8th Vienna International Conference on Mathematical Modelling

8th
8th Vienna
Vienna18International
International Conference
Conference on
on Mathematical
Mathematical Modelling
Modelling
February
8th Vienna - 20, 2015. Vienna
International University
Conference on of Technology,
Mathematical Vienna,
Modelling
February
February 18
18 -- 20,
20, 2015.
2015. Vienna
Vienna University
University of
of Technology,
Available online at Vienna,
Technology, www.sciencedirect.com
Vienna,
Austria
February 18 - 20, 2015. Vienna University of Technology, Vienna,
Austria
Austria
Austria

ScienceDirect
IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 874–879
Comparison
Comparison case between Modelica and
Comparison case
case between
between Modelica
Modelica and
and
specialized tools for building modelling 
specialized tools for building modelling 
specialized tools for building modelling
∗ ∗∗
Daniel
Daniel Fernández
Fernández González
González ∗ Luis J. Yebra ∗∗
Daniel Fernández González ∗ Luis
∗
Luis J.
J. Yebra
Yebra ∗∗
∗∗
Daniel Fernández González Luis J. Yebra ∗∗
∗
∗
∗ CIESOL Mixed Centre, Master of Solar Energy, Campus of
∗ CIESOL
∗
CIESOL Mixed
Mixed Centre,
Centre, Master of Solar Energy, Campus of
∗ University
CIESOL Mixed
University of
of Centre, Master
Almerı́a,
Almerı́a, 04120
Master
04120
of
of Solar
Solar Energy,
Almerı́a,
Almerı́a, Spain.
Energy,
Spain.
Campus
Campus of
(e-mail:
(e-mail: of
University
University of Almerı́a, 04120 Almerı́a,
of danielfergon33@gmail.com)
Almerı́a, 04120 Almerı́a, Spain.
Spain. (e-mail:
(e-mail:
∗∗ danielfergon33@gmail.com)
danielfergon33@gmail.com)
∗∗ CIEMAT Researchdanielfergon33@gmail.com)
Centre, Dept. of Energy, PSA, 04200 Tabernas,
∗∗ CIEMAT
∗∗
∗∗ CIEMAT Research
Research Centre,
Centre, Dept.
Dept. of
of Energy,
Energy, PSA,
PSA, 04200
04200 Tabernas,
Tabernas,
Almerı́a,
CIEMAT
Almerı́a, Spain
Research
Spain (e-mail:
Centre,
(e-mail: luis.yebra@{ciemat,psa}.es)
Dept. of Energy, PSA, 04200
luis.yebra@{ciemat,psa}.es) Tabernas,
Almerı́a, Spain (e-mail: luis.yebra@{ciemat,psa}.es)
Almerı́a, Spain (e-mail: luis.yebra@{ciemat,psa}.es)
Abstract:
Abstract:
Abstract:
This document
Abstract:document presents aa comparison between the simulation results of a basic building obtained
This
This document presents
presents aofcomparison
comparison between
between the simulation
the first
simulation results
results of
of aaa basic
basic building
building obtained
obtained
from
This
from two
document
two different
different sets
presents
sets aof modelling
comparison
modelling tools.
between
tools. The
the
The set
simulation
first set are
are object-oriented
results of
object-orientedbasic general
building
general purpose
obtained
from two different
different setsonof of the
modelling tools. The first
first set areDymola
object-oriented general purpose
cc and SystemModeler purpose
modelling
from
modelling two tools
tools based
basedsets on the Modelica
modelling
Modelica language,
tools.
language,The for
for which
set
whichare 
object-oriented
Dymola  and
ccspecial
general
SystemModeler purpose ccc


modelling
have
modelling been tools
used.
tools based
The
based on
second
on the
the Modelica
group
Modelica is language,
based
language,on for which
DesignBuilder
for which cc as a
Dymola

