Modelling of a Variable Refrigerant Flow System in EnergyPlus for Building Energy Simulation in an Open Building Information Modelling Environment

Abstract

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are one possible tool to meet the objective that all new buildings must be nearly zero-energy buildings by 31 December 2020. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a methodology that centralizes building construction project information in a digital model promoting collaboration between all its agents. The objectives of this work were to develop a more precise model of the VRF system than the one available in EnergyPlus version 8.9 (US Department of Energy) and to study the operation of this system in an office building under different climates by implementing the building energy simulation in an Open BIM workflow. The percentage deviation between the estimation of the VRF energy consumption with the standard and the new model was 6.91% and 1.59% for cooling and heating respectively in the case of Barcelona and 3.27% and 0.97% respectively in the case of Madrid. The energy performance class of the analysed building was A for each climatic zone. The primary energy consumption of the office building equipped with the VRF system was of 65.8 kWh/(m 2 ·y) for the Mediterranean climate of Barcelona and 72.4 kWh/(m 2 ·y) for the Continental climate of Madrid.

Integration of Aerobiological Information for Construction Engineering Based on LiDAR and BIM

“…Measures of the tree canopy and trunk with a LiDAR point cloud for applying precise data to the BIM objects of the green infrastructure (Figure 4) were developed following previous studies and overcoming problems described in the literature. The image resolution of the LiDAR point cloud allows the recognition of landscape elements with clear visibility [99]. The tree/shrub crown height and width were calculated with bioparameters for their introduction into the BIM model and the subsequent relationship with the rest of the allergenic parameters.…”

“…As a collaborative tool, it can be accessed and examined by other interested parties and different professionals who can enter data in the same model, thus facilitating the public information as a legal requirement in the development of projects [103]. Furthermore, it is possible to study the relationship between the energy demand of buildings in cities with trees to obtain a concrete solution for this demand [99]. The results obtained in this research could be helpful in terms of sustainability for urban planners, policy makers, and city inhabitants.…”

Integration of BIM and Energy Consumption Modelling for Manufacturing Prefabricated Components: A Case Study in China

“…Besides information sharing and integrated management, Ajayi et al [24] evaluated the extent to which building material specification affects life cycle environmental performance, using a BIM-enhanced LCA methodology. Torregrosa-Jaime et al [25] concluded that the EnergyPlus software based on BIM technology can predict the total energy consumption of the building in each year, month, or day, thus optimizing the building envelope area and heat balance during the project planning stage. As the leading building technique software, Ecotect software is released for sustainable design and building environmental impact control when combined with Revit 3D models [11], as well as the GBS (Green Building Studio) tool based on cloud computing and web services.…”

Modelling Heat Pumps with Variable EER and COP in EnergyPlus: A Case Study Applied to Ground Source and Heat Recovery Heat Pump Systems

“…Using a genetic algorithm, they managed to optimize the operating and design parameters of the heat exchanger in order to maximize the seasonal EER and the seasonal COP with respect to the outdoor temperature. Torregrosa-Jaime et al [13] modelled the performances of a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) equipment. They analysed the model proposed in EnergyPlus and they developed a new one using a BIM approach.…”