Assessing the Energy, Indoor Air Quality, and Moisture Performance for a Three-Story Building Using an Integrated Model, Part Three: Development of Integrated Model and Applications

• Main Authors: Seyedmohammadreza Heibati, Wahid Maref, Hamed H. Saber
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: integrated model; EnergyPlus; CONTAM; WUFI; energy performance; indoor air quality
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5648

The overall building performance depends mainly on the energy performance, indoor air quality, and moisture performance. In order to accurately calculate the building performance, the development of a model with the ability to integrate all three performances is required. In this research, a combination of three models namely EnergyPlus for energy, CONTAM for indoor air quality, and WUFI for moisture transport are used to develop an integrated model. The mechanism of this combination is based on the exchange of temperatures, airflows, and heating-cooling flows control variables between all three sub-models. By using the paired sample <i>t</i>-test, an integrated model is verified and its accuracy is validated. The accuracy of the integrated model is verified by the paired sample <i>t</i>-test. In order to analyze the accuracy of the integrated model in comparison with single models, four scenarios of airtight fan off, airtight fan on, leaky fan off, and leaky fan on are defined for a three-story-house subjected to three different climate cities of Montreal, Vancouver, and Miami. Percentage differences of simulated measures with the ASHRAE Standard are considered as the performance criteria. The simulated results by single and integrated models are compared and analyzed. Finally, the scenarios with the high performances are evaluated in terms of energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and moisture for Montreal, Vancouver, and Miami. Overall, it can be concluded that an integrated model should be developed.