Calibration of building simulation models using real time measurements

Abstract

Calibration of simulation models is an essential step towards bridging the gap between simulated and measured energy performance. Universally, calibration studies acknowledge that the information of additional building parameters will lead to more robust calibrated models. However, only a few studies have focused on obtaining building information and utilizing measurement data to estimate simulation inputs. Measurement data from buildings is becoming increasingly available due to reduced costs and wider acceptance of monitoring instruments. Further, the Building Management System (BMS) is a promising resource to obtain information about the functioning of the building. A systematic and pragmatic framework to link, map, and utilize measurements from BMS for calibration of simulation models can pave the way for more accurate calibration of simulation models. This dissertation develops a systematic approach to calibrate simulation models using real-time measurement data. Overall research methodology of the dissertation comprises of three components. The first component develops a set of scientific methods to estimate simulation inputs from the measurement data. The techniques developed are generic and based on fundamental principles that can be applied and extended to multiple buildings.The second component creates a systematic framework to extract and process measurement data using the methods developed in the first component. The third component applies the calibration framework on two real buildings and one laboratory controlled building. The research divides measurement data from building management system into two distinct divisions: measurement data used to estimate values of simulation inputs and measurement data used to check prediction errors of a calibrated simulation model. The measurement data from the environment system, envelope components, HVAC systems, and end-use energy meters are used to adjust simulation inputs of the building simulation model.