M. Georgescu: The Effect of Zoning On Building Models

0
Building models are used to predict behavior of a building under

different operating conditions. Simulations can be complex and contain
nonlinearities, for example, from convection and radiation. The typical
process of creating a model is to create a 3d rendering of a building and
to import that rendering into a simulation program were physics can be
applied to the model.
1
The models in this study are all simulated using EnergyPlus.
EnergyPlus was chosen because it is widely used in industry.
2
Building models have potential applications for any part of the design
and construction process. For example, in the design phase, an
architect can use a building model to adjust the orientation of a
designed building to optimize it for some performance specification.
During construction, building models can be used to demonstrate that a
design meets the requirements of the local building code. And after a
building is constructed, a building model can be used a benchmark of a
actual building’s optimal performance. With a model as a reference the
actual building’s performance can more closely be monitored and
matched to that of the model.
3
Models are inaccurate, and critics believe building models
underestimate performance. The study shown compares the proposed
energy savings of a model compared to the measured savings of the
building being modeled. Buildings under the green line underperform.
Almost half of the buildings shown are underperforming.
4
There are many reasons a building model can be inaccurate. In the
past, studies have looked at how errors in the defining of model
parameters propagate into errors on the output of a model. Almost
nothing has been discussed though on how zoning a building model
effects it’s output and there is little mentioned in current standards on
how building models should be zoned.
5
A building model is made up of mul1ple zones. A zone is a room (or collec1on
of rooms) with the following assump1ons: 1-‐D Heat Transfer between
adjacent zones, each zone has uniform temperature. It is important to make
a distinction between controlled and uncontrolled zones because
controlled zones can maintain a steady state temperature by
consuming energy through a building’s HVAC system while uncontrolled
zones can have varying temperature , but do not directly effect the
operation of a HVAC system. This becomes important as the zoning of
controlled zones is used to analyze the errors in predicting energy
usage while the zoning of uncontrolled zones is used to analyze the
prediction of comfort.
6
7
8
9
10
To study the effect zoning has on a model, several EnergyPlus models
of the Student Resources Building were created. This building was
selected for several reasons: one, it contains classrooms, offices, as
well as a daycare center, all of which have different patterns of energy
consumption and requirements for comfort, second, this is a building
that has also received numerous complaints about discomfort. For
example, occupants on the Northern face of the building complain of
being too cold while occupants on the Southern face of the building
complain of being too hot.
11
Shown here are figures of how boundaries between zones in the
Student Resources Building are defined. The pink regions corresponds
to areas of the building which have temperature control while gray
areas have no temperature control. On the top left is a model with
simplified zoning of both controlled and uncontrolled areas. Going from
top left to top right, more zones are used to define uncontrolled areas,
and going from top left to bottom left, more zones are used to define
controlled areas. The lower left image is that of a model with refined
zoning in both controlled and uncontrolled areas.
12
13
14
15
The figures above are floor plans of the Student Resources Building
with only controlled areas colored with the refined model shown on the
left and simplified model on the right. The color represents the average
amount of heat that needs to be added or removed from a zone in order
to maintain steady state temperature. From comparing the images, one
can see that merging controlled areas with dissimilar heating / cooling
loads effectively averages out the the conditioning requirement of the
rooms being combined.
16
Merging controlled zones lowers the predicted energy consumption of a
building model. The figure above shows the error of each simplified
model compared to the baseline refined model. The color of the bars
represent different sources of energy (blue: natural gas, light blue:
chilled water, yellow: electricity, red: total energy). The models shown
are in series of increasing refinement of controlled areas. The only
model which over predicts energy consumption has simplifications
made only to uncontrolled areas. This indicates that if one is interested
in using an building model to predict energy consumption, it may not be
important to model areas which do not explicitly demand energy from a
building’s HVAC system.
17
Energy is always under predicted if controlled areas are merged. This is
due to the well mixed assumption in defining zones. On the left is an
example of two controlled areas which are modeled as separate zones.
In this case, the HVAC system can add or remove heat from each zone
independently of the other. The result is that the total energy
consumption is the sum of the energy consumed to condition each zone
separately. If the two rooms are combined as shown on the right, the
amount of energy required to condition the space changes to the net
heat load of the two original zones. If one zone requires cooling while
the other requires heating, their requirements cancel out and the energy
consumed will be the net difference.
18
19
20
The figures above are floor plans of the Student Resources Building
with only uncontrolled areas colored with the refined model shown on
the left and simplified model on the right. The color represents the
average temperature of an uncontrolled zone after a year long
simulation. From comparing the images, one can see that merging
uncontrolled areas effectively averages out the the mean temperature
of the areas being combined.
21
Merging uncontrolled zones underestimates the extremes in
temperature behavior of a model. The figure shows a histogram of the
simplified models of the Student Resource Building. The x-axis is the
difference in mean temperature between each simplified model and the
refined baseline model. The height of the bins indicate the number of
rooms that share a similar difference in mean temperature. The models
which are only simplifying controlled areas have a small difference in
temperature prediction from the baseline model. This is because
merging controlled areas has little effect on a model’s temperature
distribution. In the simplified models were uncontrolled areas are
merged, rooms have a error in mean temperature, compared to the
baseline model, as large as 7 degrees Fahrenheit.
22
Temperature behavior is under predicted if uncontrolled areas are
merged. This is due to the well mixed assumption in defining zones. On
the left is an example of two uncontrolled areas which are modeled as
separate zones. In this case, the temperature change of each zone is
driven by it’s net heat load. If the two rooms are combined as shown on
the right, the change in temperature is driven by the sum of each room’s
net heat load. If the two rooms have dissimilar heat loads, then the
combined zone will always have a magnitude temperature change that
is within the limits of the rooms being combined.
23
24
25
The examples shown underscore the how simplified zoning of building
models can create errors based off of dissimilar heat loads between
rooms being merged. The difficulty in determining whether two zones
can be combined or not is that the net heat load of a zone is not known
in advance. In the absence of knowing the net heat load of a zone, a
typical simplification is to merge zones that have similar usage (similar
heat generation). In the left figure, the heat generation of each room is
colored. Adjacent rooms with similar color are typically be merged when
defining zones in industrial practice. On the right is a figure showing the
average net heat load of each room after a year long simulation. Even
though rooms may have similar heat generation, it is not the dominant
heat source of many rooms and merging rooms off of usage is a bad
assumption that will lead to errors.
26
The examples shown underscore the how simplified zoning of building
models can create errors based off of dissimilar heat loads between
rooms being merged. The difficulty in determining whether two zones
can be combined or not is that the net heat load of a zone is not known
in advance. In the absence of knowing the net heat load of a zone, a
typical simplification is to merge zones that have similar usage (similar
heat generation). In the left figure, the heat generation of each room is
colored. Adjacent rooms with similar color are typically be merged when
defining zones in industrial practice. On the right is a figure showing the
average net heat load of each room after a year long simulation. Even
though rooms may have similar heat generation, it is not the dominant
heat source of many rooms and merging rooms off of usage is a bad
assumption that will lead to errors.
27
28
29

M. Georgescu: The Effect of Zoning On Building Models

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

M. Georgescu: The Effect of Zoning On Building Models

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

0

Building models are used to predict behavior of a building under

You might also like