Energy Modelling and Dynamic Simulation: A Key Tool in Sustainable Building Engineering

MahendraGooroochurnPhD,LEEDAPBD+C,MIET,AMASHRAE

Abstract
Theenergycrisisandtheoccurrenceof heraldednaturalcalamitiesandenvironment hazards have placed unprecedented interest in the engineering of green buildings. Although a green building is not all about energy performance, achieving energy efficiency remains a central focus in sustainability frameworks of buildings. A key component underpinning the design of a green building, through a rigorous optimisationofthebuildingperformance,istheabilityto:(1)analysetheinteractionof the factors influencing the dynamics of building performance, and (2) generate quantitativedatathatenablestorefineandevaluatesustainabilitymeasuresaswellas assess their financial viability. The de facto method adopted to study the physics of buildingperformanceisthecreationofabuildingmodel.Thisisduetothehighlevelof computational and algorithmic complexity involved in the dynamic analysis of the underlying principles and their mutual interactions, making it both technically and economically unfeasible to work without dedicated software tools. Furthermore, building certification frameworks generally require building simulation results to comparetheproposedbuildingtoabaseline(reference)caseforsettingtheminimum performancecriteriatobeachieved.Thisarticleintroducesthesubjectareaofbuilding simulations,illustratesthegeneralprocedureforcreatingabuildingmodelandrunning simulations, and discusses its critical role in green building design. Finally, based on experience with different software packages in diverse projects, applications of building simulations for promoting sustainability in the built environment are presented. Keyterms:sustainability,energymodelling,dynamicsimulations,greenbuilding

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1. Introduction Building energy modelling and dynamic simulations have progressively taken a stronghold as an analysis and increasingly as a compliance tool in the construction industry. While the core of algorithms and software routines used to carry out the various computations remain largely the same (e.g. US Department of Energy (DOE) libraryofroutinesusedintheUSandSimplifiedBuildingEnergyModel(SBEM)usedin UK) across the different software packages that are available on the market, what distinguishes one software package from another is the userfriendliness of the interfacesandtheextenttowhichtheuserisgivenaccesstoandpermissiontochange parametersthataffecttheperformanceofthebuildingsystems.Onanotherlevel,the capabilities of the different software packages differ from one another. Some are designed to carry out static calculations, e.g. CIBSE heat gains; some can determine annualenergyconsumption,whileothersprovideadvancedmodellingroutinestocarry outdynamicsimulationsforaparticulardesigntask,e.g.simulatingnaturalventilation forastackventilationstrategyordaylightingusinglightshelves. In creating the building simulation model, the modeller is required to pay particular attention to strategies such as zoning and system simplification so as to reduce complexityinthemodelasmuchaspossiblewhilecapturingtheimportantdynamics of the processes involved. This simplification is needed for two main reasons: (1) to avoiddwellingonlevelsofdetailsinthebuildingarchitectureandenergysystemsthat ultimately do not affect the end outcome significantly, and (2) to avoid unnecessary levelsofcomplexityinthemodelthatleadstolengthyandcostlycomputations.Sothe modeller needs to rely on a given rule set and his judgement to build up the model, configure the latter with project specific architectural, operational and engineering datatofinallyobtainreliablesimulationresultsfromit. Optimising the building elements in synergy with each other is the core of green buildingdesign.Ifnotstartedfromdayoneoftheprojectdevelopmentphase,i.e.at concept stage, the project continually loses valuable opportunity to cost effectively integrate building principles together to achieve highly optimised levels of performance. This approach calls for the project team members to work together in coordinated design sessions, which is in stark contrast to the predominating work culture where team members work in isolation and then attempt to coordinate each othersworkatalaterstage.Thispractice,wroughtwithinnumerableassumptionsand rulesofthumb,iscomparabletoshootingarrowsinthedark. Building simulation plays an indispensable role in the sustainability design of green buildings.Itfacilitatesthestudyofthefundamentalprinciplesunderlyingthephysicsof

