Multi-apartment Buildings Research Articles

Evaluation of household electricity consumption in multi-apartment buildings for optimization of rooftop PV systems

Evaluation of household electricity consumption in multi-apartment buildings for optimization of rooftop PV systems

Economic viability of decentralised battery storage systems for single-family buildings up to cross-building utilisation

Due to the great cost decrease of photovoltaics as well as battery storage, especially in the segment of decentralised home storage, the number of grid-connected battery-supported photovoltaic systems being installed in recent years is steadily increasing. However, the scientific community has intensively discussed that lithium-based battery storage systems cannot yet be operated economically in most cases. This paper addresses the level to which the cost of lithium battery storage needs to decrease in order to be economically viable. For this purpose, the economic viability of battery storage systems in single-family buildings, multi-apartment buildings and across-buildings is analysed on the basis of a linear optimisation model and the method of the internal rate of return. The utilisation of the storage system is optimised for different battery and photovoltaic capacities on the basis of generation and consumption. The internal rate of return method is used to compare the savings resulting from the reduced consumption from the electricity grid with the investment costs and the operation and maintenance costs. In order to be able to estimate the influence of the most important parameters a sensitivity analysis is also carried out. The analysis concludes that, depending on the combination of capacities of photovoltaics, battery storage and in relation to the load profile, the battery storage costs would have to drop by at least 85% in order to generate a certain predefined return over a depreciation period of 25 years. Furthermore, the more different load profiles can be covered directly with photovoltaic electricity, e.g. in a multi-apartment building or across buildings, the less electricity needs to be stored and this reduces the benefit and the utilisation of the battery storage and therefore the specific investment costs must further decrease. Another conclusion that emerges from the sensitivity analysis is that the electricity price and the spread between the electricity price and the feed-in tariff have the greatest influence on the investment costs and profitability. Due to limited space for photovoltaics and simultaneously high consumption, self-consumption is already quite high with cross-building utilisation and can no longer be increased to the necessary extent by the battery storage system, which is why the investment costs must also be lower. The novelty of this paper lies in particular in the fact that it deals with the target costs of battery storage systems in various scenarios for certain rates of return. The analyses in this paper are intended to provide a deeper understanding of the framework conditions for the economic operation of a battery storage system in the aforementioned scenarios. However, this paper does not take into account alternative sources of income other than savings on grid consumption. The possibility of time-variable (grid) tariffs, for example, is also not considered in detail in this paper and should be analysed further in future work.

CONSTRUCTION MEDIATION: GLOBAL EXPERIENCE FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN THE MODERNISATION OF MULTI-APARTMENT RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Modernisation of multi-apartment buildings is one of the steps towards achieving the goals of sustainable urban development. Modernisation of buildings and construction in general causes many disputes between the condominium, co-owners and other stakeholders, especially approval and financial issues. Such disputes are usually interpersonal rather than legal or legislative. In this regard, litigation is impractical or not at all within the competence of the courts. Modernisation, as an architectural, engineering, constructing and the process of urban development in general, is not an obligation and is a manifestation of desire of communities and a goal of the country, therefore the dispute resolution on this issue requires a special and innovative approach. Mediation is almost the only one way to resolve disputes between condominiums and co-owners on issues of modernisation and further operation and maintenance. If for many countries in the world construction mediation, although a relatively new concept, is already widely used in practice, then in Ukraine this method of dispute resolution is little known and not widespread. This method has proven its effectiveness in practice, because it is quick and simple in contrast to the litigation, which can suspend or delay construction for a very long time. Mediation helps parties reach agreement on any issue. Modernisation is an important and necessary step, at the same time controversial and difficult, due to the need for co-financing of the project by the co-owners of the house. Disputes between the parties are not only obstacles for project implementation and development but also endangers the achievement of achieving the goals of urban sustainable development. The larger project the more controversial issues arise that need to be resolved: not only financial, coordination and legislation but also compliance of norms and rules of non-government organisations or foundations that finance the program. Implementation of global mediation experience in modernisation and urban planning will help to more effectively and easily develop construction processes and dispute resolution between stakeholders of the project. The research and implementation of this issue is an important step on the way to improving the processes of modernisation of multi-apartment building, construction and urban planning.

