TY - JOUR
T1 - Comprehensive Analysis of Model Parameter Uncertainty Influence on Evaluation of HVAC Operation to Mitigate Indoor Virus: A Case Study for an Office Building in a Cold and Dry Climate
T2 - Article No. 110314
AU - Faulkner, Cary
AU - Castellini Jr., John
AU - Zuo, Wangda
AU - Sohn, Michael
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Simulation-based studies of HVAC operation to mitigate indoor virus have been conducted to understand tradeoffs between indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy consumption. However, the influence of model parameter uncertainty in these studies has not been systematically quantified, which is critical when providing guidance to building operators. To address this gap, we identify 20 model parameters for a typical medium office building system in a cold and dry climate that can influence IAQ and energy consumption for indoor virus scenarios. Next, the distributions of the parameter values are estimated from literature and a set of simulation samples for three representative days is generated that simultaneously sample all of the parameters from their distributions. Two HVAC virus mitigation strategies are studied: increased filtration using MERV 13 filters and increased ventilation, via supply of 100% outdoor air into buildings. The model parameter uncertainty leads to significant variability in the results, particularly for the IAQ because of the highly uncertain virus generation rate. Use of 100% outdoor air can be beneficial for some uncertain scenarios on the hot day, but shows less IAQ improvement and/or significant energy increases on the other days. The virus removal efficiency and pressure drop of the HVAC filter, fan efficiency, and internal heat gain are the most important parameters to determining the tradeoffs of the two strategies. The results demonstrate how this model parameter uncertainty analysis methodology can provide practical guidance to building operators.
AB - Simulation-based studies of HVAC operation to mitigate indoor virus have been conducted to understand tradeoffs between indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy consumption. However, the influence of model parameter uncertainty in these studies has not been systematically quantified, which is critical when providing guidance to building operators. To address this gap, we identify 20 model parameters for a typical medium office building system in a cold and dry climate that can influence IAQ and energy consumption for indoor virus scenarios. Next, the distributions of the parameter values are estimated from literature and a set of simulation samples for three representative days is generated that simultaneously sample all of the parameters from their distributions. Two HVAC virus mitigation strategies are studied: increased filtration using MERV 13 filters and increased ventilation, via supply of 100% outdoor air into buildings. The model parameter uncertainty leads to significant variability in the results, particularly for the IAQ because of the highly uncertain virus generation rate. Use of 100% outdoor air can be beneficial for some uncertain scenarios on the hot day, but shows less IAQ improvement and/or significant energy increases on the other days. The virus removal efficiency and pressure drop of the HVAC filter, fan efficiency, and internal heat gain are the most important parameters to determining the tradeoffs of the two strategies. The results demonstrate how this model parameter uncertainty analysis methodology can provide practical guidance to building operators.
KW - building energy consumption
KW - indoor air quality
KW - indoor virus
KW - model parameter uncertainty
U2 - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110314
DO - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110314
M3 - Article
SN - 0360-1323
VL - 238
JO - Building and Environment
JF - Building and Environment
ER -