Dynamic Simulation-Based Surrogate Model for the Dimensioning of Building Energy Systems

Leonidas Zouloumis,Georgios Stergianakos,Nikolaos Ploskas,Giorgos Panaras

doi:10.3390/en14217141

Leonidas Zouloumis, Georgios Stergianakos + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217141

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Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Nov 1, 2021
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Western Macedonia, Western University

Abstract

In recent decades, building design and operation have been an important field of study, due to the significant share of buildings in global primary energy consumption and the time that most people spend indoors. As such, multiple studies focus on aspects of building energy consumption and occupant comfort optimization. The scientific community has discerned the importance of operation optimization through retrofitting actions for on-site building energy systems, achieved by the use of simulation techniques, surrogate modeling, as well as the guidance of existing building performance and indoor occupancy standards. However, more knowledge should be attained on the matter of whether this methodology can be extended towards the early stages of thermal system and/or building design. To this end, the present study provides a building thermal system design optimization methodology. A data set of minimum thermal system power, for a typical range of building characteristics, is generated, according to the criterion of occupant discomfort in degree hours. Respectively, a surrogate model, providing a configurable correlation of the above set of thermal system dimensioning solutions is developed, using regression model fitting techniques. Computational results indicate that such a model could provide both desirable calculative simplification and accuracy on par with existing respective thermal load calculation standards and simplified system dimensioning methods.

Highlights

Buildings account for a significant amount of total global energy consumption
In the past few decades, the engineering community has developed several ways to design and dimension building envelopes and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, so as to achieve a comfortable inner environment for occupants. International standards, such as ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90 [2,3] and EPBD [4] aid engineers with generalized calculation methodologies for energy efficient buildings and thermal system dimensioning. These standards provide calculating methodologies regarding the monthly/annual thermal and cooling building loads, as well as the energy consumed by HVAC systems
ANSI/ASHRAE 62 [12] defines acceptable air quality as “air in which there are no known contaminants at harmful concentrations as determined by cognizant authorities and with which a substantial majority (80% or more) of the people exposed do not express dissatisfaction”

Summary

Introduction

Buildings account for a significant amount of total global energy consumption. in 2018, consumption in the European Union reached approximately 40% of total primary energy [1]. In the past few decades, the engineering community has developed several ways to design and dimension building envelopes and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, so as to achieve a comfortable inner environment for occupants. International standards, such as ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90 [2,3] and EPBD [4] aid engineers with generalized calculation methodologies for energy efficient buildings and thermal system dimensioning. The ISO EN 13790 standard [5] provides a monthly calculation procedure of the required thermal loads It contains a methodology for modeling the thermal behavior of the building on an hourly basis, capturing more dynamic thermal states, namely the 5R1C (5 Resistance, 1 Capacitance) model

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