Assessing overall heating efficiency of office buildings

The current methodology applied to estimate system efficiencies oversimplifies the complex interaction between the building, the occupants and the system. By detailed modelling of the building and the system, it is possible to define system efficiencies at the building level as a function of the system type and the building characteristics. In this study, the performance of a simple heating system in a middle-sized office building is simulated. The monthly average total efficiency, defined at the building level, proves to be very well correlated with the monthly ratio of heat gains over heat losses of the building. At ratios over 0.6, the efficiency falls sharply. This is mainly due to declining control efficiency. This secondary effect can annul partly the targeted increase in energy efficiency of well insulated and airtight buildings.