History of housing policy’s formation and development in Ukraine

The purpose of this article is to reveal specific features of the history of the formation and development of housing policy in Ukraine from the ХІХ century to the present time has been researched. Obtaining research results became possible due to the application of general philosophical and special methods of scientific cognition. The factors that influenced the development of housing policy have been established. It has been clarified that the problem of providing housing historically was initially considered as the problem of an individual person, and only later – one of the issues of the state policy. Such key stages of the development of housing policy as the initiation of housing policy in the ХІХ century, the development of housing policy after the First and Second World Wars, modern challenges of housing policy have been analyzed. It has been emphasized that international standards and recommendations for the formation of housing policy were formed at the beginning of the ХХ century. It has been established that there was a large-scale reconstruction of the housing stock and the construction of typical multi-apartment buildings after the end of the Second World War. It has been emphasized that Ukraine's housing policy after obtaining independence in 1991 had undergone significant changes. It was confirmed by the massive privatization of housing by Ukrainian citizens and the growth of the share of the private housing stock. The authors have offered own periodization of the stages for the formation and development of housing policy in Ukraine, starting from the ХІХ century and up to nowadays. The importance of the historical approach for further development of housing policy, taking into account economic, social and political aspects, has been emphasized.

How Not to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Unbalanced Focus on Energy Efficiency in Germany’s Building Rehabilitation Policies

Germany needs to reduce CO2 emissions from space heating in its old buildings to net zero by 2045 to fulfil its climate goals. However, direct CO2 reduction measures in existing buildings receive relatively little subsidy support from the federal government’s German Development Bank, compared to generous subsidies for energy efficiency measures. This interdisciplinary paper evaluates this phenomenon by comparing costs and CO2 abatement effects of ever higher energy efficiency measures, alongside the costs of direct CO2 reduction through heat pumps and onsite photovoltaics. It uses a set of carefully selected reports on the costs and benefits of renovation to a range of energy efficiency standards in three common types of multi-apartment buildings in Germany, updating these for 2024 construction, energy, and finance costs. The cost of the CO2 saved is extremely high with energy efficiency measures and absurdly high with the highest energy efficiency standards, up to 20 times the cost of CO2 abatement through other means, such as offsite renewables. This reduces markedly with onsite CO2 reduction measures. This paper sets this analysis in the context of asking what social, cultural, and discursive factors extol energy efficiency so highly that policy tends to thwart its own stated goal of deeply reducing CO2 emissions.

A framework for shared EV charging in residential renewable energy communities

Renewable energy communities with members which own electric vehicles (EVs) can benefit financially from the flexibility that EVs provide to distributed energy resources, such as photovoltaic generators. However, in residential environments, this benefit is often lost because during working hours, most EVs are not plugged in at the premises of the community. In this paper, we hypothesize that such communities can regain some of this lost benefit by offering membership to outside EV owners which are interested in charging their vehicles using the community's charging stations during these periods. This paper introduces an optimization model for energy communities consisting of prosumers, electric vehicles, and EV chargers. The model aims to evaluate the potential advantages of integrating external EV owners into an energy community. A hypothetical community representing a multi-apartment building is analyzed, considering scenarios both with and without external members. The analysis focuses on assessing the technical and economic benefits. The findings indicate that the economic benefits for the examined community are relatively small. However, a notable increase in these benefits is observed when the community is incentivized to share energy among members in the form of a flat network charge reduction for shared energy.

DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO-DISTRICT LANDSCAPING IN UKRAINE: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

