Building Energy Simulations Based on Weather Forecast Meteorological Model: The Case of an Institutional Building in Greece

Abstract

The vision of decarbonization creates the need to design and construct even more energy-efficient buildings. This current target is even more compelling and challenging. The main issue when designing energy-efficient buildings is to identify present and future building energy requirements. A trending method for solving this problem is dynamic building energy simulation. One of the main inputs during energy simulation is weather data. However, the real problem lies in the fact that standard weather data are good at defining the present situation, and they help in designing buildings that behave efficiently under current climate conditions. To achieve the goal of constructing climate proof buildings, the Weather Research and Forecast meteorological model (WRF) was used to predict future climate scenarios. At first, data from previous years (2006–2010) were used to represent the current climate. The model was used to generate future climate data. Thus, results were produced for 5 year periods 2046–2050 and 2096–2100. These data were used for the energy simulation of an office building in Thessaloniki, Greece. The simulation results showed a reduction in heating loads by approximately 20% in the long term and a simultaneous impressive increase in cooling loads by 60%, highlighting the inadequacy of the existing building shell, as well as the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system design.

Energy and Environmental Analysis of Renewable Energy Systems Focused on Biomass Technologies for Residential Applications: The Life Cycle Energy Analysis Approach

“…Furthermore, in terms of RESs, another significant parameter is the integrated design of the systems based on the targets of policy [33], and taking into consideration other issues such as logistics, transportation, cooperation with other systems, and processes such as ventilation, which also affect the quality of living for users [33][34][35]. Finally, the strong correlation of buildings with the environment expressed by weather conditions is an interesting issue for research because of the impact of weather prediction to the estimation of thermal and cooling loads [36]. Thus, it is more than evident that the selection of energy systems is a polyparametric issue that needs integrated design and evaluation based on different criteria.…”

The Energy Retrofit Impact in Public Buildings: A Numerical Cross-Check Supported by Real Consumption Data

“…Dynamic analysis plays a crucial role in building energy efficiency and reducing thermal demand [9][10][11]. By accurately modeling the building and its interaction with Energies 2023, 16, 7748 2 of 21 the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system, dynamic analysis can capture the influence of transient phenomena on energy balances and on the overall system performance.…”

Energy Design Synthesis: Algorithmic Generation of Building Shape Configurations

“…However, further investigation is required to gain precise statements about the modular connectivity rules, especially when in further simulation-based investigations the geometries are combined with further passive design elements (wall-to-window ratio, structures, materials, shading, orientation), as well as active planning factors such as HVAC and energy supply systems and operation control mechanisms. Interesting aspects may arise, for example, when the Weather Research and Forecast meteorological model (WRF) is used to predict future climate scenarios [40], or when state-of-the-art visualization techniques are applied to the simulation results [41].…”