Dymola  and
and SystemModeler
purpose
SystemModeler building 
c
have
have been
been used.
used. The
The second
second group
group is
is based
based on
on DesignBuilder
DesignBuilder 
cc as
as aa special
special purpose
purpose building
building
simulation
have
simulationbeen tool.
used. The
The building’s
second model
group is is presented
based on and the
DesignBuilder simulation
 as a results
special explained.
purpose building
simulation tool.
simulation tool. The
tool. The building’s
The building’s model
building’s model is
model is presented
is presented and
presented and the
and the simulation
the simulation results
simulation results explained.
results explained.
explained.
© 2015, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: object-oriented
Keywords: object-oriented dynamic dynamic modelling,
modelling, thermodynamic,
thermodynamic, buildings.buildings.
Keywords:
Keywords: object-oriented
object-oriented dynamic dynamic modelling,
modelling, thermodynamic,
thermodynamic, buildings.buildings.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.
1. INTRODUCTION
1. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Thermodynamic modelling
Thermodynamic modelling of of buildings is is gaining
gaining impor-
Thermodynamic
tance in
Thermodynamic the modelling
search
modellingfor of buildings
higher
of buildings
energy
buildings is gaining impor-
isefficiencies.
gaining impor-
impor-Ar-
tance
tance in
in the search
theheating, for
for higher
search cooling higher energy
energy efficiencies.
efficiencies. Ar-
Ar-
chitectural,
tance in
chitectural, the search
heating, for and
higher control
energy systems
efficiencies. design
Ar-
chitectural,
are several heating, cooling
several disciplines
chitectural, disciplines
heating, cooling
in which
coolingwhich
and
and
and
control
buildings
control
systems
controldynamic
systems models
systems
design
design
design
are
are several disciplines in
in which buildings
buildings dynamic
dynamic models
models
could
are
could be applied.
several
be disciplinesAs inin many
which other disciplines
buildings dynamic (electronics,
models
could
could be applied.
electricity,
be applied.
mechanics,
applied.
As
As in
As in
many
many other
in fluids,
many other disciplines
disciplines (electronics,
thermodynamics,...)
other disciplines (electronics,
there
(electronics, is
electricity,
electricity, mechanics,
mechanics, fluids,
fluids, thermodynamics,...)
thermodynamics,...) there
there is
is
a choice
electricity,
aa choice between
mechanics, special purpose
fluids, simulators
thermodynamics,...) for each
there dis- is
a choiceorbetween
cipline
choice between
more general
between
special
general
special
purpose
specialdynamic
purpose
simulators
purposemodelling
simulators
simulators
for
for each
techniques,
for each dis-
each dis-
see
dis-
cipline
cipline or
or more
more general dynamic
dynamic modelling
modelling techniques,
techniques, see
see
Cellier
cipline
Cellier (1991).
or more general dynamic modelling techniques, see
Cellier (1991).
Cellier (1991).
(1991).
Several specialized
Several specialized simulation
simulation tools tools for for building
building may may be be
Several specialized simulation
cc tools for building may , be
mentioned:
Several
mentioned:
mentioned:
TRNSYS
specialized
TRNSYS(Fiksel
TRNSYS (Fiksel
simulation et
tools
et
et al.
c et al. (2000)),
(Fiksel
al. (1995)),
for building
al. (1995)),
(1995)),
LIDER
LIDER
LIDER
may ccc
be
,
,
Fig.
Fig. 1.
1. Building
Building to
to model:
model: graphical
graphical representation
representation from
from
EnergyPlus
mentioned: ccTRNSYS
(Crawley c
(Fiksel et al. DOE-2
(1995)), cc LIDER
(Winkel- c
, Fig. 1. Building
Fig. DesignBuilder
1. Building to
to model:
model: graphical
graphical representation
representation from
from
EnergyPlus
EnergyPlus (Crawley
c
(Crawley et
et al.
al. (2000)),
(2000)), DOE-2
DOE-2 
 c (Winkel-
(Winkel- DesignBuilder
mann and
EnergyPlus Selkowitz
c
(Crawley (1985)),
et al. DesignBuilder
(2000)), DOE-2 cc 
,...c Some
(Winkel- of DesignBuilder
DesignBuilder
mann and Selkowitz (1985)), DesignBuilder ,... Some of
mann
mann
these
and Selkowitz
these tools
tools
and Selkowitz
don’t always
don’t
(1985)),
always
(1985)), shows
shows
DesignBuilder
the approximations
DesignBuilder
the cc
,...
approximations
,... Someand
Some and
of
of with the Modelica modelling tools. Once this closeness
these
methods
these
methods
tools
used
tools
used
don’t
for
don’t
for
always
the
the modelling
always
modelling
shows
showsand the
and approximations
simulation
the simulation
approximations of
of the
the and with
and
sys-
sys- with
is
with
the Modelica
the Modelica
proof,
the Modelica tools
Modelica
modelling
modelling
bring
modelling
tools.
tools.
tools.
Once this
this closeness
Oncepossibilities
additional
Once this closeness
for
closeness
methods
tem, denying
methods usedthe
denying
used forusers
for the modelling
the modelling
access to and simulation
to more
more
and simulation of the
detailed information. the sys-
information.
of sys- is is proof,
proof, Modelica
Modelica tools tools bring
bring additional
additional possibilities
possibilities for
for
tem, the users access detailed aa variety
is proof, of applications,
Modelica tools like
bring advanced
additional control
possibilitiessystems
for
tem, denying
tem, denying the the users
users access
access to to more
more detailed information. a variety
detailed information. variety of
of applications,
applications, like
like advanced
advanced control
control systems
systems
Modelica is a general purpose object-oriented language adesign.
variety
design. of applications, like advanced control systems
Modelica
Modelica is aa general
is systemsgeneral purpose object-oriented
purpose Fritzson
object-oriented language
language design.
for physical
for physical
Modelica is a general
systems modelling
purpose
modelling (2010), and
object-oriented
Fritzson (2010), and
language
a its design.
a its
for
for physical
physical
evolution systems modelling
systems modelling
is described Fritzson
in ÅströmFritzson (2010), and
(2010), and a its
et al. (1998).
(1998). a its
evolution
evolution is is described
described in in Åström
Åström et et al.
al. (1998).
(1998). 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM TO MODEL
evolution is described in Åström et al. 2.
2. DESCRIPTION
DESCRIPTION OF OF THETHE SYSTEM
SYSTEM TO TO MODELMODEL
In this work the authors present the modeling and simu- 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM TO MODEL
In
In this work
thisofwork
work the authors
the authors
authors present
present the
the modeling
modeling and and
and simu-
simu-
lation
In this a simple
the building, with
present DesignBuilder
the modeling cc as the
simu- The system to be used for the test is aa simple cubic
lation
lation of aa simple building, with DesignBuilder  as
as the The
special
lation of
purpose
of simple
a simple building,
toolbuilding,
and Dymola
Dymolawith
with DesignBuilder
cDesignBuilder
and SystemModeler
SystemModeler 
cc as the

