Net Zero Energy Townhomes: Simulation Comparison between Software Platforms, Calibration Study and Uncertainty Quantification

Designing, building, and verifying highly energy efficient buildings presents complex challenges. Environmental factors such as the local weather, temperature swings, angle of the sun, etc. impose conditions on the building which itself has unique characteristics like its particular construction method, materials used, geometry and orientation, windows of specific properties, and so on. Then, there are active measures taken to make it livable, such as heating and cooling, lighting, using appliances, and such. The design team must take all of the factors and their complex interactions into account for the design, which compels them to use computer simulations. The problem in the industry, however, is that 1) various software tools produce different results, 2) adjusting the computer model to the actual building performance (model calibration) is often done non-systematically, and 3) associated model uncertainties are ignored. This study aims to help address the three issues with a real-life case study.

Faculty Supervisor:

Scott Bucking

Student:

Partner:

S2E Technologies Developments Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Agriculture; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Carleton University

Program: