Comparative study between dynamic transient and degree-hours methods to estimate heating and cooling loads of building’s wall

Abstract

In this paper, dynamic transient method and conventional degree-hours method (static) have been compared to estimate heating and cooling loads of building's wall. All main wall surfaces of various orientations, i.e.South, West, East, North, and horizontal are considered in the climate of Tehran, Iran. In this study, a conventional wall structure, which is comprisedconcrete as main wall material, and EPS (expanded polystyrene), as insulation material, areused. The actual outdoor air temperature (used in dynamic method) was obtained by mean hourly measurementsrecorded in meteorological data over the period of 2006–12. Annual heating and cooling degree-hoursare calculated based on this recent weather data, and results are compared with the values reported in the national building regulations (topic 14). One dimensional transient heat transfer problem for multilayer walls has been solved to obtain temperature distribution within the wall. Annual heating and cooling load resulting from dynamic method have been compared with degree-hoursmethod; the results showed that there is a significant difference between these two estimations.