In this study efficiency factors measures the thermal energy performance for space heating. This study deals with the influence of control strategies on the effriciency factors of space heating and its distribution system. An adaptive control is developed and applied to two types of heating curves (linear and non-linear) for a low-energy building equipped with renewable energy sources. The building is modelled with a hybrid approach (law driven + data driven model). The design of the floor heating is calibrated and validated by assessing the uncertainty bands for low temperatures and mass flow rate. advantages and disavantages of linear and non-linear heating curves are highlighted to illustrate their impact on space heating thermodynamic behaviour and on the efficiency factors of the space heating system.

Practical application: The study reveals that applying commercial building energy simulation software  is worthwhile to determine reliable performance predictions. Oversimplified building models, in particular when considering building thermal mass, are not capable of simulating the thermodynamic response of a building subjected to different control strategies. The application of different heating cuirves (linear and non-linear) to massless building models leaves the amount of mass flow rate delivered to the space heating unchanged when the building is subjected to sharp variations of the outdoor temperature. © The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2019