Calibration of envelope parameters using control-based heat balance identification and uncertainty analysis

Building recommissioning in essential in the aging building stock to maintain efficient and comfortable operation as equipment ages and portions of the build-ing are re-purposed for uses other than what was orig-inally intended. Model-based recommissioning pro-vides a way to evaluate payback and incentives for equipment replacement, and the response of the build-ing to optimized operational strategies - without dis-turbing the comfort or productivity of current occu-pants. Accurate models are needed for these investi-gations, which must be calibrated to available sensor data. In this work, cheap wireless temperature trans-mitters are installed in a 40 year old building to gain information about the performance of the buildings en-velope for model calibration purposes. The goal is to have a calibrated energy model that is sufficient for control system optimization. To perform this task, a detailed model is built and envelope parameters of this model are calibrated by using feedback control to identify components of zone heat balances. Uncer-tainty and sensitivity analysis along with optimization is used to calibrate envelope parameters so that heat transfer through the envelope is captured accurately.