The article examines the theory and implementation of the formation of micro-district gardens as the main recreational element of the micro-district within walking distance. The study has identified discrepancies in the Ukrainian norms for their planning, which may cause further development of these areas. The analysis of the current state of micro-district gardens in Kharkiv revealed two stages of their development: 1) before the 2000s – development for garage cooperatives and small public service facilities; 2) after the 2000s – development for 9–24 floors residential multi-apartment buildings and big open parking lots. The study also determined the reasons for the low implementation of micro-district gardens, such as: low attention to the design of gardens at the stage of micro-district construction; poor level of supply of planting material; gradual abandonment of micro-district gardens in favour of inter-neighbourhood parks with the same level of pedestrian accessibility in several countries; change in the functional purpose and location of large sports cores on the territory of gardens; unclear boundaries, status of these territories and management, low support and provision from district councils and residents; the planning aspect – the lack of clear plans for developing these areas, which led to their degradation and further development. A quantitative analysis of the 521st and 355th micro-districts of Kharkiv demonstrated a decrease in their landscaping compared to the building period. The amount of greenery still meets the standards, but a full-fledged recreational facility is difficult or impossible to create. It has led to many consequences for recreationists: social inequality and reduced accessibility to recreational services, decreased quality, expressiveness, and level of recreational space equipment, elimination of communication space at the micro-district level, and reduction of aeration properties of greenery and environmental indicators. Consequences for the urban green space system include the degradation of public parks due to increasing visitors, the impossibility of forming sustainable greenery in the micro-district, the destruction of internal habitats of animal species, and the displacement of nature outside the neighbourhood. The article has established that using the following methods can improve the status of micro-district gardens: 1) granting a park status to the green space; 2) formulating a strategy for its development; 3) involving citizens in discussions, design, and co-financing; 4) establishing control over the preservation of the park after its reconstruction; 5) promoting the formation of neighbourhood-level public organisations for the further development of this area. Keywords: micro-district landscaping, micro-district garden, micro-district, urban green space system.

SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE METHOD OF CALCULATING THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF A BUILDING

In the conditions of a constant increase in energy prices, the desire to reduce harmful emissions to the atmosphere, as well as the shortage of fossil fuels that can be used for heating, methods of increasing energy efficiency and energy saving attract attention. One of the main characteristics of a building's energy efficiency is its energy consumption - a value that determines the amount of energy that must be spent on heating or conditioning the interior of the building to ensure a comfortable temperature. This work is devoted to the development of the calculation method and its software implementation. In the course of the study, several of the most common methods of heat transfer analysis were developed, in particular, methods of numerical analysis based on the approximation of differential equations and engineering calculation methods using equations describing various mechanisms of heat transfer. Having determined that none of the methods is optimal for solving the set goal, it was decided to synthesize a new method, using the best approaches from all the processed information. The result was the developed method, the basis of which were the formulas for calculating thermal conductivity, convection, thermal radiation, and heat capacity, which in terms of the structure of its implementation is similar to numerical methods, where the calculation progresses gradually along two coordinates: spatial and temporal, and also, in some formulas, there are weights coefficients similar to those used in the finite element method. The calculation is organized in such a way that a more detailed analysis of the building's thermal behavior is also possible. The availability of such a method, as well as the computer system in which it is implemented, will allow to quickly obtain fairly accurate values of the building's energy needs. The characteristics of the computer system make it convenient for use in the design of private and multi-apartment buildings with clear energy efficiency requirements ,

Main Principles and Solutions for Acceleration of Energy Efficient Renovation in Latvia

The European Renovation Wave aims to at least double the annual energy renovation rate by 2030, especially promoting deep renovation. In order to achieve this goal, EU member states need to overcome the existing obstacles in the whole chain of the building renovation process by using certain policy measures and finance instruments. According to the Ministry of Economics of Latvia, the current necessity is to renovate around 26 thousand multi-apartment buildings. Therefore, not only the problem of the lack of additional financing should be solved but also the pace of implementation should be significantly increased. This study starts with an overview of the main obstacles of the building renovation in Latvia and gives an insight into the main challenges in the achievement of the goal. The study includes the review of existing support programmes and financing schemes, designed to improve the energy efficiency of multi-apartment buildings in Latvia. Moreover, the study analyses the existing support mechanisms in Latvia, and reviews different policy measures for regulatory requirements, fiscal and economic incentives and information campaigns in Europe. In addition, the study proposes an assessment of the availability of financial support for the low-income households, and analyses energy poverty solving tools. As a result, the study defines basic principles and examines the solutions for energy efficient renovation in Latvia – including tax incentives, regulatory framework, development of financial schemes and models for acceleration of building renovation. The solutions have been evaluated considering country specific economic, technical, and social aspects, and defined as a set of recommendations for decision makers.

