house. The influence of radiant heating on temperature control is investigated as is the introduction of an outside temperature sensor, insulation around piping, different boiler types and temperature profiles, such as night set back. 

In a survey recently conducted by ECN and the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands [Visscher, Oonk et al, 2004]), several potential thermo chemical materials (TCM's) for seasonal storage of solar heat were determined.