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buildingperformance,bothindividuallyandinconjunctionwitheachother,accurately, in a timely and cost effective manner. Moreover, the userfriendliness of these software tools has enabled computer literate professionals to model sophisticated systems and controls by few clicks of a mouse. With these unique attributes, it is no secret why building simulation has taken such an important, if not requisite role, in sustainabilityengineeringofbuildings. 2. Creating the building model Thissectionhighlightsthegeneralprocedureforcreatingabuildingmodel,configuring the building fabric and glazing elements as well as the building energy systems to matchtheactualordesignparameters. 2.1. Elements of energy model As described above, the user interface of building simulation programs has rendered the creation of building models accessible to computer literate persons rather than buildingprogrammingexperts.Theuserinterfaceofonesuchsoftware(eQuest),with the3Dgeometryofthedefaultbuildingdefinedthroughthewizard,isshowninFigure 1.Thecomponentsmakingupabuildingmodelareclearlyillustratedinthenavigation bar,reproducedinlargerscaleinFigure2.

Figure1:UserinterfaceofeQuest

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Figure2:NavigationbarofeQuest

The influence of the site location and project characteristics affects the occupant comfortandenergyperformanceofabuildingsignificantly.Forexample,thevariation ofexternaltemperatureisusedtodeterminetheheatgain/lossto/fromthebuildingat agivenpointintime,whereasthebuildingoperation,suchasthestartingandclosing times and dates of holidays are needed to simulate the building performance. A weather file corresponding to the location of the building or for another place with similarclimatecharacteristicsisamustforcarryingoutdetailedbuildingsimulations. Theweatherfiletypicallyconsistsofthevariationofclimateparametersoverthe8760 hoursofa365dayyear. Thebuildingenvelope(shell)isarguablythemostimportantcomponentofthebuilding modelasalltheotherelementsaredefinedandprogrammedinrelationtoit.Italso acts as the identity of the building model. A critical step following creation of the buildingmodeliszoningthespacesappropriatelysothatsimilarspacescanbegrouped togethertosimplifyanalysis.Subsequently,thezonesareassignedrelevantdatathat determines the amount of energy used during different modes of operation. For example, a setback condition may be defined for a given zone with different temperaturesettingsforoccupiedandunoccupiedhours. Theassignmentofinternalloadstoagivenzoneconsistsofspecifyingthenumberof persons expected in each zone, the lighting load, the miscellaneous loads and any other energy load. Each of these loads is assigned with a profile that determines its variationwithtimeoverthe24hoursofagivenday,overthesevendaysofa week, and ultimately over a given week of the year. For example, Figure 3 shows a default lightingprofileprovidedforofficeoccupancyineQuestforMonday.Itwillbeobserved thatnolightingisprogrammedforSaturday,Sundayandholidaysinthisprofile.Similar to load profiling, temperature settings are also defined as profiles and act as thermostatsettingstodeterminethetargettemperatureforagivenhour. Since airconditioning takes up to 60% of total energy consumption, it is critical how theairconditioningsystemisprogrammedtomeetthecoolingloadsoverayear.The plant equipment (e.g. chiller, boilers, pumps, fans and cooling towers)is defined and controlledbyaplantprofiletodeterminewhentheyareavailabletomeetthebuilding demands. This includes the definition of the hot water requirement of the building,

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bothforspaceheatingandservicehotwaterapplications,althoughforMauritius,the spaceheatingfunctionalityisgenerallyswitchedoffcontinuously.Theplantequipment shouldbeassignedtheappropriatetechnicalparameters(e.g.COP,powerrating)and relevant control strategies, and their performance curves defined correctly to obtain accuratesimulationresults.

Figure3:LightingprofiletakenfromeQuest

Increasingly, simulation softwares have inbuilt algorithms to simulate the energy produced by renewable sources of energy, e.g. solar PV, solar thermal and wind turbines. So the simulation results are provided together with the energy generated onsitefromrenewablesourcestooffsetpartofgridelectricityorfossilfuels. Oncetheplantitemshavebeendefined,theroomequipment,eitherfedbytheplant equipmentoroperatingontheirown,isspecified.Thesearetypicallyfancoilunitsfor chilledwatersystemsortheairconditioningunititselfe.g.ifDXcoolingsplitunitsare used; in the latter case a chiller system will not be defined among the plant items. Finallyutilityratesandothereconomicparameterssuchasinflationanddiscountrates areinputintotheprogramsothatenergyconsumptioncanbeconvertedtocostsand lifecyclecosting(LCC)analysescanbeperformed.Inadditionseveralparametricruns canbedefinedforsimulatingvariousenergyefficiencymeasuresandcomparingtheir costeffectiveness,therebybringingelementsofintegrativedesignfewclickscloserto theprojectteam.

