Abstract
The behavior of building occupants has been studied by researchers for building control as well as for predicting energy use. In this study, we analyzed the effect of the application of single and complex behavior models on the simulation results of residential buildings. Two occupant behaviors—window opening and closing and air conditioner (AC) usage—were simulated, which are known to be interconnected. This study had two purposes: The first was to integrate data analysis tools (R in this study) and building simulation tools (EnergyPlus in this study) so that two behaviors with interconnectivity could be reflected in building simulation analysis. The second purpose was to apply the behavior models in residential buildings to an integrated simulation environment in stages to analyze their relative influence on the building energy and indoor environment. The results of the study prove that the application of complex behavior is important for research regarding the prediction of actual energy consumption. The results help identify the gap between reality and the existing simulation methods; thereby, they can help improve methods related to energy consumption analysis. We hope that this study and its results will serve as a guide for researchers looking to study occupants’ behavior in the future.
Highlights
Packaged air conditioners (ACs) are representative cooling systems that are commonly used in residential buildings as well as in small commercial buildings
EnergyPlus recalculates the energy/environment at each timestep, which is a discrete bin of time
Tabares-Velasco reported that the initial dynamic behavior of a wall was completely inaccurate when the timestep was 1, and that responses that were fast enough to implement the actual phenomenon were observed when the timestep was higher than 4
Summary
Packaged air conditioners (ACs) are representative cooling systems that are commonly used in residential buildings as well as in small commercial buildings. The penetration rate of ACs in South Korea is expected to be 1.06 units per household in 2030 [1]. The increase in the use of ACs could be due to the increased demand for indoor environments driven by the effects of climate change and increasing disposable incomes. Despite the widespread use of ACs, the cooling load has not been included in the evaluation of the energy performance of residential buildings in South Korean systems, and residential devices for cooling are categorized as home appliances in most cases. In some East Asian countries with hot and humid climates, the impact of ACs on energy consumption is far too significant for them to be classified as home appliances [2,3,4]
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