Responsible retrofit measures for traditional listed dwellings: An energy simulation validation strategy

Energy and carbon retrofitting of traditional listed dwellings (TLDs) in the South-East England is much required but faces a multi-faceted and complex suite of issues and problems. A research project has been designed to specifically address those problems which utilises a mixed methods approach centred on multi-staged dynamic Building Energy Simulations (BES). Representative case studies of TLDs in Brighton and Hove have been selected, surveyed, modelled and simulated to assess their current energy performance and thermal behaviour as well as potential benefits of responsive and effective retrofit interventions.
The use of simulation implies the need for a thorough validation strategy to ensure that the data generation and analysis tool is reliable, valid and replicable in similar or identical contexts. Case studies research allows for an empirical validation, based on the calibration of simulated models with monitored data.
This paper describes the calibration process specifically devised for this on-going research project. Based on the findings of a critical review of literature, it utilizes energy consumption data as well as temperature and relative humidity data for each case study. Providing a brief overview of the methodological framework of the research, the paper describes in detail the approach utilised to ensure that the datasets collected and generated using different sources corroborate each other. The models created therefore accurately represent the real case studies in their status-quo and can be reliably used during the following stages of analysis when the impact of selected retrofit interventions is to be evaluated.