01832nas a2200157   4500008004100000245015100041210006900192260001200261300001200273490000700285520123900292100001801531700001601549700002001565856008901585       2010                        eng d00aCo-simulation for performance prediction of integrated building and HVAC systems - An analysis of solution characteristics using a two-body system0 aCosimulation for performance prediction of integrated building a  c08/2010  a957-9700 v183 a<p>Integrated performance simulation of buildings and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can help in reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers sufficient capabilities and flexibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation to integrate different BPS tools. Co-simulation approach represents a particular case of simulation scenario where at least two simulators solve coupled differential-algebraic systems of equations and exchange data that couples these equations during the time integration.</p><p>This article analyzes how co-simulation influences consistency, stability and accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution. Consistency and zero-stability are studied for a general class of the problem, while a detailed consistency and absolute stability analysis is given for a simple two-body problem. Since the accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution is reduced in co-simulation, the article concludes by discussing ways for how to improve accuracy.</p>1 aTrcka, Marija1 aHensen, Jan1 aWetter, Michael  uhttps://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/publications/co-simulation-performance-prediction01687nas a2200193   4500008004100000245006900041210006800110300001200178490000600190520103000196653003601226653001801262653002001280653005601300100001801356700001601374700002001390856008301410       2009                        eng d00aCo-simulation of innovative integrated HVAC systems in buildings0 aCosimulation of innovative integrated HVAC systems in buildings  a209-2300 v23 a<p>Integrated performance simulation of buildings HVAC systems can help in reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers sufficient capabilities and flexibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation, as an integrated approach to simulation. This article elaborates on issues important for co-simulation realization and discusses multiple possibilities to justify the particular approach implemented in the here described co-simulation prototype. The prototype is validated with the results obtained from the traditional simulation approach. It is further used in a proof-of-concept case study to demonstrate the applicability of the method and to highlight its benefits. Stability and accuracy of different coupling strategies are analyzed to give a guideline for the required coupling time step.</p>10abuilding performance simulation10aco-simulation10ahvac simulation10ainnovative building system modelling and simulation1 aTrcka, Marija1 aHensen, Jan1 aWetter, Michael  uhttp://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a913244253&fulltext=71324092801911nas a2200145   4500008004100000245011700041210006900158260003100227300001200258520137900270100001801649700002001667700001601687856006201703       2009                        eng d00aAn implementation of co-simulation for performance prediction of innovative integrated HVAC systems in buildings0 aimplementation of cosimulation for performance prediction of inn  aGlasgow, Scotlandc07/2009  a724-7313 aIntegrated performance simulation of buildings and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC)systems can help reducing energy consumption and increasing level of occupant comfort. However, no singe building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers sufficient capabilities and flexibilities to accommodate the ever-increasing complexity and rapid innovations in building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation. The co-simulation approach  represents a particular case of simulation scenario where at least two simulators solve coupled differential-algebraic systems of equations and exchange data that couples these equations during the time integration. This paper elaborates on issues important for co-simulation realization and discusses multiple possibilities to justify the particular approach implemented in a co-simulation prototype.  The prototype is verified and validated against the results obtained from the traditional simulation approach. It is further used in a case study for the proof-of-concept, to demonstrate the applicability of the method and to highlight its benefits. Stability and accuracy of different coupling strategies are analyzed to give a guideline for the required coupling frequency. The paper concludes by defining requirements and recommendations for generic co-simulation implementations.1 aTrcka, Marija1 aWetter, Michael1 aHensen, Jan  uhttp://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2009/BS09_0724_731.pdf01771nas a2200145   4500008004100000245008900041210006900130260002800199300001400227520127100241100001801512700002001530700001601550856005901566       2007                        eng d00aComparison of co-simulation approaches for building and HVAC/R system simulation. 0 aComparison of cosimulation approaches for building and HVACR sys  aBeijing, Chinac09/2007  a1418-14253 aAppraisal of modern performance-based energy codes, as well as heating, ventilation, air- conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) system*design require use of an integrated building and system performance simulation program. However, the required scope of the modeling library of such integrated tools often goes beyond those offered in available simulation programs. One remedy for this situation would be to develop the required models in an existing simulation program. However, due to the lack of model interoperability, the model would not be available in other simulation programs. We suggest co-simulation for HVAC/R system simulation as an approach to alleviate the above issues. In co-simulation, each subsystem is modeled and simulated in the appropriate simulation program, potentially on different computers, and intermediate results are communicated over the network during execution time. We discuss different co-simulation approaches and give insights into specific prototypes. Based on the prototypes, we compare the approaches in terms of accuracy, stability and execution time, using a simple case study. We finish with results discussions and recommendations on how to perform co-simulation to maintain the required accuracy of simulation results.1 aTrcka, Marija1 aWetter, Michael1 