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The LCC results are very useful for the project team to prioritise sustainability measures,andfortheclienttodecidewhichofthemhewouldliketoinvestin. 2.2. Simulating the building model Oncethebuildingenvelopeandenergysystemsareconfiguredtomatch: I. II. III. IV. Thecurrentsituationforanexistingbuilding Thedesignconditionsforanewprojectbuildingtobeconstructed Coderequirementsforabaseline(notional)building Thedesignmeasurestooptimisebuildingperformance

Thesimulationisrun,withtheweatherfileprovidingtherequiredvariationinclimatic parameters,suchassolarazimuthandelevation,solarradiation,wetbulbanddrybulb temperatures,relativehumidity, windspeedanddirection.Bydynamicallysimulating theperformanceofthebuildingshellanditsconstituentsinrelationtotheprevailing externalconditionsandthedesiredinternalconditions,theplantandroomequipment and any other processes (lighting, receptacle equipment and occupants entering or leavingthebuilding)areoperatedasneededorprogrammed.Thesimulationsoftware thuscomputes,onaunittimebasis(eitherhourlyorless),theenergyconsumedbythe building systems and finally integrates the result to obtain the annual energy consumption. Alternatively, where the goal of the building simulation is not to obtain the annual energy consumption, but other parameters, e.g. temperature or air velocity, the specific calculation engine is run based on the information already available in the building model and the weather file. An instance of such a building simulation is a summertime temperature simulation, where the internal temperature on a design summer day can be simulated under window control and other forced ventilation schemes(stackventilation,roofventilators)aswellasunderHVACsystemoperation. Thesimulationresultscanbeusedtoassessthermalcomfort,andthenumberofhours for which a given temperature is exceeded can be determined from cumulative frequencyplots. 3. Contribution of Building Simulations in Green building design 3.1. No green building without integrative design? Themainreasonwhybuildingsimulationhastakensuchanimportantplaceingreen building design, despite its relatively high costs, is the highly complex nature of the interactionsbetweentheprojectsitefactors,prevailingclimate,thebuildingenvelope,

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thebuildinginteriorelements,operationalpatternsofthebuildingandtheoperation of the building energy systems (airconditioning, lighting, vertical transportation, receptacleequipmentandwaterheating).Toanalyseanyoneofthesefactorsinview to optimising the building performance quickly becomes a daunting task due to the interconnectedness of these building components. Lets consider one particular scenariotogaugethecomplexitythedesignerfacesforaroutineoptimisationtask,for which a rigorous analysis of the problem is targeted to get accurate metrics for assessingchangeinbuildingperformance. The typical example taken in the sustainability engineering of buildings is optimising thereflectivityoftheinteriorwallsurfacesbychoosinganappropriatepaintcolourso that the amount of light fixtures is kept to a minimum. A common criticism encounteredinthisrespectisthatlightingdesignersfailtoworkincollaborationwith the architect to input the correct parameters for the interior wall finish in his calculations for determining the number of light fixtures required to provide a given levelofillumination.Instead,commonpracticeistotakegeneral,assumedvaluesfor thewallreflectance,meaningthatthelightlevelsobtainedinpracticemaynotbeas designed. Followingonthisexample,theamountoflightinginstalledhasadirectbearingonthe amount of cooling that would have to be provided to condition the spaces. So if the lighting designer has overdesigned the lighting installation, the HVAC designer will likewiseoverdesignhiscoolingsystem.Theresultisexcessivelightlevelsinthework environment and excessive cooling. This design methodology is to the detriment of occupantcomfortandenergyperformance,leadstounnecessarilyhighinvestmentin more light fixtures, fittings and cables as well as in procuring an oversized HVAC system, thus unsustainable. Clearly there is a definite potential for achieving cost savingsifelementsofthedesignarefactoredintothebuildingperformanceequation and rigorously analysed and assessed not only in terms of initial costs, but with due considerationofthecostsinvolvedduringoperation.Thecorrecttoolforthispurpose islifecyclecosting(LCC)analysis. Therefore,thewholeprocessofbuildingdesigncanbeundertakenwithconsideration of factors that influence the dynamics of building performance; this process is commonlytermedasintegrativedesignandallowsthewholeteamofprofessionalsto contribute their ideas and effectively use their expertise for an optimum building design. This takes place through regular meetings and coordinated design sessions involvingthewholeprojectteam,thusdepartingfromtheconventionalsiloedmode of work by the respective professionals. These integrative design sessions are

