Sensitivity analysis of a new room model integrating phenomena of air temperature distribution in controller tests

Room models, currently used for controller tests, assume the room air to be perfectly mixed. Considering the results of a study of temperature conditions in real rooms, equipped with different HVAC systems, a new model is developed, assuming a non-uniform temperature distribution in a room. The proposed model is based on the zonal modelling approach where the room air is divided into several sub-volumes. This approach allows taking into account various convective phenomena, which are imposed by the HVAC systems and have an impact on the test of HVAC controllers. The temperatures in the occupant zone as well as at typical sensor positions are the main outputs of the new model. The model has already been validated for different HVAC systems such as radiator, convector and fan-coil unit in heating and cooling mode. The model including a large number of correlations this paper deals with the sensitivity of the results on its main parameters. The paper starts with a general presentation of sensitivity of the main equations used in the model, followed by simulations demonstrating the impact of these parameters on the results. This sensitivity analysis is necessary to evaluate the pertinence of using virtual laboratory tests to compare controllers.