the c The system
system of
construction
The system
to
to
be
be used
be used for
to dimensions:
used for(7m
for
the
the
test
test is
the length,
test is a simple
is 4.6m
a simple
depth
simple
cubic
cubic
and
cubic
special
special purpose
purpose tool
tool and
and Dymola 
c
c and
and SystemModeler 
 c
c construction of dimensions: (7m length, 4.6m depth and
as the
special Modelica
purpose general
tool and purpose
Dymola ctools.
and For the
SystemModeler Modelica  c construction
3m height),
construction of
with
of dimensions:
south
dimensions: (7m
orientation
(7m length,
and 4.6m
located
length, 4.6m depth
in and
Granada
depth and
as
as the Modelica
the the
Modelica general
general purpose
purposeLibrarytools.
tools. ForFor the
the has Modelica
Modelica 3m height), with south orientation and located in Granada
tools,
as the Modelica
Modelica general Standard
purpose tools. (MSL)
For the Modelicabeen 3m height),
(southern
3m height), with
Spain).
with south
Figure
south orientation
1 shows
orientation and
the
and located
DesignBuilder
located in
in Granada
block
Granada
tools,
tools, the
the Modelica
Modelica Standard
StandardofLibraryLibrary (MSL)
(MSL) has
has been been (southern Spain). Figure 1 shows the DesignBuilder block
used. Modelling
tools, Modelling
the Modelica uncertainties
Standard the system
Library system(MSL) are presented
presented
has been (southern
representing
(southern Spain).
the
Spain). Figure
Figure 11 shows
construction, shows in the DesignBuilder
which
the the
DesignBuilderonly block
window
block
used.
used. Modelling uncertainties
uncertainties of
of the
the system are
are presented representing the construction, in which the only window
and
used. justified
Modelling when no
uncertaintiesinformation
of the was
system provided
are by
presented the representing
in the system
representing the
has
the construction,
0 South
construction, in which
orientation.
in which the
the only only window
window
and
and justified
justified when
when no information
no information
information was was provided
was provided
provided by by
by thethe
the in in the
the system has has 0 South orientation.
orientation.
special
and
special purpose
justified tool.no
when in the system
system has 00 South South orientation.
special purpose
special purpose tool.
purpose tool.
tool. Although all active components in the building could be
The interest
The interest of of the
the authors
authors in in this
this workwork is is duedue to the Although
to the Although with
modelled
Although
all
all active
all active
both
active
components
components
sets of
components modelling
in
in the
in the building
building
tools,
the only
building a
could
could be
be
passive
could be
The interest
extended
The interest and of
of the
accepted
the authors
authors use in
of
in this work
DesignBuilder
this work is
is due

