This paper deals with an optimal control algorithm which enables to regulate the heating installation of a building with discontinuous occupation. The control structure is based on the quadratic optimization principle. It seems to have several characteristics that are worth mentioning, in particular its simple calculating method and its easy installation. As opposed to the optimal control algorithms based on the minimum principle, the above-mentioned algorithm can be set up in microprocessors of very low capacity.
We describe the need for a joint effort between design researchers and simulation tool developers in formulating procedures and standards for integrating simulation into the building design process. We review and discuss current efforts in the US and Europe in the development of next- generation simulation tools and design integration techniques.
General continuous simulation of today is a handicraft mastered by a small group of experts. Systematic modelling techniques and supporting tools are beginning to emerge, promising access to advanced simulation also for less experienced users. Several ambitious projects around the world are at different stages of completion (e.g. EKS, SPANK, CLIM2000, SEE, HS1). These projects approach the task from widely different angles and the final products, once available, will offer a rich menu of alternatives.
In order to define a global control strategy leading to a more rational use of energy, the CSTB, in collaboration with Gaz de France (GAR), has carried out a large study on gasflred heating plants, taking into account three types of heating and ventilation systems. The first investigated system is a hot water radiator coupled with a single-flux ventilation. The second system of interest combines a double-flux ventilation with standard hot water radiators.
One of the inherent problems with monitoring hourly energy use and environmental conditions in commercial buildings is efficiently processing the "sea" of data that accumulates into an easily understood form. Even when the data exist, building energy analysts generally rely on multiple "flat" ASCII files for storing and retrieving their data only to find that it can take several hours to perform a simple task such as creating a 2-D time series plot of energy use using data from several monitored channels.
The present paper shows a possible way to make simulation computer codes more easy to use by nonspecialists. The basic idea is to implement a code which translates the building representation into a suitable thermal model. It is a part of a more important project which takes place at the Solar Energy Laboratory (LESO-PB), and which aims at the elaboration of an integrated system to assist building designers (Morel 1989a).
This paper summarizes a study on the extent of computer use by industrialized housing producers in the U.S., Japan, Sweden and Norway. The study was directed at understanding industrialized housing production and energy decision making processes used by producers in order to set general criteria for new energy software tools and to make projections for future computer use in the industry. Computers' first penetrations into the U.S. housing industry were in component design and manufacture. U.S.
Over the past decade many models have been developped to analyse thermal behaviour of buildings, but thermal comfort of occupants, which should never be forgotten, is seldom treated. The aim of this paper is to present three models created to get a complete tool to simulate thermal behaviour of a man in a real environment. The simplest one is the "PMV-PPD", which calculates comfort indices.
In recent years, there has been much discussion about the need for improvement in the quality of building design software. One area of design software improvement which has received much attention is that of information integration. Such integration is recognised as both desirable in its own right and necessary for advances in other areas of building design research. Advanced functions such as project management, intelligent design interfaces and complex building thermal performance simulation all depend to some extent on the free interchange of information.
The present means of building representation, fall short in establishing a common modelling base for the various application specific analysis and simulation programs, describing building behavior and performance. A "generic", object-oriented, approach to product modelling allows multiple design representations to be described as different views of a common, gradually evolving, building product model. The productmodel provides the capability to generate, in successive design iterations, a coherent description of the form, structure and dimensions of the building.