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click to hide/show revision 1
initial version

Looks like the culprit is an EnergyPlus bug.

I took the CondFD1ZonePurchAirAutoSizeWithPCM.idf example file and made a few changes to it to simplify the model, the most important deleting the MaterialProperty:PhaseChange object in the IDF.

The model showcasing the bug has HeatBalanceAlgorithm = ConductionFiniteDifference. I made a sum of the heat flux into and out of the wall using

Output:Variable,*,Surface Outside Face Conduction Heat Transfer Rate per Area,Hourly;
Output:Variable,*,Surface Inside Face Conduction Heat Transfer Rate per Area,Hourly;

which results in the graph below in a five year simulation. As you can see, there is a trend of accumulation of heat in the wall. Keep in mind that this wall has NO PCM in it.

image description

The bug disappears by changing to HeatBalanceAlgorithm = ConductionTransferFunction, which is the default choice in the IDFEditor. The graph is below and heat storage in the wall is cyclical, as it should be.

image description

click to hide/show revision 2
No.2 Revision

Looks like the culprit is an EnergyPlus bug. Unfortunately for @DerricksRoss, MaterialProperty:PhaseChange objects must use the HeatBalanceAlorithm to simulate, which appears to be causing the bug.

Here is a google drive link to the files.

Here is a link to the github issue I posted.

I took the CondFD1ZonePurchAirAutoSizeWithPCM.idf example file and made a few changes to it to simplify the model, the most important deleting the MaterialProperty:PhaseChange object in the IDF.

The model showcasing the bug has HeatBalanceAlgorithm = ConductionFiniteDifference. I made a sum of the heat flux into and out of the wall using

Output:Variable,*,Surface Outside Face Conduction Heat Transfer Rate per Area,Hourly;
Output:Variable,*,Surface Inside Face Conduction Heat Transfer Rate per Area,Hourly;

which results in the graph below in a five year simulation. As you can see, there is a trend of accumulation of heat in the wall. Keep in mind that this wall has NO PCM in it.

image description

The bug disappears by changing to HeatBalanceAlgorithm = ConductionTransferFunction, which is the default choice in the IDFEditor. The graph is below and heat storage in the wall is cyclical, as it should be.

image description

click to hide/show revision 3
No.3 Revision

Looks like the culprit is an EnergyPlus bug. Unfortunately for @DerricksRoss, MaterialProperty:PhaseChange objects must use the HeatBalanceAlorithm = ConductionFiniteDifference to simulate, which appears to be causing the bug.

Here is a google drive link to the files.

Here is a link to the github issue I posted.

I took the CondFD1ZonePurchAirAutoSizeWithPCM.idf example file and made a few changes to it to simplify the model, the most important deleting the MaterialProperty:PhaseChange object in the IDF.

The model showcasing the bug has HeatBalanceAlgorithm = ConductionFiniteDifference. I made a sum of the heat flux into and out of the wall using

Output:Variable,*,Surface Outside Face Conduction Heat Transfer Rate per Area,Hourly;
Output:Variable,*,Surface Inside Face Conduction Heat Transfer Rate per Area,Hourly;

which results in the graph below in a five year simulation. As you can see, there is a trend of accumulation of heat in the wall. Keep in mind that this wall has NO PCM in it.

image description

The bug disappears by changing to HeatBalanceAlgorithm = ConductionTransferFunction, which is the default choice in the IDFEditor. The graph is below and heat storage in the wall is cyclical, as it should be.

image description