Splitting the dynamic exergy destruction within a building energy system into endogenous and exogenous parts using measured data from the building automation system

This study presents a novel approach to apply advanced exergy analysis to a dynamic system. The main building of the E.ON Energy Research Center located in Aachen, Germany, which is a large, complex and multifunctional building is considered as the case study. Results of the present study show a substantial interdependency among different components of the considered building, meaning that a significant improvement in the overall performance of the building could be achieved through the implementation of a better control algorithm. Furthermore, it is shown that the improvement suggestions and optimization priorities obtained from an advanced exergy analysis are more rational and reasonable compared with a conventional exergy analysis. For instance, based on the results of this study, the Facade ventilation units and the active chilled beams in the cooling network of the considered building cause a large amount of exergy destruction in other components of the system. So, based on an advanced exergy analysis these components have the highest priority for optimization. Improvement of these components not only decreases the endogenous exergy destruction within them but also results in lower (exogenous) exergy destructions in the remaining components of the system. In a conventional exergy analysis, however, only exergy destructions within system components are calculated and the influence of components on each other cannot be obtained.