A stock-and-flow model for building thermal analysis

Figure 1. A stock-and-flow model of building energy.

Our Energy3D CAD software has two built-in simulation engines for performing solar energy analysis and building thermal analysis. I have extensively blogged about solar energy analysis using Energy3D. This article introduces building thermal analysis with Energy3D.

Figure 2. A colonial house.

The current version of the building energy simulation engine is based on a simple stock-and-flow model of building energy. Viewed from the perspective of system dynamics—a subject that studies the behavior of complex systems, the total thermal energy of a building is a stock and the energy gains or losses through its various components are flows. These gains or losses usually happen via the energy exchange between the building and the environment through the components. For instance, the solar radiation that shines into a building through its windows are inputs; the heat transfer through its walls may be inputs or outputs depending on the temperature difference between the inside and the outside.

Figure 3. The annual energy graph.

Figure1 illustrates how energy flows into and out of a building in the winter and summer, respectively. In order to maintain the temperature inside a building, the thermal energy it contains must remain constant—any shortage of thermal energy must be compensated and any excessive thermal energy must be removed. These are done through heating and air conditioning systems, which, together with ventilation systems, are commonly known as HVAC systems. Based on the stock-and-flow model, we can predict the energy cost of heating and air conditioning by summing up the energy flows in various processes of heat transfer, solar radiation, and energy generation over all the components of the building such as walls, windows, or roofs and over a certain period of time such as a day, a month, or a year.

Figure 2 shows the solar radiation heat map of a house and the distribution of the heat flux density over its building envelope. Figure 3 shows the results of the annual energy analysis for the house shown in Figure 2.

More information can be found in Chapter 3 of Energy3D's User Guide.