Constructii: Journal of Civil Engineering Research (Jul 2010)
Validation of the Software Used in Determining the Energy Performance of Buildings
Abstract
Romania currently undergoes a development of the software used in assessing Buildings Energy Performance. In order to grant the free movement of the products and services in the European space, the Buildings Energy Performance software cannot be subjected to a certain design algorithm based on a regularized mathematical model. Therefore it is necessary to develop a pattern which should provide the possibility of testing the commercial software using different design and structuring algorithms. A maximum level of the necessary input data is settled as well as a minimum level of the data resulted from calculations. The assessment of the software is based on a synthetic report including the input data and the values provided by calculations, for a variable number of testing sheets. The software used in assessing the similar commercial products must be based on experimentally validated calculation methods. The dynamic calculation mathematical models included in the structure of the Validation software do not mark the difference between the seasons (hot-cold) and may be adapted to any initial conditions operating as input data. According to the validation procedure, the mathematical models substantiating the calculation methods specific to the Standard Validation / Attesting Software (PCVE) are experimentally validated by long-term measurements performed on full-scale models, in a controlled microclimate. The development of the patterns of validating the calculation methods and the software offers a new approach of the Buildings Energy Performance Calculation Methodology focusing the regulated contents on the EPB quantification methodological principles, phenomenologically substantiated as well as on providing the calculation support by software attested by the procedure of inter-validation in terms of the Standard Validation Software, experimentally validated. The new approach may represent a determining step forward in harmonizing the EPB calculation methodologies and in providing a highly accurate computer based management of the EPBD implementation national strategies. This article presents the phases in preparing and finalizing the national pattern of validating the software to be used in drafting CPEA according to the Romanian legislation.
