Coupling indoor air quality, thermal comfort and HVAC energy consumption using IDA ICE and OpenFOAM

Buildings significantly contribute to the global energy demand, by representing one third of total energy use and one quarter of total CO2 emissions. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems play a crucial role in energy efficient buildings. Traditionally, indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, and energy efficiency have been analysed separately, but the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the interconnectedness of these topics. This paper presents an approach that couples building energy simulations of HVAC and IAQ tools to analyse a small office space. First, the building energy modelling tool IDA ICE determines the energy use, providing boundary conditions for CFD which is then used to scrutinise the IAQ and thermal comfort by exploiting the OpenFOAM add-on available in IDA ICE 5.0. The results highlight the benefits of the coupled approach: CFD has higher resolution than IDA ICE, which in turn provides more accurate boundary conditions to CFD.