Evaluation of the Concrete Core Conditioning Performance for Flexible Building Zone Configurations

Today’s building design objectives are more and more determined by sustainability, flexibility and the quality of the indoor environment. A potential concept is the application of concrete core conditioning to reduce the energy consumption and increase the thermal comfort. However, the performance of concrete core conditioning in relation to the changing utilization of a building (flexibility) is unknown. This paper gives a developed multi-zone dynamic simulation model of a concrete core conditioning system. This model has been applied for the performance of case studies with large sets of building zone configurations to clarify the consequences of the application of concrete core conditioning for the flexibility of a building with regard to the achievable indoor thermal comfort. It is concluded that the self controllability of concrete core conditioning can accommodate limited flexibility changes without loss of thermal comfort. The combination of concrete core conditioning with an additional local installation component for both heating and cooling makes the concept suitable for flexible building zone configurations. However, the combination of concrete core conditioning and an additional local component should be well-considered, in terms of design and control strategies, in order to achieve the desired energy efficiency.