Simulation of Plants in Buildings; Incorporating Plant-Air Interactions in Building Energy Simulation

Abstract

The energy consumption of buildings within which vegetation growth forms a significant function cannot at present be adequately simulated using typical building energy simulation analysis packages as they do not include the ability to simulate the potentially significant heat and mass transfer between plants and the internal air. On the other hand, tools developed for the simulation of climate-controlled greenhouses do not allow multi-zone energy simulation of standard buildings. Within this paper, a model developed for simulating plant growth and crop development within a commercial greenhouse and the corresponding heat, mass and CO2 exchanges is described. A TRNSYS component to facilitate simulation of a building-integrated greenhouse in an urban environment is outlined and a case study of a simple composite office/greenhouse building is presented as a preliminary illustrative example.