Building performance with an integrated simulation approach: Experiences in Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 and future perspectives

This paper is concerned with the use of building performance simulation (BPS) in higher education. It investigates the methods used to integrate BPS into experimental building projects in Solar Decathlon Europe 2021/2022 (SDE21/22), the most recent European edition of an international university-level student competition on designing, building, and operating high-performance, low-carbon, and solar-powered houses. Previous editions of the competition are reviewed to identify pedagogical approaches, challenges, and potentials. The adoption of BPS in SDE21/22 is explored through the results of the competition, the reports of the participating teams, and cross-referencing them to find out how effective the methods for introducing BPS in design and operation were. The integration of building performance into the curricula of the participating universities is investigated to see if higher integration meant higher success in the competition. A survey is conducted to learn about the teams' experiences in using BPS tools to understand the integrative effectiveness of the design and performance components. The main findings show that the integrated BPS is possible when (1) implemented together with experiential learning methods, (2) introduced starting from early design, (3) discussed through comparison of simulated data with reality, (4) provided with multidisciplinary supervision and continuous feedback, and (5) applied with BPS tools that are easy to use and integrated into a design tool. The aim of the study is to identify teaching methods that have the potential to enable the integrated use of BPS and to offer future perspectives for a more effective use of BPS in higher education.