Selecting an appopriate tool for airflow simulation in buildings

With the advancement of technology, and with the widespread availability of simulation tools, we are forced to consider which simulation tool would be appropriate for a particular problem. This seemingly trivial decision is in reality not very easy to make. Very often this leads to the practice of using the most sophisticated tool available for every problem. The levels of resolution and complexity of simulations are directly related to the accuracy of the simulation and to the total cost of the simulation process. A simple tool may be cheaper, but there is a high risk of inaccuracy. An advanced tool could be more accurate, but it needs a huge amount of resource in terms of computing power, labour, and the advanced knowledge to perform the simulation and interpret the results. This paper proposes a guideline for selecting a simulation tool for airflow prediction. Sensitivity analysis is selected as the tool for decision making. A case study is used to highlight the proposed method.