Heating and Cooling Demand of Buildings

This course is aimed at understanding the dynamics of buildings’ thermal behavior and at learning how to optimize their design and operation through thermal modeling. en simulation. You will learn to solve problems like: how to shift or reduce peak heating demand to obtain a better match with a renewable energy system. What is thermally more efficient: a heavy concrete building or a light timber-frame building? How effective is night ventilation in warm periods? This course will provide you with answers to questions relating to dynamic thermal behavior in buildings. Amongst others you will learn about:

- Energy chain from supply to demand and design steps

- Basics of thermal comfort

- Energy flows in buildings (transmission, ventilation en infiltration, solar heat gains and internal heat gains)

- Energy balance

- Steady state simulations for peak load and energy usage estimates in pre-design (1 node energy balance model)

- Transient simulation: The role of inertia in construction; setting up dynamic balance equations (Fourier equation), setting up a suitable RC network (multi-node energy balances); Solving the equations thought finite difference and though transfer functions

This is accompanied by many exercises to understand the optimization of building characteristics and peak shaving/shifting. The course ends up with an overview of energy conversion systems that can be used to supply the needed heating and cooling to buildings.