Optimisation of the simulation of advanced control strategies for adaptive building skins

Adaptive building skins dynamically adapt to environmental changes, often supported by a control system. Whereas building performance simulation (BPS) tools can be employed to predict the performance of adaptive building skins, the associated control strategies within currently available BPS tools are approximated, which limits tool capability regarding properly capturing the influence of the control strategy on adaptive building skins. This study aims to assess this through the use of a co-simulation modelling framework demonstrated through a case study with automated motorised blinds with two distinct control strategies. Simulation results suggest that the cooling rate was 12.1 % higher when the blind position depended only on solar gains, but not on solar gains and sun tracking. The results of this study imply that the modelling framework predicted the performance of the case study more accurately than what would be expected for currently available BPS tools, which can increase the credibility of building performance simulations.