Techno-Economic Analysis of the Heating System Robustness

A techno-economic analysis of different heating systems of a multi-apartment building is performed. The final energy savings and the economic benefit under different boundary conditions are investigated for a Passive House that has been realized and monitored in Innsbruck, Austria. Eight different system combinations are considered, varying the heat generation (direct electric (as-built), air/water heat pump (HP) and groundwater HP) as well as the size of the photovoltaic (PV) system. The systems are investigated with a building model with two different parameterizations: the pre-design stage and the model adapted to the monitored boundary conditions (BC: climate and user behaviour) and monitored energy consumption. The monitoring of the first two years of operation revealed a significantly higher space heating demand (29 kWh/(m2a) compared to 8 kWh/(m2a)). The most robust system (i.e. the system that performs best independent of the BC) for primary energy optimization is identified as an air-source heat pump with a 32 kWp photovoltaic system. This system also allows economic savings in case of high heating demand (adapted building model) and slightly higher costs in case of low heating demand (pre-design model). The groundwater-source HP is cost-effective only in scenarios with high heating demand due to significant investment and installation costs. Monthly primary energy factors are used to account for seasonal effects of the energy demand, providing an assessment of system efficiency that accounts for the so-called winter gap.

Realized dynamic effect of retrofits on energy consumption in Soviet-era multi-apartment buildings

Retrofit programs for old and highly energy-inefficient housing stock from the Soviet era are widely believed to offer a rare win-win opportunity for mitigating climate change and addressing acute energy poverty issues in Eastern European urban neighborhoods. However, despite government subsidies and a push for greater energy efficiency, many people do not undertake retrofits. This raises the question: do these retrofits truly deliver the promised returns? This paper aims to examine the effects of retrofit programs on old Soviet-era multi-apartment buildings' realized dynamic energy savings in Lithuania by analyzing monthly energy bills. Our findings suggest that retrofits are associated with a 50% to 59% reduction in average space heating consumption across various post-retrofit periods. Additionally, retrofits have a short-term effect on electricity savings of 3% to 3.6%. However, our cost-benefit analysis indicates that the energy savings were not sufficiently large to cover the initial investment costs.

Re-thinking energy justice to achieve a fair distribution of shared electricity from rooftop photovoltaics in a typical multi-apartment building in Germany: an interdisciplinary approach

An important development in decarbonising energy consumption is the installation of shared rooftop photovoltaics on multiapartment buildings. It is widely agreed that the distribution of this relatively cheap electricity should be “fair” to all the users, and simultaneously maximise local use, to reduce global CO2 emissions and local electricity grid load. Most technical studies model or investigate distribution patterns on this basis, but without critical reflection on the energy justice issues that arise in sharing a common electricity source. This study brings together two distinct disciplines to move this discussion forward: technical issues in distributing shared photovoltaic output; and philosophical issues of energy justice. It sets this within Bhaskar's philosophy of interdisciplinary science which shows why narrow, highly specialist disciplines are necessary and why their findings must be brought together to inform us about the actual world we live in. On the technical side, the study models an apparently fair distribution pattern for a shared photovoltaic system in a case study multiapartment building in Germany. It then interrogates the outcome in terms of four different strands of energy justice philosophy: Rawlsian, Wittgensteinian, pragmatic, and “theological” (stemming from the environmental justice movement). It finds that Rawlsian concepts provide a basis for a just sharing pattern but with serious anomalies, while Wittgensteinian, pragmatic, and theological energy justice concepts provide avenues for these anomalies to be mitigated. This comprehensive cluster of energy justice approaches is therefore very useful alongside technical expertise, in the ongoing development of shared rooftop photovoltaics in multiapartment buildings.

Inform me when it matters: Cost salience, energy consumption, and efficiency investments

Using a large-scale natural experiment in staggered billing dates for energy use in Germany and a unique billing dataset for multi-apartment buildings, this paper shows that the month of billing is a significant determinant of heat energy consumption. A large set of residential buildings demand significantly more heat energy annually, when the bill is issued during off-winter months. The paper finds evidence for salience cycles of heating bills that last up to 4 months, likely because consumer attention to heat energy costs is short-lived and absent during months when heating is off. Importantly, this phenomena is pervasive enough to be detectable even in aggregated building-level consumption data. Results suggest that the mere knowledge of costs is not sufficient and that the response to billing information also hinges on its time-varying salience. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of cost salience in the design of effective billing for energy conservation.