due c to
in
to the
the modelled
modelled with
with both
both sets
sets of
of modelling
modelling tools,
tools, only
only a
a passive
passive
extended and accepted use of cc in approach
modelled will
with be realized.
both sets ofTherefore,
modelling none
tools, ofonlythe following
a passive
extended
architecture
extended and
and accepted
andaccepted
civil works
worksuse of DesignBuilder
use sector,
of DesignBuilder
and finding
DesignBuilderfinding  out
c out in
the
the approach
in how
the approach
components
approach
will
will
willor
be
be realized.
realized.
besubsystems
Therefore, none
realized. Therefore,
will be
Therefore, none
taken
nonein
of
of the
the following
the following
ofconsideration:
following
architecture
architecture and
and civil
civil works sector,
sector, and
and finding out how
how components or subsystems will be taken in consideration:
close the
the results
architecture results are when
and civil when
worksthethe sameand
sector, system
finding is modelled
modelled
out how cooling, components
components or
heating
or subsystems
or external
subsystems will
will be
thermal
be taken
taken in consideration:
sources,
in including
consideration:
close
close the results
results are are
are when
when the same
the same
same systemsystem
system is is modelled cooling,
is modelled heating or external thermal sources, including
close the
 Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding support from
cooling, effect.
human
cooling, heating
heating The or system
or external
external is thermal
presented
thermal sources,
as
sources, including
aa summation
including

 Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding support from human
human effect.
effect. The
The system
system is
is presented
presented as
as a summation
summation
 Authors
POWER, gratefully acknowledge
INNPACTO-HIBIOSOLEO
Authors INNPACTO-HIBIOSOLEO
gratefully acknowledge the and the funding
and
fundingHYSOL support
support from
research
from of
of the
human
the physical
effect.
physical principles
The system
principles for
foris the
the dynamic
presented
dynamic asmodelling,
a summation
modelling, and
and
POWER, HYSOL research of the physical principles for the dynamic modelling, and
POWER,
projects.
POWER,
projects.
INNPACTO-HIBIOSOLEO
INNPACTO-HIBIOSOLEO and
and HYSOL
HYSOL research
research the
of
the results
the
results are
physical
are compared.
principles
compared. for the dynamic modelling, and
projects.
projects. the results are compared.
the results are compared.
2405-8963 ©© 2015,
Copyright 2015,IFAC
IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control)
874Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright
Peer review©
Copyright © 2015,
2015, IFAC
IFAC 874
874
Copyright ©under
2015,responsibility
IFAC of International Federation of Automatic
874Control.
10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.05.193
MATHMOD 2015

February Daniel Fernández González et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 874–879
18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria 875

