Construction and Control of Validated Highly Configurable Multi-Physics Building Models for Multi-Energy System Analysis in a Co-Simulation Setup

TL;DR

This work presents a modular, Modelica-based building model with a highly configurable envelope, equipment, and control system, validated against TABULA data and integrated with a district heating grid via FMI-based co-simulation. The envelope uses a 5R1C formulation with enhancements for temperature reduction, thermal bridging, and air exchange, while the building includes HVAC, appliances, and an optional DHW module. Validation shows high agreement with TABULA for total heat transfer (errors typically under 1%) and demonstrates feasible year-long co-simulation of multiple buildings with a heat grid, highlighting the approach's potential for urban energy digital twins and sector coupling. The results support using the framework for multi-energy system analyses and future expansions to incorporate additional energy networks and real-time data streams for dynamic urban planning and operation.

Abstract

Improving energy efficiency by monitoring system behavior and predicting future energy scenarios in light of increased penetration of renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly important, especially for energy systems that distribute and provide heat. On this background, digital twins of cities become paramount in advancing urban energy system planning and infrastructure management. The use of recorded energy data from sensors in district digital twins in collaborative co-simulation platforms is a promising way to analyze detailed system behavior and estimate future scenarios. However, the development and coupling of multi-physics energy system models need to be validated before they can be used for further in-depth analyses. In the present paper, a new multi-physics/-modal and highly configurable building model is presented. Its accuracy and reliability are validated by comparison with data from the TABULA project, ensuring its relevance and applicability to real-world scenarios. The modularity and flexibility with regard to the system configurability of the developed building model is evaluated on various real building types. In addition, the applicability of the building model in a multi-energy system is highlighted by implementing the model in a collaborative co-simulation setup and by coupling it to a district heating grid model in yearly co-simulations. The simulation results for the proposed multi-physical/-modal building modeling concept show a very high level of agreement compared to published reference building data and can therefore be used individually as flexible and modular building models including both thermal and electrical systems for future sector-coupled energy system analyses in view of sustainability.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Modular building model built in Dymola using the Modelica language. The building envelope model structure is labeled with green boxes, the HVAC system with blue boxes, the HIU with a red box, the electrical equipments with orange boxes, and the DHW station with a pink box.
• Figure 2: Electrical schematic diagram of the 5R1C building envelope model bruno2016.
• Figure 3: Distribution of power consumption (Pe) and heat production (Q) of electrical appliances, total per year 4602kWh electricity and 3220kWh heat.
• Figure 4: HIU for room heating and DHW.
• Figure 5: Schematics of the DH system substation model and its control system.