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coordinatedbyateamofgreenbuildingdesignprofessionals,whichensuresthatthe skills and expertise of the various professionals are beneficially applied for achieving thesustainabilitygoalsoftheproject. 3.2. The earlier, the better From the graph in Figure 4, it is observed that the earlier the integrative design sessionstakeplace,thegreateristhescopetoidentifyopportunitiesforcostsavings andcorrespondinglytheircosteffectiveimplementationintheproject.

Figure4:Energysavingopportunitiesandthedesignprocess(takenfromEDRIntegratedBuildingDesign)

Unfortunately,thetraditionalapproachofprojectdevelopmentfavoursasiloedwork culturesothatbythetimetheHVAC,lightingdesignerandpublichealthengineersare hired to design their respective services, the architect and structural engineer would have already designed the building envelope. This leaves little or no scope for the architectandthebuildingservicesengineerstoworkcollaborativelytowardssolutions conceivedtoworktogether. Integrative design at the outset of the project is critical in green building design process, failing which, the chances of successfully designing and implementing green

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measures will be greatly hindered, either because it will cost or delay the project progresstoomuch.Merelyaddingfewgreenmeasuresatalaterstageoftheproject doesnotconstituteanoptimallydesignedgreenbuilding,andinthetruesenseofthe term,possiblynotevenagreenbuilding.Sohereliestheanswertothegenerallyasked question:howmuchmorewillagreenbuildingcostinitiallyascomparedtoanormal building? It all depends on the quality of the integrative design process: how much effort was put in to optimise and make the different elements of the building organismworkforeachother.Ifproperlyundertaken,agreenbuildingcancosteven less than a normal building! And a green building has been shown to cost less to operate[1]. 3.3. Building simulations: easing complex analysis Integrative design has been presented above as a fundamental building block of a greenprojectdevelopmentbutwheredobuildingsimulationsfitinthegreenbuilding designprocess?Therestofthisarticlewillprovideampleevidencetodemonstratethat building simulations provide the basis for project team members to test their hypotheses, quantify the savings of the measures they propose, and to analyse the interactionsandcorrelationsbetweenthem.Forthetimebeing,letscomebacktoour earlier example of paint reflectivity, lighting level, cooling load and general occupant comfort.Byreducingtheinstalledlightingpower,thedesignercanquicklycomputethe expectedenergysavingsattributedtothelighting,andtheHVACdesigner,ifworkingin closecollaborationwiththeprojectteam,willbeabletoshowareductioninhisplant size, but how much energy will his reduced HVAC unit consume? And how will the changedpaintcolourimpactonthevisualandthermalcomfortoftheoccupants. The architect, wishing to increase penetration of daylight deeper into the space, decidestohaveahighlevelopening.Howwillthisimpactonthelightinglevelsinside thespaceandthecoolingloadonthepeakdesignday?Howwillthethermalmassof theenvelopebeinfluenced?Whenwillthepeakcoolingloadnowoccur,andwhether itwillbeoutsideofficehours,asiscurrentlyencounteredwithtypicalconcreteblock wallandcastconcreteconstructions?Willtheenergyconsumptionfall(asaresultof reducedusageofartificiallighting)orrise(asaresultofhigherthermalconductanceof theenvelope)? The physics of building performance is a large matrix of multitude factors and phenomena, which the designer has to understand and appreciate, but becomes untraceableasonestartstoconsiderfewoftheminconjunctionandjugglewiththe complex interactions involved [2]. The above questions are just a short deliberation into the kind of questions that need to be asked in the process of designing a green

