Experimental validation of single-sided natural ventilation models on building simulation

In Europe, many office buildings rely on single-sided natural ventilation (SSV), which uses one or several openings on only one side of a room where the air exchange occurs primarily. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of empirical SSV models developed for bottom-hung opening from previous studies when these models are integrated into building simulations. For the evaluation, results from a dynamic building simulation with different SSV models were validated by measured data from experiments in a facade test bench. The test bench comprises three rooms with different window sizes and were equipped with air heaters and CO2 emission systems to generate time-varying internal loads. The periodic changes in window openings in each room induced temporal changes in room temperatures and CO2 concentrations. Based on the construction of the test bench, a building simulation model was developed and calibrated. Four SSV models were then integrated into the simulation to reproduce room conditions under the same window opening profiles and weather conditions obtained during the experiments. The validation shows that both models of Maas and Hall have high accuracy and are applicable to building simulations.