GEnEff is an experimental approach where the user can visualize and feel the indoor climate in spaces (air and radiation temperatures, humidity, air flow) in a virtual reality (VR) environment with different climatic situations. The user can also interact with the environment, for e.g. opening a window/door, changing thermostat, etc. All these parameters can be used to find out if the user is comfortable or not. Which helps in determining Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) that describes comfort and health effects of a space.
Of the six primary influencing variables (acoustic, visual, thermodynamic, olfactory, hygienic and psychological) of IEQ, the technical variables (visual impression, indoor climate, air quality) with their own numerous dependencies can be evaluated quantitatively in their entirety within a scale and thus, the actual energy efficiency of a building can also be evaluated. In the experimental space, areas responsible for energy demand (HVAC, lightning, building envelope, etc.) can be examined using VR along with demonstrating their effect on the comfort and can be calculated using the simulation model running in the background. The virtual thermal space can also be used to evaluate building models, which determine the energy demands using classical system simulations and the IEQ can also be experienced by the probands.
Currently, there are no standards for determining IEQ along with energy consumption. Hence, one of the goals of this project would also be to determine a practical and theoretical standard which constitutes IEQ and energy consumption.

Links
http://www.virtual-climate.de
GEnEff research project: Interactive VR climate chamber in action (youtube.com)

Team
Prof. Dr. Christoph Nytsch-Geusen
Kushagra Mathur
Alexander Stetten
Building Physics and Building Technology Department (VPT), Institute of Architecture, University of the Arts, Berlin

Alumini
Luca Liebich

Project partners
Technical University of Berlin, Institute for Energy Technology, Hermann-Rietschel-Institut (HRI), Berlin, Germany

Funding
Research project “EnOB (GEnEff): Neuartige Bewertung der Gebäude-Energie-Effizienz und innovative Demonstration mittels Simulationsmethoden und Virtual Reality.

By Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Funding code: 03EN1017B