Many zones model
ifctrano makes one thermal zone per IfcSpace, and couples the zones through the walls and slabs they share. This
tutorial uses MultiZoneBuilding.ifc from tests/models/space_boundary.
from pathlib import Path
from ifctrano.building import Building
building = Building.from_ifc(Path("MultiZoneBuilding.ifc"))
building.save_model()
or, showing the space boundaries and simulating the model:
The space boundaries derived from the geometry: external surfaces in red, surfaces shared between spaces in blue.
The generated model in OpenModelica (taken with an earlier version; the layout may differ):
Results
The building has no heating model: the zones are free-floating. With more zones than lines can show clearly, the figure draws the range of the zone temperatures (minimum to maximum) and their mean.
Days 3 to 10 of the year (the first 2 simulated days are a warm-up and are left out).
| Case | Zone | Mean [°C] | Minimum [°C] | Maximum [°C] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multizone | 01 | 8.5 | 4.6 | 15.8 |
| Multizone | 1yy | 8.9 | 5.6 | 16.3 |
| Multizone | 8z | 7.6 | 3.8 | 17.1 |
| Multizone | Ah1 | 10.0 | 7.1 | 14.2 |
| Multizone | Av0 | 9.2 | 5.8 | 16.5 |
| Multizone | Bll | 9.2 | 5.8 | 16.5 |
| Multizone | Dn | 9.2 | 5.8 | 16.5 |
| Multizone | H8c | 9.1 | 5.9 | 16.3 |
| Multizone | Kjt | 9.2 | 5.8 | 16.5 |
| Multizone | Pmi | 6.9 | 2.9 | 15.3 |
| Multizone | Uh1 | 9.3 | 5.8 | 16.5 |
| Multizone | Uso | 9.3 | 5.8 | 16.5 |
| Multizone | V1e | 7.3 | 4.0 | 13.0 |
| Multizone | Mean of the zones | 8.8 | 5.3 | 14.7 |
What to expect. The zones are coupled through the internal walls, so their temperatures follow each other; the zones with more external surface (and less internal gain per volume) are colder.
What the simulation shows. The thirteen zones stay between 3 and 17 °C, with a mean of about 9 °C over days 3 to 10. The spread between the zones (about 3 K on the mean temperature, from 6.9 °C to 10.0 °C) comes from their exposure: the six identical rooms with 8 m² of external wall and a 4 m² window all average 9.2 to 9.3 °C, while the two zones with the most external wall (45 m² and 29 m²) and no window are the coldest (6.9 °C and 7.3 °C).