2.1 Thermal properties of the building • Walls model.

• Window model.
The physical properties of the building, mainly thermal, • Energy flux model between components.
have to be defined for both tools sets. In order to have
the same references, the parameters from DesignBuilder Inner air model The air inside the building is considered
database have been used in the models and are presented, to be an ideal gas and perfectly mixed (Wetter and
grouped by parts, in the following tables. Haugstetter (2006)). This assumption is usually adopted in
thermal building simulation software. The air is supposed
Table 1. Ceiling materials characteristics to be dry and mass and energy conservation laws are
Material Asphalt Glass Plaster
applied (Moran et al. (2010)).
Thickness (m) 0.01 0.1445 0.0130 So the equations applied are:
Thermal Properties
T.Conduct. (W/mK) 0.7 0.004 0.25 dm
= ṁi − ṁo (1)
S.Heat (J/kgK) 1000 840 896 dt
Density (kg/m3) 2100 12 2800
Surface Properties for mass conservation. where m is the whole air mass in
Thermal Abs. (-) 0.9 0.9 0.9 the control volume (CV) inside the building, and ṁx is the
Solar Abs. 0.85 0.6 0.5 mass flow rate entering (x = i) or leaving (x = o) the CV.
Table 2. Wall materials characteristics dU
= ṁi hi − ṁo ho + Q̇ + W (2)
dt
Material Brick XPS Concrete Gypsum
Thickness (m) 0.1 0.0795 0.1 0.013 for energy conservation; where ḣx are specific enthalpies
Thermal Properties
for the flows entering (x = i) and leaving (x = o) the CV;
T. cond. (W/mK) 0.84 0.03 0.51 0.14
S. Heat (J/kgK) 800 1400 1000 1000 Q̇ the heat from internal sources and W the work term,
Density (kg/m3) 1700 35 1400 1000 which is zero in this case of application.
Surface Properties
Thermal Abs. (-) 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
The mass and heat flows are modelled in the Modelica
Solar Abs. 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 tools as flow variables in the connectors used from the
Modelica Standard Library (MSL).
Table 3. Floor materials characteristics
Wall models The envelope of any building is usually
Material Foam Concrete Render W. floor the element which most influences its thermal storage
Thickness (m) 0.1327 0.1 0.07 0.03 capability. The optimization is key in reducing energy
Thermal Props.
needs and inner temperature control.
T. cond. (W/mK) 0.04 1.130 0.41 0.14
S. Heat (J/kgK) 1400 1000 840 1200 The heat is transferred through the wall by conduction
Density (kg/m3) 10 2000 1200 650 and a distributed heat storage is created. The heat flow
Surface Properties through a solid wall is described by Fourier Law for con-
Thermal Abs. (-) 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
duction (Kreith et al. (2010)), what is a Partial Differential
Solar Abs. 0.6 0.6 0.73 0.78
Equation (PDE):
Due to the space limitations, the parameters for the glass ∂T λ ∂2T
and htc are omitted. = (3)
∂t ρc ∂x2
2.2 Boundary conditions for the system where ρ, c, and λ are density, specific heat and thermal
conductivity of the material, respectively. Usually PDEs
The data used as input variables for the model is from a are not directly implementable in object-oriented mod-
typical year (TMY3 file) of Granada (Spain). The inputs elling tools, so a transformation for the derivative with
used are: respect to (w.r.t.) spatial coordinate x is required. The
one used from authors is a first order approximation for
• Dry bulb temperature. partial derivative w.r.t. x as shown in next equation:
• Relative humidity.
• Atmospheric pressure. ∂2T T (x + ∆x) − 2T (x) + T (x − ∆x)
≈ (4)
• IR sky horizontal radiation. ∂x2 ∆x2
• Global horizontal, normal direct and horizontal dif-
fuse irradiation. where a grid for the spatial coordinate x must be consid-
• Wind velocity: direction and magnitude. ered with ∆x as separation distance.
All these data are sampled every hour. Rather than solving the PDE discretized equation, the
authors preferred to use a component oriented approach
2.3 Model description reusing components in MSL. For that purpose, a mesh
composed of alternating thermal conduction and heat
The main subsystems models approaches are summarized storage components is used. Heat conduction component
in this section, which are: (MSL HeatConduction) is used for the thermal conduction
and the heat capacitor component (MSL HeatStorage) for
• Inner air model. the heat storage, calculating their parameters for each

