Numerical Analysis of the Impact of Thermal Inertia from the Furniture / Indoor Content and Phase Change Materials on the Building Energy Flexibility

Many numerical models for building energy simulatio n assume empty rooms and do not account for the indoo r content of occupied buildings. Furnishing elements and indoor items have complicated shapes and are made o f various materials. Therefore, most of the people pr efer to ignore them. However, this simplification can be problematic for accurate calculation of the transie t indoor temperature. This article firstly reviews di fferent solutions to include the indoor content in building models and suggests typical values for its characte ristics. Secondly, the paper presents the results of a numer ical study investigating the influence of the different types of thermal inertia on buildings energy flexibility. Al though the insulation level and thermal mass of a building envelope are the dominant parameters, it appears th t indoor content cannot be neglected for lightweight structure building simulations. Finally, it is show n that the integration of phase change materials in wallbo rds or furniture elements can appreciably improve the energy flexibility of buildings.

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