ABSTRACT
Recent research on the ventilation of newly built family houses has revealed that the majority of the Flemish dwellings is insufficiently airtight. Consequently this results in a high uncontrollable loss of energy. To calculate these energy losses a clear estimation of the actual air change rate is necessary However, the air change rate depends on many variable factors, including, building air leakage, leakage distribution, window opening, target room air-temperature, etc. Several existing databases present the distribution for a good number of these parameters and the contingent correlation between them. Therefore, many of the factors can be written as stochastic variables.
This article describes the stochastic properties of the ventilation parameters. Using Monte Carlo methods these are introduced into the script of a single-zone transient ventilation model. The stochastic simulation of this model provides the mean and deviation of the air change rates and energy losses in a dwelling, represented as a single zone, both with and without considering the influence of the occupant. The script also lays out the stochastic framework for a detailed analysis of the distribution of energy losses through ventilation in Flemish dwellings, as the input of a detailed multi-zone ventilation model.
