In this paper, we propose an office modeling methodology by considering thermal interactions between zones and we present an energy-simulation program called the Building-Energy Simulation Tool (BEST). We examined the following three topics by performing simulations by considering the air transfer between zones: (1) the thermal load and thermal environment in unconditioned rooms, (2) the thermal interaction between the interior zone and the perimeter zone, and (3) the thermal interaction between the ceiling plenum and the room. The results of the first analysis shows on that it is difficult to maintain an air temperature of less than 28°C with only pass ventilation. The results of the second analysis show that consideration of pass ventilation enables to obtain more accurate determination of interior and perimeter thermal load. On the basis of the results of the third analysis, we proposed a beam modeling method. Furthermore, a modeling method for building thermal-storage systems is presented.

View full abstract