aHensen, Jan  uhttp://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2007/p503_final.pdf00487nas a2200121   4500008004100000245008500041210006900126260002800195100001800223700002000241700001600261856008800277       2007                        eng d00aComparison of Co-Simulation Approaches for Building and HVAC/R System Simulation0 aComparison of CoSimulation Approaches for Building and HVACR Sys  aBeijing, Chinac09/20071 aTrcka, Marija1 aWetter, Michael1 aHensen, Jan  uhttps://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/publications/comparison-co-simulation-approaches02172nas a2200169   4500008004100000245009100041210006900132260002700201300001400228490000800242520160400250100002001854700002501874700002401899700001601923856006301939       2003                        eng d00aComparison of a generalized pattern search and a genetic algorithm optimization method0 aComparison of a generalized pattern search and a genetic algorit  aEindhoven, Netherlands  a1401-14080 vIII3 a<p>Building and HVAC system design can significantly improve if numerical optimization is used. However, if a cost function that is smooth in the design parameter is evaluated by a building energy simulation program, it usually becomes replaced with a numerical approximation that is discontinuous in the design parameter. Moreover, many building simulation programs do not allow obtaining an error bound for the numerical approximations to the cost function. Thus, if a cost function is evaluated by such a program, optimization algorithms that depend on smoothness of the cost function can fail far from a minimum.</p><p>For such problems it is unclear how the Hooke-Jeeves Generalized Pattern Search optimization algorithm and the simple Genetic Algorithm perform. The Hooke-Jeeves algorithm depends on smoothness of the cost function, whereas the simple Genetic Algorithm may not even converge if the cost function is smooth. Therefore, we are interested in how these algorithms perform if used in conjunction with a cost function evaluated by a building energy simulation program.</p><p>In this paper we show what can be expected from the two algorithms and compare their performance in minimizing the annual primary energy consumption of an office building in three locations. The problem has 13 design parameters and the cost function has large discontinuities. The optimization algorithms reduce the energy consumption by 7% to 32%, depending on the building location. Given the short labor time to set up the optimization problems, such reductions can yield considerable economic gains.</p>1 aWetter, Michael1 aWright, Jonathan, A.1 aAugenbroe, Godfried1 aHensen, Jan  uhttp://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2003/BS03_1401_1408.pdf01634nas a2200241   4500008004100000245010400041210006900145260002700214300001400241490000800255520083600263653002201099653001801121653002201139653001901161653001701180653003201197100002001229700001801249700002401267700001601291856008501307       2003                        eng d00aA convergent optimization method using pattern search algorithms with adaptive precision simulation0 aconvergent optimization method using pattern search algorithms w  aEindhoven, Netherlands  a1393-14000 vIII3 a<p>In solving optimization problems for building design and control, the cost function is often evaluated using a detailed building simulation program. These programs contain code features that cause the cost function to be discontinuous. Optimization algorithms that require smoothness can fail on such problems. Evaluating the cost function is often so time-consuming that stochastic optimization algorithms are run using only a few simulations, which decreases the probability of getting close to a minimum. To show how applicable direct search, stochastic, and gradient-based optimization algorithms are for solving such optimization problems, we compare the performance of these algorithms in minimizing cost functions with different smoothness. We also explain what causes the large discontinuities in the cost functions.</p>10acoordinate search10adirect search10agenetic algorithm10ahooke–jeeves10aoptimization10aparticle swarm optimization1 aWetter, Michael1 aPolak, Elijah1 aAugenbroe, Godfried1 aHensen, Jan  uhttps://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/publications/convergent-optimization-method-002364nas a2200169   4500008004100000245004400041210004200085260001900127300001200146490000600158520188400164100002002048700002202068700002602090700001602116856006202132       2001                        eng d00aGenOpt - A Generic Optimization Program0 aGenOpt A Generic Optimization Program  aRio de Janeiro  a601-6080 vI3 a<p>The potential offered by computer simulation is often not realized: Due to the interaction of system variables, simulation users rarely know how to choose input parameter settings that lead to optimal performance of a given system. Thus, a program called GenOpt® that automatically determines optimal parameter settings has been developed.</p><p>GenOpt is a generic optimization program. It minimizes an objective function with respect to multiple parameters. The objective function is evaluated by a simulation program that is iteratively called by GenOpt. In thermal building simulation — which is the main target of GenOpt — the simulation program usually has text-based I/O. The paper shows how GenOpt's simulation program interface allows the coupling of any simulation program with text based I/O by simply editing a configuration file, avoiding code modification of the simulation program. By using object-oriented programming, a high-level interface for adding minimization algorithms to GenOpt's library has been developed. We show how the algorithm interface separates the minimization algorithms and GenOpt's kernel, which allows implementing additional algorithms without being familiar with the kernel or having to recompile it. The algorithms can access utility classes that are commonly used for minimization, such as optimality check, line-search, etc.</p><p>GenOpt has successfully solved various optimization problems in thermal building simulation. We show an example of minimizing source energy consumption of an office building using EnergyPlus, and of minimizing auxiliary electric energy of a solar domestic hot water system using TRNSYS. For both examples, the time required to set up the optimization was less than one hour, and the energy savings are about 15%, together with better daylighting usage or lower investment costs, respectively.</p>1 aWetter, Michael1 aLamberts, Roberto1 aNegrão, Cezar, O. R.1 aHensen, Jan  uhttp://www.ibpsa.org/proceedings/BS2001/BS01_0601_608.pdf