875
MATHMOD 2015
876
February Daniel Fernández González et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 874–879
18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria
wall layer depending on ρ, c, λ and building geometry.
More detailed and graphical information can be read in
Felgner et al. (2002) where a detailed explanation of the
use of MSL components to represent this approximation
in single or multilayer walls can be found. The use of MSL
components allows the use of convection and radiation
components in the boundary layers when used.
Floor model The models for the floor follows the same
general approach used for walls, where distributed conduc-
tion and heat storage are the main factors. In addition,
boundary conditions are present, which are assumed:
• Inside air temperature in the room.
• Fixed temperature at certain depth in the floor. Is is
usually assumed that temperature is maintained at a
fixed value at certain distance and, although this is
not physically correct, is commonly applied to define
a boundary condition.
In figure 2 the model representation with MSL components
is shown, in which a fixed temperature boundary condi-
tion, thermally connected to a heat storage component and
this to a distributed conduction component, which finally
is connected to the inside air.
Fig. 2. Distributed floor model.
Window model Complex models are available that com-
pute the optical properties of the window coupled to en-
ergy balance equations. In this particular case study the
authors propose a simple modelling approach of a double
glazed window with an air control volume between them.
In figure 3 the energy flows are represented.
Fig. 3. Window model components and energy flows.
The solar irradiation reaches the building though the
window, and it is been attenuated, and been affected by
the optical parameters of the glasses. As cited in Wetter
and Haugstetter (2006), the main heat contribution to the
inside the building is the irradiance transmitted through
windows, in comparison with the energy absorbed by
876
window glasses and transferred by conduction-convection
to air inside.
In this model is not considered the thermal conduction
through glass due to the thickness of both glasses, due to
both are 13 mm thick. In this model the thermal capacity
of both glasses is considered and the energy balance for the
complete window is composed of the following equations:
dT2
m2 c2 = hconv1 (Tout − Tglass2 ) + (5)
dt
qSW,ab,1 + qLW,ab1 + U (Tglass1 − Tglass2 )
for the inner glass. For the outer glass is:
dT1
m1 c 1= hconv0 (Tair − Tglass1 ) +(6)
dt
qSW,ab,0 + qSW,ab,room + qLW,ab,0 + U (Tglass2 − Tglass1 )
where hconv1 (Tout − Tglass2 ) and hconv0 (Tair − Tglass1 ) are
convection energy flows from environment to exterior glass
and from interior air to inner window glass, respectively.
qSW,ab0 and qSW,ab1 are short wave energy flows absorbed
by inner and outer glasses from environment. qSW,ab,room
is short wave power flux absorbed by inner glass from
room. qLW,ab,0 and qLW,ab,1 are the long wave radiations
absorbed by inner and outer glasses. U (Tglass1 − Tglass2 )
and U (Tglass2 − Tglass1 ) are approximations for the net
flow (by conduction, convection and radiation) between
both glasses, where U is considered a parameter in the
Modelica semantic.
Modelica implementation reusing MSL classes for this
component is made in the following:
• Both glasses are modelled by HeatCapacitor compo-
nent where the net flow between them U (Tglass,i −
Tglass,j ) is represented both by HeatConduction com-
ponents.
• The external glass contains a HeatPort connector for
connecting energy flows from environment (convec-
tion, short and long waves radiations).
• The inner glass contains a HeatPort connector for
connecting energy flow from inside air (convection,
short and long waves radiations) and short wave
radiation coming from environment passing through
the external glass.
• The solar irradiation received by inner glass sheet is
computed from a gain to total short wave irradiation
(direct plus diffuse) absorbed by the glass. The equa-
tions computing the gain G are:
G = τ1 Ab (7)
Ab = 1 − τ2 − R2 (8)
where G is gain, τ1 and τ2 transmisivities, Ab ab-
sortance and R2 inner glass reflectivity.
• The solar radiation reaching the room through both
glasses is computed as by a total transmisivity τtotal :
τ 1 τ2
τtotal = (9)
1 − R12 R21
where τi are transmisivities for outer (i = 1) and inner
glasses and Rij are reflectivities of j glass respect i
glass.
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February Daniel Fernández González et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 874–879
18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria 877

Heat transfer by convection Convective heat flow is usu- Tsky assumed to be the temperature that a black body
ally an important obstacle when facing model calibration. should have in order to emit such radiation Wetter (2006).
The search of (heat transfer coefficients) htc is the aim  0.25
of an important amount of studies, and the methods for Hhor
Tsky = (12)
its computation varies from experimental correlations to σ
complex mathematical algebraic models. They are usually
formed by two parts: natural convection and forced con- where Hhor is the infrared horizontal radiation in the sky
vection. and σ is the Stefan Boltzmann constant.

