Experimental and Co-Simulation Performance Evaluation of an Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger System Integrated into a Smart Building

Building models and their connected subsystems are often simulated as standalone entities. However, in order to monitor a system′s reactions to changing parameters and to assess its energy efficiency, it must be exposed to the actual dynamic context of the building under study. Hence, frameworks assessing co-operative simulation of buildings and their subsystems should be used. In this study, the Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) framework was used for co-simulation of a small-scale building (EEBLab) connected to an Earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE). The EnergyPlus tool was used to simulate the indoor air temperature variations within the EEBLab, and MATLAB was used to model the EAHE system and to calculate its performance based on various parameters. The HOLSYS internet of things platform was deployed to monitor and collect the experimental data from the sensors to validate the simulations. A favorable agreement between the experimental and simulation results was obtained, showing the contribution of the small-scale EAHE system in maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature range inside EEBLab. Moreover, it demonstrated the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach for integrated building co-simulation and performance evaluation.