Development of a white-box dynamic building thermal model integrated with a heating system

• Published in: Journal of Building Engineering Vol. 68; p. 106038
• Main Authors: Tol, Hakan İbrahim, Madessa, Habtamu Bayera
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Building simulation; Building thermal model; District heating; Lumped capacitance; Resistance-capacitance network; Building simulation; Resistance-capacitance network; Lumped capacitance; District heating; Building thermal model
• ISSN: 2352-7102; 2352-7102
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2023.106038

Development of a simplified building model can effectively mimic the transient building thermal behaviour which essentially depends on the weather profile and the building architecture under various operational strategies and occupant behaviour. This work presents the mathematical solution procedure based on the white-box physical building thermal model using resistance and capacitance network (i.e. lumped capacitance). The work takes into account the dynamic behaviour of radiator, and its heat flow adjustment via a thermostatic radiator valve, the solar heat gain (function of the time and location), the infiltration heat loss together with building model having multi-zone with multi-layer wall structure. The case study reveals that the integrated behaviour of the building components under a given control strategy paves the way for simulating different control strategies when large-scale district heating systems are considered. •Building thermal model bases on the resistance and capacitance (lumped-element) network.•The building model consists of multi-zone environment with multi-layer wall structure.•The indoor heating system is equipped with a radiator and a thermostatic radiator valve.•The solar heat gain was considered in the model as based on the time and location.•Integrated transient behaviour of the building components was simulated simultaneously.