Estimation and sensitivity analysis of building energy demand

In modern societies buildings largely contribute to the energy demand and account in some countries for up to 45% of the primary energy consumption. Detailed consumption data can be used to offer advanced services and provide new business opportunities to all participants in the energy supply chain. In recent years, the intensified research effort by scientific communities and companies from the energy sector has led to an improved estimation of building energy consumption. This paper proposes an innovative tool that combines the estimation of the building energy consumption and supply costs with a sensitivity analysis. The estimation procedure considers both the building design and user interactions with the building. The effect of small variations in the building configuration on the building energy demand and supply costs is determined by the sensitivity analysis. The identification of critical parameters allows building managers to adopt appropriate measures to improve the energy efficiency of the considered building. For the demonstration and validation of the proposed approach, the tool is applied to a case of an office building located in Madrid (Spain). It is explained in detail how the estimates of the building energy consumption and the costs were calculated and the sensitivity analysis performed.