Simulating building energy performance for comparison with measured performance

1 The contributions of the simulation paper are 1. A definition and list of simulation approximations and a mechanism to identify performance problems from differences between measured and simulated data. 2. Specific evidence of limitations of whole-building simulation tools (in particular EnergyPlus) for use to simulate actual operating conditions. Gaps: Previous research only mentions project specific approximations and does not provide a mechanism to identify performance problems (1). Previous research mentions limitations of simulation tools but does not provide specific evidence for those limitations. (2). Validation: Qualitative evidence for the mechanism to determine performance problems based on assumptions is given through examples that show the ability to characterize differences as performance problems or assumption based differences (assumptions eliminate false positives) (1). We show specific instances of identified software limitations that circumvent the accurate modeling of the real building (2). Domain: These contributions apply to the HVAC domain in non-residential buildings for the task of performance evaluation based the comparison of measurement and predicted data for engineers that evaluate building performance.