DE-13-C074 -- Comparison of Calculated and Measured Loads for the ASHRAE Headquarters Building PDF

This paper compares load and energy calculations with measured building loads. Both load and energy calculations are performed by using the energy simulation software, EnergyPlus. The ASHRAE Headquarters Building Renovation Project acts as a live lab and its database can be used to validate the simulation results. The ASHRAE building, located in Atlanta, comprises more than 1600 sensors to check and record the performance with the help of the Building Automation System (BAS). The energy model involves the coupling of a Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS), an ideal air loads system, and a dedicated building model. Different cases were created by using the ASHRAE standard 90.1 and by changing key parameters like plug loads, lighting loads, room temperatures, DOAS supply and temperature, etc. The predicted and measured results were used to estimate the uncertainty in calculated cooling loads due to the difficulty in accurately specifying inputs to the cooling load calculation procedures.