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building as integrative design is about considering as much of these underlying principles as possible to determine how they can be made to work for each other. It comes as no secret why building simulations have been popularised to help the designer and the project team in general to manage the exponential increase in complexityarisingfromthemultitudeoffactorstobeconsidered,andboildownthe interactionstosimplefiguresthatcanbeinterpretedandquicklyactedupon. 3.4. Getting the right timing and facts Timelydecisionsremainavitalingredientforthesuccessfulandeconomicalprogress ofaproject.Carryingoutbuildingsimulationsatvariouslevelsofabstraction,starting withgeneralconcepts,laterrefinedasgreaterdetailsareavailable,canbeusedasan effective tool to manage the risks involved in making decisions related to a building constructionthatdoesnotexistyet.Bygoingthroughvariouslevelsofdetails,onecan successfully track the progress of the early development of the project plan, understandingandoptimisingthebuildingdynamicsintheprocess,whiletakingcritical decisions at key points in time with a high level of confidence. This literally helps to wardoffunnecessaryextraexpendituresdownthelineofprojectdevelopment. Furthermore,theadoptionofanysustainablemeasureneedsreliablefinancialmetrics for the client/owner to assess and decide upon. Quality assessments like double glazing will decrease energy bills are not good enough for clients to make decisions and for architects to optimise the building form and shape; the final output should insteadbequantitative:doubleglazingwillcostRsX,reducingannualelectricitybills byRsY,causingareductioninHVACplantcostsbyRsZ,thereforeyieldinganoverall IRR of P %. Building simulations generate the required data for getting answers to thesequantitativequestions.

4. Applications in projects Building simulations have been used extensively in past projects for varied analysis goals,someofwhichare: DocumentationofLEEDEnergy&AtmospherePrerequisite2:MinimumEnergy PerformanceandEnergy&AtmosphereCredit1:OptimizeEnergyPerformance usingOption1:WholeBuildingEnergySimulation(ASHRAE90.12007Appendix GPerformanceRatingMethod)[1,3] Optimisationofbuildingformandorientation.InMauritius,theoverridingaim in optimising building envelope is to limit heat gain to the internal spaces. Therefore, an analysis metric such as the CIBSE/ASHRAE heat gain on peak

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summer day can be used for optimisation. One of the current initiative of Prodesign is to design and construct a Zero Carbon building in Mauritius with thekeyobjectivetodemystifygreenbuildingconstructioninthelocalcontext so that building professionals and the general public can learn about the technologies that have been designed and tested to work sustainably in Mauritius. We are currently at the design stage of the project, and extensive useofbuildingsimulationshasbeenmadetooptimisethebuildingshapeand orientation. Optimisationofbuildingfabricandglazingproperties.Forexample,astudywas carried out for a client to determine the cost effective thickness of roof insulationtobeprovidedforametalroofedbuilding;althoughhigherlevelsof insulation leads to lower heat gains through the roof, additional thickness of insulation leads to diminishing returns in terms of energy and cost savings. A lifecyclecostinganalysiswasusedtorecommendthecosteffectivethickness of insulation to be installed. Similarly, plant energy results have been used to assessthecosteffectivenessofwallinsulation,glazingtype(e.g.single,double or high performance glass), fabric type (e.g. simple block wall or double wall) andarchitecturalfeatures(e.g.overhangandwindowfins)inotherprojects. Optimisationofbuildingsystems,e.g.lightingandairconditioning.Forahotel resort, building energy modelling has been used to ascertain the optimum HVAC system type, based on the cooling load variation and tourist occupancy profileoverayear.Similarly,thecostsavingsinusingenergyefficientlighting, e.g. LED lighting over conventional, less energy efficient but cheaper lighting fixturese.g.CFLs,havebeenstudiedinseveralprojectstoadviseclientsonthe associatedreturnoninvestment Engineering of complex engineering system. Passive systems are the most energy efficient when designed accurately and integrated intelligently with active systems; because natural resources are unpredictable, they need to be supported by active systems wherever the provision of comfort criteria is mandatory. For example, dynamic simulations have been used to design naturally ventilated spaces, e.g. a natural ventilation scheme consisting of operable window and stack effect created by a winddriven roof ventilator creating a negative pressure in a riser stack, was assessed. Such dynamic simulations are typically used in conjunction with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to derive further design metrics, such as the locationofhotspotsandregionsofturbulence. Similarly,daylightfactorscanbeobtainedfromsimulationsandusedindesign tosetlightinglayoutandcontrols.

