[BLDG-SIM] Zoning Granularity in Modeling

[Jeff Haberl]

Hello. 

There are several papers on this, including a couple of MS theses where we looked at this for the Zachry Engineering Center, which was used for the ASHRAE predictor shootout I and II. Runs we're made for 5, 20 and 96 zones for the 300,000 ft2 bldg. 

Bottom line, if the zone temps are the same, and the systems are the same, including operation, then 2 to 5 zones gets the job done. Beyond that adds diversity to the simulation, however the daily and monthly results are nearly identical. 

Jeff
BB 8=!  8=)  :=)  8=)  ;=)  8=)  8=(  8=)  :=')  8=)  8=)  8=? BB

Jeff S. Haberl, Ph.D., P.E.............................jhaberl at esl.tamu.edu

Professor......................................................Office Ph: 979-845-6507

Department of Architecture.......................Lab Ph: 979-845-6065 

Energy Systems Laboratory.......................FAX: 979-862-2457 

Texas A&M University..............................77843-3581

College Station, Texas, USA.......................URL: www-esl.tamu.edu

BB 8=/  8=)  :=)  8=)  ;=)  8=)  8=()  8=) 8=?  8=)  8=)  8= BB
 

----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Riemer <PaulR at TWGI.com>
To: Jeff Haberl; BLDG-SIM at gard.com <BLDG-SIM at gard.com>
Sent: Thu Aug 23 10:45:21 2007
Subject: Zoning Granularity in Modeling

Thank you Kevin & Jeff for showing everyone the extreme range of
modeling approaches in our profession.  I happen to think the answer is
somewhere in the middle for most buildings types and analysis goals.  

Given the rise of LEED & EPACT, our industry needs more published best
practices addressing things like zoning granularity but before we can
write those we probably need to study them. 

Would anyone like to work together to find money and/or time to study
how sensitive energy and savings predictions are to zoning granularity
or other basic modeling practices?

Paul Riemer
THE WEIDT GROUP


-----Original Message-----
From: BLDG-SIM at gard.com [mailto:BLDG-SIM at gard.com] On Behalf Of Jeff
Haberl
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 1:56 PM
To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
Subject: [BLDG-SIM] max number of tracked modifications exceeded

Why do you need so many zones? Five per floor is the usual, two can also
suffice. 

Jeff
BB 8=!  8=)  :=)  8=)  ;=)  8=)  8=(  8=)  :=')  8=)  8=)  8=? BB

Jeff S. Haberl, Ph.D.,
P.E.............................jhaberl at esl.tamu.edu

Professor......................................................Office
Ph: 979-845-6507

Department of Architecture.......................Lab Ph: 979-845-6065 

Energy Systems Laboratory.......................FAX: 979-862-2457 

Texas A&M University..............................77843-3581

College Station, Texas, USA.......................URL: www-esl.tamu.edu

BB 8=/  8=)  :=)  8=)  ;=)  8=)  8=()  8=) 8=?  8=)  8=)  8= BB
 

----- Original Message -----
From: BLDG-SIM at gard.com <BLDG-SIM at gard.com>
To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com <BLDG-SIM at gard.com>
Sent: Wed Aug 22 12:29:23 2007
Subject: [BLDG-SIM] max number of tracked modifications exceeded

Ok, this could be embarrassing, but I got to know.

 

Could anyone shed some light on this error message I keep getting?  As
it turns out, I ended up with 405 zones.  I heard Doe-2.1 was limited to
99zones, is there a new limit for Doe 2.2. 

 

I was under the assumption that when modeling for LEED certification
each space in the architectural design should be modeled as a separate
space for building simulation, is this thought right or completely
wrong?  Thanks for the help.

 

Kevin