Abstract
The aim of this paper is to assess the energy performances of an innovative façade-integrated decentralized ventilation unit developed for tertiary office buildings. The energy savings achieved in comparison to a traditional solution are quantified by means of numerical simulations carried out in the TRNSYS simulation environment. To this end, numerical models of the reference thermal zone and of the decentralized ventilation unit are developed and the performances of the single components of the ventilation unit are calibrated by means of laboratory tests carried out on a prototype. A CO2-based demand controlled ventilation strategy is implemented and a stochastic occupancy profile of the thermal zone is defined to provide a more realistic user behaviour. For the considered climates and thermal zone, it is found that the cost savings for energy-purchase calculated with respect to the baseline scenario range between 2.1 to 3.5 €/(m2y) and are mainly due to the electricity saving and an extensive exploitation of ventilative cooling.