The dynamic thermal process of indoor environment and building envelope during intermittent heating

During intermittent heating, the heat storage in the building envelope and its release could have a coupling influence on the variation in the indoor environment. In this project, a simplified second-order lumped capacity system was developed to study the dynamic thermal process of indoor environment and in the building envelope during intermittent heating processes. An experimental model simulation was presented, and an onsite measurement in a residential building was carried out for the model validation. Based on the modelling simulation, the effects of the heating load and building envelope’s thermal capacity on the dynamic responses of the indoor thermal environment and heat storage of the building envelope were analysed. The results show that the heating energy consumption was reduced, while the indoor thermal comfort was not affected by the rational choice of the building envelope and heating load. This paper presents an optimization of the intermittent heating operation mode and the building envelope to maintain the indoor thermal environment for occupant comfort while saving energy by efficiency in the operation of the heat storage system. Our findings should provide guidance for practical building thermal design for energy efficiency of buildings