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5. Conclusion The physics of building performance has always consisted of complex interactions of diverse factors and phenomena, which in ancient times, were studied closely and properlyunderstood,resultinginabuiltenvironmentharmoniouslyintegratedwiththe surrounding fauna and flora. However, these sustainable practices have been progressivelyneglectedastheindustrialrevolutionmadeplaceforanewworkculture, theemergenceofprofessionalswithspecialisedskillsbeinganoutcomeofthischange. This paradigm shift, left on its own to evolve, logically drifted to a situation where theseprofessionalsworkedontheirown,relyingon rulesofthumb and assumptions forfactorsthatareinfluencedbytheworkoftheirfellowprofessionals!Suboptimality was bound to take a firm grip in the building sector, to the detriment of energy efficiency,occupantcomfortandingeneral,sustainabilityinbuildings. Another vital area which suffered from this dissociated modus operandi is the all importantidentificationofsynergyinthebuildingelementsbymeansofwhichwindfall gainsinperformancecanbeachieved.Suchsynergyisthebasisofthehighlyeffective mechanisms taking place in nature, of which our own existence and bodily functions are living examples of. When transferred to the realm of building engineering, the process to reveal this synergy has been termed integrative design, with the aim to stimulate the level of integration and coordination required from our modern, multi talentedprojectteam. Anotherdistinctdifferencebetweenbuildingdesignpreandpostindustrialrevolution hasbeentheeconomicvalueofbuildingsandthetimelinessinwhichbuildingsneedto bedelivered.Theconflictbetweentheneedtointegratetheexpertiseofthevarious professionalsandthetimefactorintheprojectdevelopmentlifecyclecanbequitea challengetomanage.Theresultofnotinstitutingtheintegrativedesigntaskforceat the start of the project is that the project team may be forced to compromise with inefficiencies due to project budget and schedule restrictions. It should be borne in mindthat,contrarytogeneralbelief,thecostofthegreenmeasureisnottheactual impedimenttoitsrealisation,ratheranineffectiveorbelatedintegrativedesign,which missestheopportunitytoidentifyandimplementthemeasureearly,wherethecostof changesisminimal,ifnotnilornegative. Onanengineeringlevel,theanalysisofthecomplexinteractionamongthefactorsthat influence building performance is a must to provide the scientific basis for decisions andforquantifyingthebenefits.Performedonayearlytimeline,analysingaccurately the phenomena, their interrelationships and their impacts on the building metric of interestoverthe8760hoursofayear,ifnotmore,withdueattentiontotheresidual

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effectofeachphenomenonoveradaytothenext,meanthatthesimulationshaveto be performed dynamically. It is clear that the problem quickly picks up in computationalandalgorithmiccomplexityevenwithfewindependentvariables,which explainswhybuildingsimulationhasbecomeakeytoolinintegrativedesignofgreen buildings. Building simulations are typically carried out at levels of abstraction that match the availabilityofinformationatvariousstagesduringthecourseofaproject.Thebuilding modelatthestartoftheprojectisnormallynowhereclosetothebuildingarchitecture, but a number of boxes stacked on top of another, with each box corresponding to a floor. However, results obtained from this basic model, when simulated with parametersrelatedtotheprojectlocation,canhelptheprojectteamfindanswersto preliminary questions and thereby set the early concepts correctly. As the project progressesandmoredetailsareavailable,thebuildingmodelcanberefinedtofurther assessthedesignalternatives,untilultimatelytheteamhassufficientdesigndataand corresponding simulation results to opt for the optimum sets of solution within the project budget and schedule. In effect, the building model can act as an effective repositoryfordocumentingtheprojectsevolution. Clearlybuildingsimulationshavetakenanimportantroleingreenbuildingdesignand withtheeducationsystemgearedtowardstheformationofspecialists,anintegrative design approach, encouraging these professionals to share their expertise and collaborateasateamthroughoutthedesignandconstructionprocess,willcontinueto be the ideal platform to operate on for engineering our future buildings. Building simulationswillsubsequentlyevolvetosupportthisintegrativeframeworkwithmore accuratealgorithmsandeasiertouseinterfacesandwizards. References [1]LEEDReferenceGuideforGreenBuildingDesignandConstruction,2009Edition [2] CIBSE Applications Manual AM11: 1998: Building energy and environmental modelling [3] ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.12007: Energy Standard for Buildings Except LowRiseResidentialBuilding

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