DesignBuilder uses several coefficients for convection over The environment temperature Tenv Carli (2006) is defined
inner and outer surfaces. In the Modelica model the same as:
approach as DesignBuilder has been followed, trying to 4
obtain the closest results in the simulations.The following Tenv = (V iewF actor · Tsky +
approximations have been used. 4
(1 − V iewF actor)Tout )0.25 (13)
For inner htc the method used is the same that in Ener-
gyPlus Crawley et al. (2000) and Wetter (2006). The next where V iewF actor is an incident angle modifier which
items list present it summed up: value could be: 0 for ceilings, 0.5 for walls and windows,
and 1 for floors.
• For horizontal surfaces (when abs value of inclination
angle is below 22.5 ◦ ) and free convection a constant The radiative htc hLW is defined as:
 3
value (parameter) is used depending on what con- Tsur + Tenv
vection hypothesis is assumed, reduced or enhanced. hLW = 4σεLW (14)
2
For reduced convection a typical value used is 0.948
W/m2 K and for enhanced convection 4.040 W/m2 K. where Tsur is the external surface temperature of the walls.
• For tilted surfaces (when abs value of inclination The long wave radiative heat flow is:
angle is greater than 22.5 ◦ ) but not vertical), free
convection typical values used are 2.281 W/m2 K for qLW = hLW (Tsur − Tenv ) (15)
reduced and 0.870 W/m2 K for enhanced.
Heat exchange between internal surfaces For the com-
• For vertical surfaces under free convection a typical
putation of the long wave radiation exchanged between
value is 0.076 W/m2 K.
internal surfaces Trad is defined as the radiation tempera-
• The assumption of reduced and enhanced depends on
ture Wetter (2006) of the room:
the architectural design, and when it is not known a  k k k
priori, a commonly used value for the free convection k εLW A Tsur
coefficient is 3 W/m2 K, independent of the angle of Trad =  k k
(16)
k εLW A
inclination.
k
For forced convection two approaches have been used, where k index references each internal surface and Tsur its
being the wind velocity close to the wall v the independent surface temperature. It is assumed that each surface ex-
variable for both cases: changes heat with an imaginary surface with temperature
Trad . This radiative heat exchange is described by:
• Sparrow model in Sparrow et al. (1979). It computes   4 
k
the forced htc from the next equation: qLW = σεkLW Trad4
− Tk (17)

Pv The authors used a linearization of previous nonlinear
h = 2.537wR (10)
A equation in the model, in addition to the base non-linear
formulation. The linearized model at T o:
where w is a parameter depending on the angle
of incidence wind velocity respect surface, R is the
surface roughness, P is the perimeter of the surface, hkLW,l = 4εkLW To3 (18)
k
 
v is the wind velocity and A the surface area. qLW,l = hkLW,l Trad − T k (19)
• Simplified model Carli (2006), mainly used for glasses,
given by: Both non-linear and linear equations are used in the Mod-
elica model under proper parametrization, and without a
h = 4v + 4 (11) significant loss of physical meaning.

External irradiace short and long waves The solar short
wave irradiance from the environment is the addition
of direct and diffuse components. Both components are
affected by the incidence angle and the absortivity of the
surface. In walls all the normal shortwave irradiance is
absorbed while in windows only a fraction is transmited.
A heat exchange with the sky and the environment is given
between walls and windows with sky and environment.
The usual approximation for the calculation of this heat
exchange is to define an equivalent temperature of the sky,
Distribution of solar radiation inside Several assump-
tions are used for the computation of surface solar gains,
typically used in modelling of buildings Wetter and Haug-
stetter (2006):
• All incoming radiation passing through the windows
reaches the floor, and is reflected diffusely to the inner
walls surfaces.
• There are no multiple reflexions, and a distribution
factor depending on the area of each surface respect
total is added.

877
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February Daniel Fernández González et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 874–879
18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria

Ht is defined as the solar radiation transmitted by all win-

dows each of them with area Ai and radiation contribution
Hi :

Ht = Hi Ai (20)

The total radiation absorbed by each floor section k:

k
εkSW,f loor
qSW,ab,0 =  Ht (21)
n An

The solar radiation reflected by each floor section will be:

 
Fig. 4. Air inside temperature simulation results with
Ak 1 − εkSW,f loor
DesignBuilder (blue) and Modelica (red). Month:
Qkr =  (22)
n An
June.

This reflected radiation is absorbed and transmitted again.

