| Session | ||
Thermal Comfort
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| Session Abstract | ||
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A core concept of sustainable buildings is the balance of thermal comfort and optimal indoor air quality against energy consumption. Improved comfort and enhanced air quality typically demands increased energy consumption. This session will present how occupant-centric modeling can contribute to energy saving strategies; the session will also discuss how properly designed energy optimizing control systems can lead to energy saving predictive control strategies. Finally, the participants will learn how retro-commissioning and computational fluid dynamics can be leveraged to improved thermal comfort. Case studies will be reviewed to illustrate the findings through real-world examples. | ||
| Presentations | ||
A Methodology for Integrating System-Level Simulation and Energy Optimization with Building Management Systems Senergy Thermal LLC, United States of America Typical mechanical infrastructure of large facilities includes many types of equipment and systems, and these systems typically measure and store a vast array of operational data which are readily accessible. Properly designed energy optimizing control systems can leverage this operational data in real time to construct and dynamically tune data-driven models of the entire facility, which may then be used for predictive control to optimize energy savings, and to conduct accurate what-if analysis to investigate the potential impact of renovations or equipment failures. This paper presents two case studies where this strategy was successfully used to achieve high energy savings. Enhancing heating demand prediction in residential buildings through occupant-centric modeling – the HoTMuS Project Ansbach University of Applied Science , Germany Accurate predictions of heating energy requirements in residential buildings are imperative for improving energy efficiency and sustainability. In this context, recent research shows the importance of occupant -centric modeling approaches. [O. Ahmed et. al., "State-of-the-art review ooccupant behavior modeling and implementation in building performance simulation", 2023] The HoTMuS project aims to enhance traditional models using state-of-the-art simulation methodologies to analyze the impact of various occupant behaviors on heating demand. The analysis is conducted through a case study of a tiny house settlement, where detailed investigations help identify the key influencing factors, optimizing sensor-based prognosis. Integrating RCx and CFD to Optimize Thermal Comfort in Veteran Housing Baumann Consulting, United States of America The Illinois Veterans' Home at Manteno has reported ongoing issues with poor thermal comfort, particularly in the winter months, for decades. To address these issues, the veterans’ home is renovating four residential buildings. Baumann Consulting deployed retro-commissioning (RCx) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to improve thermal comfort. Baumann team measured the actual supply flows of VAV boxes against the test and balance reports and identified ductwork issues through RCx. Additionally, Baumann utilized CFD to identify the pressure losses in the VAV box downstream ductwork that may be contributing to the current airflow issues and extra supply fan static pressure needed. | ||