IEA ECBCS ANNEX 60

Annex 60 will develop and demonstrate new generation computational tools for building and community energy systems based on the non-proprietary Modelica modeling language and Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) standards. The anticipated outcomes are open-source, freely available, documented, validated and verified computational tools that allow buildings, building systems and community energy grids to be designed and operated as integrated, robust, performance based systems with low energy use and low peak power demand. 

The target audience is the building energy research community, design firms and energy service companies, equipment and tool manufacturers, as well as students in building energy-related sciences. Currently fragmented duplicative activities in modeling, simulation and optimization of building and community energy systems that are based on the Modelica and FMI standards will be coordinated. Tool-chains will be created and validated that link Building Information Models to energy modeling, building simulation to controls design tools, and design tools to operational tools. Invention and deployment of integrated energy-related systems and performance-based solutions for buildings and communities will be accelerated by extending, unifying and documenting existing Modelica libraries, and by providing technical capabilities to link existing building performance simulation tools with such libraries and with control systems through the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) standards. Demonstrations will include optimized design and operation of building and community energy systems. 

IRUSE is involved in Activity 2.3 "Model use during operation" 
This task will use control models from Activity 1.1 and FMI export programs from Activity 1.2 to deploy energy-aware control algorithms and models for monitoring to experimental facilities, building automation and energy management systems. The integration of these algorithms and models will be done through Functional Mockup Units which provide a simulator and control-system independent software interface. This will allow model use in hardware-in-the-loop experimentation, during building commissioning for functional testing, and during building operation to ensure energy-minimizing and smart-grid responsive control that continuously monitors performance relative to design intent.