Analysis of a solar office building at the South of Spain through simulation model calibration

Prior to construction, the simulation of the thermal behaviour of a building is mandatory in the Spanish Building Technical Code. However, there are few post-occupancy studies for buildings in use implying simulation. In this work, the simulation model developed at the design stage of a Passive Solar Building is fitted/calibrated from experimental measurements. In this work it is also developed a new methodology for simulation model fitting in the context of occupied buildings. A new aspect of the methodology is the link between the experimental design and the model to be fitted. This technique is useful in two ways. First, it allows assessing the relative impact of the a priori model parameter assumtions on the real situation. Second, it permits the quantification of the energy demand reduction due to the Passive Strategies implemented. Results are presented for a Building located at Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) facilities, South Spain. (C) 2012 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.