THE IMPACT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ON NEW CONCEPT OF MODERNISATION OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Modernization of multi-apartment buildings is one of the steps towards achieving the goals of Sustainable Development of cities and communities. It is not only energy efficient, but also inclusive and spatial solutions. New concept has been introduced such as "Sustainable modernization" is a harmonious and balanced process that combines coordinated changes in today's and future needs, and "Sustainable modernization of residential buildings" is a complete set of actions for the regeneration of buildings and residential areas, including the regeneration of communal communications and nodes. Because only energy efficiency of buildings is not enough for the achievement of the goals of sustainable cities and communities, considering the fulfillment of all the tasks set. The goal is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Regeneration today is the modernization of multi-apartment buildings to achieve energy efficiency to conserve and reduce the use of energy resources, which helps reduce utility costs and carbon emissions. But it does not satisfy the task of inclusive and planning decisions as Sustainable Urban Development. Panel mass housing construction heritage makes up a significant part of the country's housing stock in post-Soviet countries. These buildings were built according to standards that do not meet modern requirements and energy inefficient. New concept of regeneration on the basis of sustainable development is proposed as the modernization of residential buildings considering the wishes and needs of co-owners, inclusive and sustainable planning. That is, the architectural and planning decision includes the need for the house and the surrounding area for inclusive and reconstruction taking into account the social needs of the residential quarter.

FACTORS OF INFLUENCE ON THE COMFORT OF THE SPACE OF ADJACENT TERRITORIES OF MULTI-APARTMENT RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

The users of the space of the adjacent territories of multi-apartment buildings are residents of residential buildings located on certain land plots. In addition to the tasks of calculating quantitative indicators that determine the size of land plots and their boundaries, it is necessary to establish the factors influencing the living comfort of the space of adjacent territories of multi-apartment residential development. Thus, designers are faced with the tasks of spatial organization, taking into account regulatory requirements (quantitative indicators) and creating comfortable conditions (qualitative indicators). To create a comfortable space for the adjacent territories of multi-apartment residential buildings, various factors are important, from the level of amenities and microclimatic conditions to social factors that have an integrative effect on the spatial organization. The process of spatial organization of the adjacent territory of an apartment building should be carried out under conditions of participatory approach and taking into account the opinion of residents. The residential areas of mass housing development of the 60-90s of the twentieth century remain a difficult task of spatial organization of the adjacent territories of Ukrainian cities, and the regional center, the city of Poltava, is no exception.

The concept of transitioning centralized heating systems in multi-apartment buildings to decentralized electric water heating

In recent years, there have been significant changes in the perception of the feasibility of using electricity as a source of thermal energy for household heating systems. Electric boilers are considered an important element in the energy transition from the use of hydrocarbon fuels to renewable energy. For a modern comprehensive approach in assessing the feasibility of various heating systems, it is necessary to consider not only the operational costs but also the energy, environmental, economic requirements, safety of operation, and maintenance costs, from both the consumer’s perspective and in terms of the historically evolved role of the state and the social significance of providing heating to the population. This study compares these factors for centralized heating systems, apartment-based systems using wall-mounted gas boilers, autonomous systems using boilers on different types of fuel, and water electric heating systems. Conclusions are presented on the advisability of gradually transitioning the heating supply of multi-apartment buildings from centralized to individual apartment-based electric water heating.

TRENDS AND PROSPECTS OF MODERNISATION OF MULTI-STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS ON THE BASIS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

According to the results of generalisation; quantitative, qualitative and comparative analysis of the reconstruction of residential buildings, trends and prospects for the reconstruction and modernisation of multi-story residential buildings are determined, considering the principles of sustainable development. The problems, trends and prospects of the reconstruction of multi-story buildings were determined, which made it possible to find optimal ways of modernising residential buildings, considering controversial issues, opportunities and goals of sustainable development. The controversial issue is to find a balance between real opportunities, current and planned projects and ways of implementation, considering economic opportunities, legislation and controversial issues between Condominium and co-owners of multi-apartment buildings. The problems are highlighted and ways to solve the improvement of projects for the modernisation of multi-story buildings are found. Possibilities and options for cost-effective modernisation of multi-story buildings are taken into account. The interests of all stakeholders were taken into account and ways to overcome misunderstandings were found. When all issues are resolved, not only the interests of the project executor, the Condominium, co-owners of multi-apartment building, organisations and funds which financing the project, as well as the capabilities of the state and current legislative and regulatory acts regulating the financing and implementation of the project of modernisation of multi-story buildings are taken into account. Much attention is allocated to the goals of sustainable development of cities and communities. After all, when modernising multi-story buildings, it is necessary to focus not only on the needs of the present, but also to considering the needs of future generations and focus on effective, economically profitable prospects of the present and the distant future, taking into account the need for a healthy environment. Thanks to the amendments to the legislation, it became possible to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and reach a higher quality level in the modernisation of multi-story buildings.

