Method for modelling space conditioning aggregated daily load curves: Application to a university building

Physically based load modelling methodologies have been widely developed and used because of their ability to predict the energy load dynamic response. Most building energy programs predict energy consumption and energy system performance through a whole building energy simulation as well as a global analysis of building thermal processes and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system performance. A different approach is presented in this paper by introducing a new method for modelling the daily load profile of a group of air-conditioning systems. This method is based on the simulation of a single HVAC system, a set of end-use electrical measurements, and a detailed walk-through and energy audit. The basic methodology allows deducing the aggregated load of a group of space conditioning devices by the addition of the daily simulation of each individual physical system. As an application, the space conditioning daily demand curve of a university building is studied and results are presented.