ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the modeling, simulation, and optimization methods used from the design through to evaluation of zero-energy (ZERO-PLUS) dwellings in the UK. A combination of dynamic thermal simulation and bespoke models was used to calculate the appropriateness and expected results for each proposed technology and the dwellings as a whole. As energy-related targets were being tracked, cost targets were also being simultaneously analyzed. To this end, a methodology was developed which compared the cost of the ZERO-PLUS dwellings at a settlement scale with the cost of individual comparable low-energy dwellings. Energy and environmental performance simulation was performed on the final design to help verify the energy and environmental performance of the settlement and to assist in the sizing and optimization of the selected technologies. After construction, before occupancy, the original as-designed model was calibrated to define the as-built state. Following a full year of in-use performance, the models were calibrated with in-use data to assess the gap between modeled and actual performance.
