Impacts of parameter values interactions on simulated energy balance of residential buildings

Abstract In this study we use dynamic simulation to explore the interactive impacts of different uncertain parameter values in energy balance modelling of existing and improved variants of a Swedish multi-storey residential building. We modelled variations as well as interactive influence of different simulation assumptions and parameters encompassing outdoor microclimate, building thermal envelope and technical installations including household equipment. The results indicate that the interactive influence of the parameters on calculated space heating of buildings seems to be small and relatively more evident for a low-energy building than for a conventional building. The influence of the interactions between the parameter combinations becomes more evident as several parameters are varied simultaneously. The results also indicate that calculated space heating demand of a building is noticeably influenced by how heat gains from household equipment and technical installations are modelled. The calculated final energy for space heating for the analysed building versions varied between 13-43% depending on the energy efficiency levels for household equipment and technical installations as well as their interactions with other parameter values variations. This study shows the importance of appropriate input parameters and assumptions for building energy balance calculation.