Analysis of the influence of soil in the thermal performance of subterranean rooms in a ground-level building in São Paulo, Brazil, via EnergyPlus.

Abstract

Among the several factors that interfere with the thermal performance of buildings, soil temperature is not always considered in thermal performance evaluations. However, soil temperature is a factor that influences the result of heat exchanges in the environment, especially in ground-level buildings. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate this influence due to the interaction of the soil with the building. In addition, due to the three-dimensional and transient character of the heat exchange processes involving the ground, the numerical approach becomes an important tool in the thermal performance analysis of buildings. In this respect, the software EnergyPlus emerges as an alternative to obtain such results, especially through the Basement preprocessor. Results suggest that, when the soil effect is considered in thermal analyses, the internal temperature of subterranean rooms increases up to 8.9% in the summer and decreases to 5.4% in winter. These results were obtained when compared to the initial situation, where soil influence had been neglected. Such results provide an indication of the importance of considering the soil influence on the thermal performance analyses where an accurate assessment is requested.