Total energy use in air conditioned buildings: Analysis of main influencing factors

摘要

This study is related to a research program intended to develop a very friendly and transparent energy evaluation tool, easy to use by designers, other project partners, and administration (in Belgium). The simulation tool is developed on EES solver. The building envelope model involves a dynamic model composed of resistances and capacities associated to a ventilation model able to assess infiltration/exfiltration air flows through the envelope leakages, as well as natural ventilation air flows combined with fan airflows. An analytical study is presented in this article: it is based on a set of comparative simulations performed on a fictitious office building already used as a test case in other projects of the International Energy Agency. All components of final and primary energy consumption are identified in these simulations in order to obtain a complete breakdown of energy consumptions. Special attention is paid to ventilation (effectiveness, impact on heating/cooling demands, and fan consumption) and to lighting (combination between natural and artificial lighting and corresponding consumption), in relationship with occupants' comfort requirement, which appears as having a rather strong impact on energy consumption. Various control strategies are considered in order to improve the energy efficiency without affecting the comfort in terms of indoor air quality and illumination level.