ABSTRACT
This chapter presents what a future environment for building system modeling and simulation may look like. As buildings continue to require increased performance, more flexible load shifting, better integration of renewable energy and waste heat sources, and better comfort, their energy and control systems are becoming more integrated and complex. We therefore focus in this chapter on the modeling, simulation and analysis of building energy and control systems. Such systems can be classified as heterogeneous systems because they involve multiple domains, such as thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, electrical systems, control systems and communication systems. Also, they typically involve multiple temporal and spatial scales, and their evolution can be described by coupled differential equations, discrete equations and events. Modeling, simulation and optimization of such systems requires a higher level of abstraction and modularization to manage the increased complexity compared to what is used in today’s building simulation programs. Therefore, the trend towards more integrated building systems, and the need to use models in design, delivery and operation, is likely to be a driving force for changing the status quo of today’s building simulation programs.
