A new multizone model for the simulation of building thermal performance

A new multizone model which is an improvement on the state space model is presented, which is potentially more efficient in the simulation of large scale buildings than other methods such as finite difference, transfer functions, or finite volume. The modelling philosophy is firstly discussed. Then the principle and algorithm of the new model are described. Finally, a PC based program BTP developed based on state-of-the-art modelling strategy reveals its applicability with fast calculation speed and satisfactory accuracy in the modelling of building energy performance.