APPLICATION OF THE PSTAR METHOD TO A MASSIVE TEST CELL FOR THERMAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

This paper studies the thermal performance of a small thermally massiv e test cell built by the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) loc ated in Daejeon, Korea. The cell is 3 m wide, 3.6 m long and 2.6 m hig h. It is built mainly with concrete and cement bricks. A partition wal l divides the interior of the building (cell) into two zones: a living and a buffer zone. Space heating of the building is provided by coils carrying hot water imbedded in the massive floor. This case study was of special interest because the KIER test cen is significantly more m assive than those previously tested using the same methodology by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States. A se ries of short-term tests were conducted to evaluate the major heat flo w terms which largely influence building performance. The test procedu re and data analysis were carried out according to the PSTAR method de veloped by the NREL. Each test period was three days during which the building was unoccupied. The data measured with eight channels were us ed to renormalize an audit based simulation model of the building. Res ults show close agreements between the measured and renormalized value s reflecting the effects of heavy thermal mass, whereas the simulation results from the audit description of the test cell deviate considera bly. A long-term extrapolation has;also been made from the weather dat a of Seoul TMY (Typical Meteorological Year) for the calculation of mo nthly heating and cooling loads. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.