Validation of Dynamic Thermal Simulation Programs with Data from Full-Scale Buildings

There has been a substantial history of validation studies for dynamic thermal simulation programs used in building energy and environmental performance assessment. These programs are becoming more widely used as a result of the need to develop more energy efficient designs. However, there are no useful full-scale building datasets suitable for empirical validation - the majority of studies have focused on comparative validation or empirical validation in test rooms. There is a need for such datasets, particularly for low energy buildings, to convince regulatory authorities and clients of commercial modelling companies that the programs are fit for purpose and can reliably predict building energy performance.

The proposed project will undertake empirical validation studies on full scale buildings with embedded low energy technologies. The research will complement the objectives of the newly approved IEA (International Energy Agency) ECBCS Annex 58 project entitled "Reliable building energy performance characterisation based on full scale dynamic measurements" which has the intention of developing reliable in situ testing methods and analysis techniques for characterising the actual energy performance of buildings. An important element of IEA Annex 58 will be obtaining and analysing detailed dynamic performance data from full-scale buildings. Due to the rigorous requirements for successful empirical validation, a subset of these buildings will be selected for developing high quality empirical validation datasets and a series of experiments of increasing complexity will be followed. One building in particular has been identified as suitable for conducting the necessary experiments - the Energy Flex House in Denmark; others will follow as part of the IEA work programme, although the focus is on a few high quality datasets rather than a larger number which are less well specified. The IEA project will run over a 3 year period and the current proposal is to undertake research fitting into the overall objectives and timescales of the IEA Annex, allowing UK participation in the validation work.

Over many years the UK has been a leader in the development of detailed simulation programs, both in a research context (e.g. ESP-r) and commercially (e.g. IESVE, TAS): these programs have high international usage and reputation. The validation tests developed in this project can be used by Standards bodies and other regulatory agencies for the certification of software used for showing compliance with building energy standards (as has been done with TM33 in UK (CIBSE 2006) and ASHRAE 140 in the USA (ANSI/ASHRAE 2007)). The tests will be applicable for evaluating, diagnosing, and correcting building energy simulation software, particularly regarding their application to low energy buildings. The target audience for the deliverables from the project are the building research community, engineering offices and consultants, building designers and the building industry with an interest in high performance systems, and government and national authorities. The extensive dissemination activities of ESRU will be used to reach these target groups.

The international collaboration within IEA Annex 58 is seen as an essential element in the project - the track record of IEA Annexes in useful research outputs is excellent, as evidenced by the incorporation of validation tests into national regulations. It also will give access to research organisations worldwide with high quality low-energy building research facilities and to a network of modelling groups.