A Simplified Calculation Method for Building Envelope Cooling Loads in Central South China

The cooling load calculation of building envelopes is important for building design to realize building energy efficiency. A simplified way to predict the building envelope cooling loads is desperately needed to predict the cooling load of building envelopes with various construction layouts and to predict the energy-saving effect of various reconstruction measures for buildings. In light of this need a simplified calculation model for building envelope cooling loads is proposed in this paper. The model is based on dynamic hourly calculations using EnergyPlus. It considers almost all the thermal factors about the building envelope which may affect the building cooling load and it is studied by dimensional analysis. The equivalent window to wall ratio (EWWR) and building orientation factor are defined to study the building envelope cooling load. The cooling loads of twenty hypothetical buildings with various envelopes are predicated by EnergyPlus. With the results from EnergyPlus the simplified calculation model is developed by MATLAB. Then the newly developed model is validated by two typical actual buildings located in Central-South China. The results show the model is accurate enough to predict the building envelope cooling loads.