The economic losses of energy-efficiency renovation of Germany's older dwellings: The size of the problem and the financial challenge it presents

Germany has ambitious goals to steeply increase the thermal energy efficiency of its older residential buildings, to reduce CO2 emissions and bring heating costs down, especially for low-income households who are over-represented in such dwellings. However, existing scholarship suggests it is doubtful whether the costs of renovation are offset by energy cost savings, even when renovating to only the most basic energy-efficiency standard. Renovating to more ambitious standards further increases the gap between costs and savings. This study offers a first attempt to quantify the dimensions of the problem and what it means for financing this ambitious goal. It analyses publicly available data on case studies of three of Germany's typical 1940s-1970s-era multi-apartment building types and three typical 1900s–1970s house types, retrofitted to a range of energy-efficiency standards in 2020–2021. It updates these for 2023 construction costs, energy prices, carbon prices and interest rates, and shows how rebound and prebound effects exacerbate the situation. Using cost-benefit analyses based on net-present values, payback is not achieved within 75 years in any scenario. The study concludes that Germany's goal can only be achieved through large financial inputs, i.e., sunk costs which will not be fully returned through energy savings.

DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNTING OF HEAT ENERGY FOR HEATING OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS: TECHNICAL, METHODOLOGICAL, BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS

In this paper, a critical analysis of technical literature, methodological guidelines and rules, scientific work of Ukrainian and foreign experts on aspects of the organization of distribution accounting of thermal energy for heating in multi-apartment buildings with vertical heating systems is carried out. An important stage of the strategy for improving the building's energy performance is to organize individual control of energy consumption. For the organization of individual consumption control for heat energy in buildings with vertical heating systems, distribution accounting systems for thermal energy are becoming widespread. Within the framework of this study, a number of aspects and shortcomings in technical standards and legal acts regulating the rules for the organization of distributive accounting would be revealed. Three groups of aspects are defined: technical - related to the justification of using the method of distribution of heating costs according to the types of accounting, temperature measurement, rules for the place of installation of devices, and the presence of a significant number of correction coefficients; methodical - rules for organizing and conducting screenings, interpretation and consideration of correction coefficients, significant simplifications in determining important correction coefficients, lack of methodical provision to prevent abuse by consumers with individual heating systems in buildings; behavioral - the ability to monitor one's own savings, motivation for individual regulation, the presence of individual control over heating consumption without proper control of the temperature regime and flows between apartments causes the possibility of uncontrolled parasitic consumption of thermal energy at the expense of neighbors. Formulated aspects and shortcomings of the existing distribution accounting system require in-depth study in order to avoid unreasonable simplifications, improve the accuracy of the system, and increase the fair distribution of payment for consumed thermal energy among consumers.

Model simplification of geometry and facilities, for energy and indoor environment towards more reliable energy labelling

Reliable building energy and indoor climate performance assessment require adequate and often time-consuming modelling. Currently, energy performance certification (EPC) is carried out in Member States (MS) using simple steady-state tools. These tools simplify not only building geometry but also HVAC systems, boundary conditions, and building loads. These simplifications can cause the so-called “performance gap”, which is the difference between modelled prediction and actual operation. This creates a lack of trust in the EPCs and scepticism. This paper is scouting toward shifting to dynamic models of different detail levels, considering the zoning, heating and ventilation facilitie’s complexity. In the scope of this dynamic thermal simulation study, a residential multi-apartment building located in Denmark is investigated. The thermal zone simplification has 5 levels of complexity, from modelling each room as a thermal zone to the whole staircase as one thermal zone. The heating system was modelled as: i) ideal loads, ii) electrical radiators, iii) water radiators. Ventilation was modelled as i) zone ventilation, and ii) airflow network. Modelling results are evaluated for heat demand, thermal and atmospheric comfort.