Abstract
In this research, a university classroom belonging to the Living Labs of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano has been adopted as a case study to analyse and discuss the potential of CO2-based controls of mechanical and air-conditioning systems in well-insulated educational environments. Exploiting air temperature and CO2 concentrations data collected in a long-term monitoring campaign, an EnergyPlus model of the classroom was first developed and then calibrated against the measurement data, using the first-year winter season for calibration and the second-year for validation. The calibrated simulation model was then employed to investigate different control scenarios related to the supplied flow rates of fresh air, such as occupancy-based and CO2-based controls, considering also windows’ opening when necessary. Energy performances, impacts on indoor thermal conditions and general effectiveness of the different control configurations were compared and discussed in different occupancy-density scenarios.