A New Tool for Building Energy Optimization: First Round of Successful Dynamic Model Simulations

Giacomo Chiesa,Francesca Fasano,Paolo Grasso

doi:10.3390/en14196429

Abstract

Several tools and pieces of software support building energy modelling for optimization, certification and comparisons of different scenarios and usages. Nevertheless, the consistent rise in accessible computational power and the expansion of ICT are pushing the development of new software functionalities and tools able to support cross-disciplinary work on smart building optimization. This paper introduces a new platform (under development) that combines the EnergyPlus dynamic simulation tool with extra-functionalities and pre-defined usage scenarios based on automatic actions to manage massive simulations and correlation analyses. The tool’s utility was tested in three experiments, with goals that we consider to be fundamental requirements: comparing simple retrofit actions to reduce net energy needs; analyzing the free-running potential of a demo building and the impacts of different low-energy technologies in terms of increasing thermal comfort (shading and ventilative cooling); and comparing measured sensor data indicators with simulated ones under real weather conditions for model verification. The results demonstrate the ability of the tool to automatically generate hundreds of EnergyPlus input building models by acting on building geometry; we focused on the most common uses for parametric dynamic simulations. Additionally, the way in which the tool combines the automatic modification of the building’s design and the parallel launching of multiple simulations allows the labor to be reduced. The user can execute complex tasks without spending any time working with model editing software and aggregating the results from multiple simulations.

Highlights

Energy simulations are an essential means of support for building-correlated actions and relate to the whole life of a building, from preliminary design to day-to-day building operations and end of life procedures
The background for this paper focuses on the use of hourly dynamic simulations at early design and operational stages to support building energy performance-related choices and/or evaluations
The tool is based on three main modules—i.e., (i) the EnergyPlus input file (*.idf) editor, (ii) the key performance indicators (KPIs) calculator and (iii) the runner module which is able to automatically manage multiple parallel simulations—along with extra modules supporting specific functionalities, e.g., to compile weather input files (*.epw) from different data sources

Summary

Introduction

Energy simulations are an essential means of support for building-correlated actions and relate to the whole life of a building, from preliminary design to day-to-day building operations and end of life procedures. The background for this paper focuses on the use of hourly dynamic simulations at early design and operational stages to support building energy performance-related choices and/or evaluations. EnergyPlus [1], along with TRNSYS [2], is one of the most common simulation tools used in the building sustainability domain to execute performance-driven energy analyses and optimization. EnergyPlus is free and open-source simulation software that works with multiple operating systems (guaranteeing cross-platform functionality) and is funded by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE). The program has a console, and I/O are based on text files, providing many possibilities for integration and expansions.

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