Evidence-based calibration of a building energy simulation model: Application to an office building in Belgium

Energy services play a growing role in the control of energy consumption and the improvement of energy efficiency in non-residential buildings. This work consists in the application of a simulation-based approach dedicated to whole-building energy use analysis for use in the frame of an energy efficiency service process. Focus is given to the calibration of a simplified dynamic hourly building energy simulation model by means of available energy use data and to the integration of the calibration process into the Energy Service Process. The developed simulation tool and the associated calibration method are applied to a real case study building located in Brussels, Belgium. The use of an evidence-based method ensures sticking to reality and avoids bad representation and hazardous adjustment of the parameters. Moreover, it is shown that the use of a sensitivity analysis method is of a great help to orient data collection and parameters adjustment processes