In general, walls are usually opaques and do not transmit
again the radiation while windows absorb and transmit to
the environment. The radiation absorbed for each of the
inner surfaces is computed by:
εk + τSWk
qk = Qr  SWn k
 (23)
n εSW + τSW

External radiation exchange model The dynamics of this

energy conservation model is:
dT Fig. 5. Air inside temperature simulation results with
mc = hconv1 (Tout − Twall,out ) + qSW,ab + qLW,ab (24) DesignBuilder (blue) and Modelica (red). Month:
dt
January.
where: (Tout − Twall,out ) is the convection heat flow trans-
ferred to environment; qSW,ab and qLW,ab are the short and
long wave radiations from environment respectively.
There is one MSL HeatPort connector for each of the ex-
ternal surfaces: walls, ceiling and window. This connector
receives the radiation modified by the correspondent ab-
sortion coefficient for each wall and window. The radiation
flows received are: solar normal direct, horizontal and solar
infrared from sky. The direct solar radiation is calculated
as a function of the time and incidence angle. For the dif-
fuse solar radiation the isotropic method has been chosen
which uses diffuse horizontal and global radiation.

3. SIMULATION RESULTS

For the simulations the same boundary conditions are
applied for DesignBuilder and Modelica model. In figure 4
a comparison of the inside air temperature is shown with
comparative simulation results with both tools, showing
a maximum difference of 2C, for the complete month of
June.
In the figure 5 the temperatures simulated for January are
shown, again, with the results with Modelica tools in red
and with DesignBuilder in blue.
Figure 6 shows the ambient air temperature and the
simulations results of the temperatures of the external and
internal surface of south wall.
An interesting result about the influence of the existence
of the window in the building is shown in figure 7, where
the contribution of solar irradiation to the inside air
temperature can be observed. The inside air shows more
variations, amplitude and higher mean value when the
radiation is present.
Fig. 6. Temperatures of external air (green), inner layer
(red) and outer layer (blue) of South wall.
The last figure 8 shows the percentage of difference of
the simulation results obtained between DesignBuilder
and Modelica tools, in the computation of inside air
temperature. Some statistical parameters obtained for this
error signal are:
• Minimum: 0%.
• Maximum: 0.6867%.
• Mean: 0.1985%.
• Median: 0.1795%.
• Mode: 0.1142%.
• Standard deviation: 0.1317%.
These results show a maximum total relative error of
0.69% in the simulation of a complete day between De-
signBuilder and Modelica tools. It is a small difference
taking into account that, for example, the error in the
measurement of some variables could be bigger.

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February Daniel Fernández González et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 874–879
18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria
Fig. 7. Air inside temperature simulation results when the
solar irradiation pass through windows (red) when do
not pass (blue).
Fig. 8. Air inside temperature simulation results with
DesignBuilder (blue) and Modelica (red).
The origin of the differences is assumed to be originated
on the modelling hypothesis applied in both set of tools,
once the presented model is the one implemented in
the Modelica tools. Therefore, deviations from internal
DesignBuilder mathematical model to the one presented
are the more likely cause of errors, but the authors didn’t
have access to the the complete internal DesignBuilder
model for this test system.
4. CONCLUSION
A comparison between two modelling tool sets is pre-
sented. The first one is a specific simulation package for
buildings, DesignBuilder, and the other is an object ori-
ented modelling tool based on Modelica language. For
the comparison a small building system is chosen, and
the model and approximations are presented. At last,
simulation results are presented with both tool sets and
the comparison between them is performed for a complete
year.
It can be concluded that Modelica tools are a real option
for dynamic modelling of buildings in comparison with spe-
cific domain tools. Although specialized libraries should be
used to compete with specific domain tools, the openness
and possibilities of Modelica languages and tools are an
important incentive for further applications.
The integration of more complex models with other sub-
systems as renewable energies and advanced control sys-
tems are future extensions of this work.
879
879
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding support
from CIEMAT National Lab, EU 7th Framework Pro-
gramme (Theme Energy 2012.2.5.2) under grant agree-
ment 308912 - HYSOL project - Innovative Configuration
of a Fully Renewable Hybrid CSP Plant, Spanish Ministry
of Science and Innovation for INNPACTO-HIBIOSOLEO
project (Contract No: IPT-440000-2010-004) and Spanish
Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for POWER
project (Contract No: DPI2010-21589-C05-02).
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