Direct-gain dwellings: Accuracy of short reference years for predicting thermal performance

Abstract

Ten 'short reference year' weather data sets were compared with three full weather sets. Using the SERI-RES building thermal analysis program, comparative simulations were performed on range of buildings. Graphs illustrating the efficacy of the short reference years when used to predict a range of parameters are presented. Short reference years comprising five days per month provide the best composite accuracy.