TABLE OF CONTENTS At the time this article was written, R.L. Douglas Cane was a principal research engineer, S. Blair Clemes was an assistant research engineer, and Didier A. Forgas was an assistant research scientist at Caneta Research, Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Reprinted from ASHRAE Transactions 1993, Vol. 99. Part 2.
R.L.D. Cane, P.Eng.
Member ASHRAE
S.B. Clemes, P.Eng.
D.A. Forgas
Three models of water-loop heat pump systems in commercially available building energy analysis programs have been thoroughly reviewed and tested against actual building data. The validation consisted of comparisons of predicted and measured energy consumption of the HVAC components on a monthly, daily, and hourly basis. Without model validation, the accuracy of the predicted energy use and demand of water-loop heat pump systems cannot be assured and designers would be less likely to specify them in projects. The study identified a number of areas where the models could be refined to improve the prediction of performance of water-loop heat pump systems.
Commercial buildings and their heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are designed by a professional team of architects and engineers. The design engineers need design tools incorporating accurate system algorithms to model and predict HVAC system energy use and electrical demand. The designer must have confidence in the design tools, particularly when it comes to energy-efficient systems with higher capital cost. Once confident of the predicted performance of such systems, the designer is more likely to specify them in client projects.
At the outset of ASHRAE research project...
