The buildings sector accounts for about 76% of electricity use and 40% of all US primary energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions, making it essential to reduce energy consumption in buildings in order to meet energy and environmental challenges.
The major areas of energy consumption in buildings are heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Simulation will be critical to achieve building efficiency, focusing on improving the performance of a complex system designed to provide occupants with a comfortable, safe, and attractive living and work environment.
This study was made using PowerFLOW and Dymola, and focuses on our own “Metal” Building in Dassault Systeme‘s HQ campus located in Velizy, France. The transient 3D CFD results are coupled to the system representation of the HVAC, to predict time varying comfort, and energy consumption, over a full day.
The results available online show:
- The thermal distribution inside the office room as a whole, and under the vents.
- The local changes in temperature with sun movement – in the east side of the office the temperature will be higher in the morning due to sun positioned there. As the sun moves to the other side, temperatures in the east side decrease under reduced solar load, whilst west side increases.
This data is further leveraged to improve the integration and control of the HVAC within the building, or alter the building envelope, to improve energy efficiency whilst maintaining comfort. The same simulation methodology also provides information about the resulting quality of the air in the building, allowing simulation users to balance comfort, energy efficiency, and air quality.
Now it’s your turn! Come try this experience for yourself and let us know in the SIMULIA Community how you make out! You can also connect with our technical experts in the community to learn more.
Building Thermal Comfort Experience: https://env28test.ag.3ds.com/ventilation
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Katie is the Editor of the SIMULIA blog, an expert in engineering and scientific communication, and a strategic digital marketer. Katie has a BA in English and Writing from the University of Rhode Island and a MS in Technical Communication from Northeastern University. She is also a proud SIMULIA advocate, passionate about democratizing simulation for all audiences. Katie is a native Rhode Islander but now lives just over the border in southeast Massachusetts. She is a true New Englander and loves sharing all the cool things NE has to offer. She enjoys a variety of hobbies including history, astronomy, science/technology, science fiction, true crime, fashion and anything associated with nature and the outdoors. She is also mom to a 4-year old budding engineer and two crazy rescue pups.