Conference Paper

Proceedings of eSim 2024: 13th Conference of IBPSA-Canada

Comparison of Weather Data Sources and Their Impact on Hygrothermal Model Accuracy

Jordan McNally, Cynthia A. Cruickshank, Michael Jemtrud
Carleton University

Abstract: Building simulation and energy modelling are important tools for assessing the thermal and hygrothermal performance of buildings. Often the suitability of the weather data source is overlooked, where the data utilized could provide very different simulation results. Various sources and forms of weather data exist, where some have ground measured data, satellite measured data, or forecasted weather data. Building simulation models often utilize compiled, or ‘manufactured’ weather files instead of ground-based measurements, due to their completeness and ease of availability with all necessary parameters. This study analyses the suitability of different weather file sources for calibrating a hygrothermal model to monitored data. Weather files for Ottawa from 7 different sources (Environment Canada, ERA-5, NASA POWER, CWEEDS, CWEC, NRSDB, and NRC Building Simulation Datasets) are utilized for this study.
Keywords: Hygrothermal, Building Envelope, Retrofit
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