Minimalist RC network for building energy simulations: a case study based on OpenBPS

Paola Colombo,Marcello Aprile,Mario Motta,Rossano Scoccia,Livio Mazzarella

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202019702005

Abstract

Robust and fast dynamic simulation tools are crucial for the sizing of the components of complex HVAC system and for the definition of the optimal control strategy. In this work, a first step towards the extension of OpenBPS, a new building energy performance simulation tool, to the dynamic simulation of HVAC systems is presented. In particular, the building model has been reduced to a Resistors-Capacitors (RC) network and OpenBPS has been used for the identification of the parameters of the grey-box model. Indeed, the reduction and identification of the building energy model is the fundamental step for extension of the tool to perform dynamic simulations of complex HVAC systems with the advantage of low computational load, thus suitable for parametric yearly simulations and control strategy analyses. The toolkit of identification and cross validation of a minimalist RC network is presented in this paper, discussing the results obtained for a case study building under study in the European project Heat4Cool founded by Horizon 2020 programme. The identified model demonstrated a good accuracy in the estimation of the room temperature under different tests settings representative of the actual operating conditions.

Highlights

In order to fight the climate change and pursuit energy efficiency, nowadays, the new installed HVAC systems are becoming more and more complex, using renewable energy sources and the flexibility from energy storages and the building fabrique [1]
Robust and fast dynamic simulation tool are crucial for the sizing of the components of the system and for the definition of the optimal control strategy of the whole energy system [2]
The case study building has been reduced to a RC-network and its parameters have been obtained training the linearized model with the results of the detailed building simulation in OpenBPS

Summary

Introduction

In order to fight the climate change and pursuit energy efficiency, nowadays, the new installed HVAC systems are becoming more and more complex, using renewable energy sources and the flexibility from energy storages and the building fabrique [1]. For this reason, robust and fast dynamic simulation tool are crucial for the sizing of the components of the system and for the definition of the optimal control strategy of the whole energy system [2]. Building energy simulations tools can be accurate but in most cases have some drawbacks: I) computationally intensive (not suitable for previous points b, c, d); II) lack of integration with the mechanical system modelling and simulation tools which consider: components thermal capacity, partial load behaviour, innovative energy systems (e.g. ad/absorption systems, solar thermal systems, heat pumps, PCM storages); III) advanced control strategy (coupling plant and building thermal capacities)

Methods

Results

Conclusion