Code-to-Code Validation and Application of a Dynamic Simulation Tool for the Building Energy Performance Analysis

In this paper details about the results of a code-to-code validation procedure of an in-house developed building simulation model, called DETECt, are reported. The tool was developed for research purposes in order to carry out dynamic building energy performance and parametric analyses by taking into account new building envelope integrated technologies, novel construction materials and innovative energy saving strategies. The reliability and accuracy of DETECt was appropriately tested by means of the standard BESTEST validation procedure. In the paper, details of this validation process are accurately described. A good agreement between the obtained results and all the reference data of the BESTEST qualification cases is achieved. In particular, the obtained results vs. standard BESTEST output are always within the provided ranges of confidence. In addition, several test cases output obtained by DETECt (e.g., dynamic profiles of indoor air and building surfaces temperature and heat fluxes and spatial trends of temperature across walls) are provided.