Next generation building performance metrics to enable energy systems integration

Traditional building performance metrics consider a building as a standalone and static utility consumer. Voluntary green building certifications of districts generally aggregate the metrics of standalone and consuming buildings. There is a lack of performance metrics concerning the integration of critical services to a building and the utility networks supplying these critical services of electricity, natural gas and water. In order to achieve integration of energy systems, including storage based demand side management and rain water harvesting, a methodology is modelled for a typical office. The methodology requires building parameters to be combined and manipulated in order to create the proposed performance metrics. The building model is simulated for three periods of interest: a whole year, a winter design day, a summer design day. The proposed metrics enable operational management during peak and standard loads, as well as longer term analysis of the building performance. Operational management includes the role of storage and the responsiveness of a building during demand ramping or shedding. Over the longer term, the metrics indicate efficiency trends and guide design and investment decisions. It is found that electrical storage combined with demand side management reduces energy costs with no service disruptions. Rain water harvesting is also found to significantly reduce financial and energy costs, and given its current dearth of deployment, has high future potential.