Modeling, construction and monitoring of a Plus-Energy building in Dubai

This work presents the performance analysis of the very first Energy+ building in Dubai certified by the German Passive House Institute. The analysis is presented as comparison between numerical predictions and the first available monitored data. Trnsys is the software used to create the energy model, including both thermal envelope and HVAC system. The use of highly insulating materials, together with a design aimed to reduce the solar heat gains, allows for minimizing cooling loads. A 40 kW PV field, coupled to a 25 kWh battery storage and to a high-efficiency air-cooled electric chiller, fulfills the electric and cooling demand, making the building energy-autonomous. The study demonstrates the high accuracy of the energy model, able to predict precisely the building cooling loads, the energy production and the cooling system performance. The Energy+ building, inaugurated in November 2016, is a pioneering pilot-project and it represents an advance in the field of sustainable construction for all Arabic area.