Climate models for the assessment of office buildings energy performance

In the last few years many advanced computer packages, characterised by a considerable integration between thermal and visual aspects, were developed to support designers and to study building energy performance, innovative materials and daylight control strategies and systems. These packages, as a function oftheir complexity and 3nal use, require di5erent types ofoutdoor data, ranging from monthly (MTD) or seasonal typical days (STD) to more complex typical meteorological years (TMY). Both the deterministic and the stochastic components ofoutdoor data are present in TMYs, while MTDs and STDs take into account only the deterministic component. The use ofMTDs or STDs produces a sensible reduction ofthe calculation time, above all appreciable in the 3rst phase ofthe building design process, although it introduces an element ofuncertainty in simulation results due to the absence ofthe stochastic component ofoutdoor data. This uncertainty is not easily predictable, as reported by many authors. The aim ofthe present work is to investigate the in9uence ofthe stochastic component ofmeteorological data in evaluating o"ce building energy performance in Mediterranean climate. The study is performed by an advanced numerical computer package, Integrated ENergy Use Simulation (IENUS), which can process di5erent types ofclimatic data. Di5erent typologies, systems and space managements are investigated.