Developments in Coarse-Grain Modeling of Transient Heat-Flow in Buildings

The note reports on recent developments to the coarse-grain method (CGM) of modeling transient heat flow in buildings. CGM was originally developed as an alternative to conventional fine-grain modeling techniques [such as the finite-difference method (FDM) and finite-element method (FEM)] to increase simulation speed to a degree that facilitates three-dimensional modeling, and to ease the tasks of model development and experimentation. Earlier work has shown that CGM can provide reasonably accurate simulations at a processing speed several orders of magnitude faster than FDM or FEM. This note describes and demonstrates refinements to the CGM approach that increase its modeling accuracy to a level comparable to FEM, while doubling its processing speed. These refinements are: (1) the use of a hybrid linear regression model with an artificial neural network (ANN) to represent each coarse-grain modeling element (the hybridization of the ANN effectively halves its complexity); and (2) a linear calibration of the ANN-based coarse-grain modeling elements to account for an observed positive bias in their predictions. The improved approach is demonstrated for a two-dimensional model of a bay in a research building located at the University of Florida. The note concludes with some suggestions for continuing research.