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Chinese prototype building models for simulating the energy performance of the nationwide building stock

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  • Advances in Modeling and Simulation Tools
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Abstract

Building energy modeling (BEM) has become increasingly used in building energy conservation research. Prototype building models are developed to represent the typical urban building characteristics of a specific building type, meteorological conditions, and construction year. This study included four residential buildings and 11 commercial buildings to represent nationwide building types in China. With consideration of five climate zones and different construction years corresponding to national standards, a total of 151 prototype building models were developed. The building envelope properties, occupancy and energy-related behaviors, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system characteristics were defined according to the corresponding building energy efficiency design standards, HVAC design standards, and through other sources, such as questionnaire surveys, on-site measurements, and literature, which reflect the real situation of existing buildings in China. Based on the developed prototype buildings, a large database of 9225 models in 270 cities was further developed to facilitate users to simulate building energy in different cities. In conclusion, the developed prototype building models can represent realistic building characteristics and construction practices of the most common residential and commercial buildings in China, serving as an important foundation for BEM. The models can be used for analyses related to building energy conservation research on typical individual buildings, including energy-saving technologies, advanced controls, and new policies, and providing a reference for the development of building energy codes and standards.

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Abbreviations

BEM:

building energy modeling

CO-A:

commercial office A

CO-B:

commercial office B

CZ:

climate zone of China: Cold Zone

GO-A:

government office A

GO-B:

government office B

High-S:

high-rise apartment (slab type)

High-T:

high-rise apartment (tower type)

HSCWZ:

climate zone of China: Hot Summer Cold Winter

HSWWZ:

climate zone of China: Hot Summer Warm Winter

HVAC:

heating, ventilation and air-conditioning

IP:

inpatient

LH:

large hotel

Low:

low-rise apartment

OP:

outpatient

Sch:

primary/secondary school

SCZ:

climate zone of China: Severe Cold Zone

SH:

small hotel

SM:

shopping mall

Terraced:

terraced house

TZ:

climate zone of China: Temperate Zone

UBEM:

urban building energy modeling

Uni:

university

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52108068), the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 8222019), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52225801).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China

    Jingjing An

  2. Building Energy Research Center, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Yi Wu, Chenxi Gui & Da Yan

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  1. Jingjing An
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  2. Yi Wu
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Contributions

Jingjing An: Methodology, data curation, modeling, writing, and original draft. Yi Wu: data curation. Chenxi Gui: investigation and modeling. Da Yan: supervision, conceptualization, methodology, review and editing.

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Correspondence to Da Yan.

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The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Da Yan is the Editor-in-Chief of Building Simulation, and Jingjing An is a Subject Editor of Building Simulation.

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An, J., Wu, Y., Gui, C. et al. Chinese prototype building models for simulating the energy performance of the nationwide building stock. Build. Simul. 16, 1559–1582 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-023-1058-5

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