Calibrating models for simulation use in design practices

When making design decisions, which can impact on building capital cost and performance, the design team has to be confident that the simulation tool is generating reliable output. Confidence can be gained via several mechanisms. In all cases data quality is of prime im-portance. Recognising the quality of data, or the lack of quality, and how this impacts on the predictions of the simulation tool is crucial to making informed design decisions. This paper describes information sources and their use with respect to simulation. To elaborate the process, in-puts and outputs are examined from an example Sup-ported Technology Deployment. The example demon-strates effective simulation use for assessing the refur-bishment of an existing building. Many information sources were available to the design team, including data collected from site visits and from interviews with the building’s occupants. The example also demonstrates how simulation can be a cost effective solution for a client