Calibrating the energy simulation model of an aquatic centre

An aquatic centre is defined as a community or public venue that provides at least an indoor pool and three different types of amenities such as gymnasium, sauna/spa, café, crèche and stadium. There have been insufficient studies that examine the energy performance of aquatic centres worldwide. Building energy simulations provide opportunities for economic and time-efficient analysis of the energy performance of buildings in order to identify the benefits of different control strategies, design or occupancy variables. This paper describes the simulation and calibration process for analysing the energy performance of an aquatic centre using a selected building as case study. Simulating the energy performance of an aquatic centre is a complex exercise due to the interaction between water and air (evaporation) occurring within the swimming pool hall. EnergyPlus and DesignBuilder were used to perform the building energy simulations. Manual calibration method based on an iterative approach was adopted and statistical indices (Mean Biased Error (MBE) and Coefficient of Variation of the Root Mean Square Error (CV(RMSE))) were used to verify if the model was calibrated accurately against the measured energy data (utility bill data).