C005 -- Archetype Energy Models for Residential Sector and Application to Conceptual Design

To ensure energy efficiency in new buildings, it is vital to address it at the early design stage, where alternative conceptual layouts remarkably influence energy performance. Designers typically use labour-intensive simulation tools requiring details most of which are not available at the early design stages, making them inefficient for multi-scenario simulations. Gray-box approach to building energy modelling is based on a simplified description of building physics and its systems pursuing the principles of energy/mass conservation and heat transfer, with parameters identified from measurements. Several studies have explored the applications of gray-box archetype models for optimal building operation; however, there is a lack of studies investigating their application to conceptual design and prediction of the potential energy consumption in future buildings and communities. In this paper, we use the data from an unoccupied experimental house in Québec to showcase a framework for developing archetype gray-box models that facilitate energy assessment at the early design stage for similar houses with minimum information (building type, total floor area, window-to-wall ratio, level of insulation, and orientation). Such design-oriented archetypes not only help designers and planners make informed decisions and optimize the design of future neighbourhoods; but also, are useful for retrofit applications in existing neighbourhoods.