Getting Results in an Historical Dwelling Stock in a Thermal Simulation with EnergyPlus

Abstract

The invaluable historic dwelling stock of many cities today needs an accurate analysis in order to implement a relevant program of research for its conservation, maintenance, or refurbishment. Additionally, energy efficiency studies are essential in every case to guarantee sustainability. In these situations, a simulation process will be a suitable approach to obtaining results. However, historic dwellings are complicated to simulate. They require a comprehensive study of traditional crafts and techniques as well as of ancient constructions which rely heavily on local builders’ design skills and traditions as well as on the regional materials and architectural knowledge. Furthermore, the intricate geometries and the large number of different dwelling cases demand a amplification and a typological definition of representative buildings. In addition, in an energy simulation process, it is indispensable to know what the lifestyle was. In a traditional dwelling, the ancient customs have to be taken into account, studying the occupation, metabolism, activities, and traditional clothing in order to define a reliable computer model. Moreover, an operation usage program has to be defined in order to set other building simulation parameters such as the ventilation, shading, and internal gains. The present work proposes a method using DesignBuilder, an EnergyPlus software package, to generate a model for the energy simulation of historic dwellings through a case study of an historic dwelling stock in the Sistema Central of Spain. How the type was generated from a real case with an architectonic, constructive, and activity definition is described. Guidelines are provided for modeling the building and for setting the simulation parameters necessary to obtain correct results.