Within a monitoring study by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, 35 residential buildings with future building standards are being analyzed. Two of these buildings (Plus Energy Buildings) are managed and analyzed by the Leipzig University of Applied Science. An energy-plus house produces more energy from renewable energy sources over the course of a year than it imports from external sources. Until now there have been serious differences between planning simulation and measurement. The main reason has been identified as non-matching simulation models. Complex technical building services, associated with the use of new building materials, exceed the possibility of usage for standardized programs. By using monitoring data, this paper describes the influence of tenants in low energy houses by using the Green-City library in SimulationX. The increasing influence of occupants on energy consumption will be illustrated.

1. Fakultät
Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik fbme.htwk-leipzig.de
Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur Leipzig
Leipzig University of Applied Sciences
ESI SimulationX User Forum
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
November 24-25, Dresden
Henryk Haufe, Mario Stelzmann, Ulrich Moeller and Stephan Schoenfelder

2. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
 Introduction
 Reference Building
 Simulation Model
 Results
 Summary and Outlook
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
2

3. 2
Copyright © ESI Group, 2017. All rights reserved.
www.esi-group.com
Note:
This presentation was published together with a technical paper.
The full paper can be downloaded here.
Paper Abstract
Within a monitoring study by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety, 35 residential buildings with future building standards are being analyzed. Two of these
buildings (Plus Energy Buildings) are managed and analyzed by the Leipzig University of Applied Science.
An energy-plus house produces more energy from renewable energy sources over the course of a year
than it imports from external sources. Until now there have been serious differences between planning
simulation and measurement. The main reason has been identified as non-matching simulation models.
Complex technical building services, associated with the use of new building materials, exceed the
possibility of usage for standardized programs. By using monitoring data, this paper describes the
influence of tenants in low energy houses by using the Green-City library in SimulationX. The increasing
influence of occupants on energy consumption will be illustrated.

4. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Introduction
• Until 2050, legislature pursues the aim a climate-neutral building stock in Germany
• Reduction of heat demand in buildings and the use of renewable energies are
essential keys to achieve this goal
• The close link between highly efficient building services and new construction
techniques requires a high level of building planning
• Small mistakes in planning may have a major impact on energy balance and costs
• An occupant state monitoring can validate if the requirements can be fulfilled in practice
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
3
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

5. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Reference Building
• Locations of the federal sponsorship program
“Effizienzhaus Plus”
• Current monitoring study of 35 residential buildings
with future building standards
• “Plus-Energy-House” in Bischofswiesen built in 2013
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
4
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

6. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Reference Building
• The multi-family building includes six apartments
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
5
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

7. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Reference Building
Building technology:
• water/water heat pump
• heating storage tank (5 m³)
• hot water storage tank (0.44 m³)
• floor heating and wall mounted radiators
• ventilation system with heat recovery
• 41.6 kWp photovoltaic system
• 25 kWh lead acid battery
• electric car
• Every 10 minutes a full measurement is recorded
by the existing monitoring technology.
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
Fraunhofer Institut für Bauphysik

8. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Simulation Model
Simulation parameter:
• simulation model is similar to the sketch of Fraunhofer Institute
• to simplify the simulation model the building geometry is separated into 4 heating zones (one for
each floor)
• building service at the basement (with waste heat) was simulated with a second heat pump
• number of persons in the building is calculated by the visitor’s tax and by the electricity and water
consumption
• working time of residents (monday – friday: 8 am – 4 pm)
• hot water consumption takes place continuously
• three weather simulations (summer, winter and stress situation for building service technology) -
7 days each
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

9. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Simulation Model
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
8
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
First module: PV-system and electric car
Index
Ambience
input location and weather data
PV-Module
input module characteristics
Electric-vehicle
input vehicle characteristics
Power Grid
power-consumption of all
components

10. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Simulation Model
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
9
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
Second module: hot water storage
Index
Heat pump
input heat pump characteristics
Heated Boiler
input characteristics
Water supply
input hot water extraction

11. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Simulation Model
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
Building/Floor
determining interior temperature,
room geometry, heat sources,…
Heat storage
simulation of the temperature behavior within
the heat storage
Building service and heating technology module
Index

12. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Simulation Model
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

13. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Results
summer
 an increased power and heat consumption is recorded
 heat storage in summer is also supplied by the heat pump
 supply flow temperatures confirm the first impression
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

14. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Results
summer
 an increased power and heat consumption is recorded
 heat storage in summer is also supplied by the heat pump
 supply flow temperatures confirm the first impression
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
13
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

15. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Results
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
14
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
summer
 existing three way valve for hydraulic switching between hot water storage and thermal storage
isn’t adjusted to the control system
 hot water temperatures are measured between 56.1 ° C and 55.5 ° C

16. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Results
winter
 individual ventilation behavior and lifestyle are the main factors for heat consumption in low energy
houses
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values

17. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Results
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
16
Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
winter
 Occupants should use active heat recovery of the ventilation system in each floor to reduce the
power consumption of the heat pump

18. HTWK Leipzig University of Applied Sciences – Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik
Summary and Outlook
• Using dynamic simulations, it is possible to
analyze the “Plus Energy House” with some
limitations
• reasons for restriction:
1. differences and unknowns in occupant
behavior
2. chosen level of abstraction in SimulationX
• an exact analysis and evaluation of the
monitoring data is important to reduce planning
mistakes
M. Eng. Henryk Haufe
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Occupant Behavior of a Plus Energy Building Regarding Monitoring and Standard Values
• For further extensive research in low-energy house sector it is recommended to analyze the actual energy
demand of house residents
• actual energy demand is determined by the people
• the heat demand of a building can not be predicted by a purely technical statistical point of view 
Psychological aspects of residents should be studied and included in simulation models

19. 3
Copyright © ESI Group, 2017. All rights reserved.
www.esi-group.com
Download the Paper
This presentation was published together with a technical paper.
The full paper can be downloaded here.
Paper Abstract
Within a monitoring study by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety, 35 residential buildings with future building standards are being analyzed. Two of these
buildings (Plus Energy Buildings) are managed and analyzed by the Leipzig University of Applied Science.
An energy-plus house produces more energy from renewable energy sources over the course of a year
than it imports from external sources. Until now there have been serious differences between planning
simulation and measurement. The main reason has been identified as non-matching simulation models.
Complex technical building services, associated with the use of new building materials, exceed the
possibility of usage for standardized programs. By using monitoring data, this paper describes the
influence of tenants in low energy houses by using the Green-City library in SimulationX. The increasing
influence of occupants on energy consumption will be illustrated.