You describe only 1 form of energy required to condition the interior space of a building, in this case the sensible cooling or heating energy required to maintain a desired indoor temperature (Qhvac, sensible). This equation is used to calculate the HVAC energy. A more accurate equation for space conditioning would be Q_hvac = m_dot x (H_in - H_out) which would include the contribution of moisture in the equation.
A building would also required other forms of energy to provide a source for lighting and equipment. For lighting, this may be entirely provided by daylighting during the day, however, some energy may be required after sundown if the building required lighting. The energy sources for lighting and equipment would eventually result in a change in the requirement for space conditioning compared to a building without lighting and equipment. There may also be a need for heating water. Occupancy will also add energy in the form of heat and moisture. Additionally, if there are openings in the building shell, such as windows, solar gains (Q_solar) would also contribute to the building loads.
The equation shown (Q_source=m_dot x cp x deltaT) is used to calculate the source energy used to sensibly condition a building. However, you only know 3 of the 5 variables in this equation, T_in, T_out, and cp. To identify the fourth variable, modelers typically use Q_shell=UA(T_in-T_out) to define the building shell load. Knowing this value, your equation could then be used to determine the air mass flow rate required to condition the interior space of a building.
Bringing all possible building loads together yields:
Q_load = Q_shell + Q_solar + Q_lighting + Q_equipment + Q_occupancy + Q_waterheating + ?
The energy balance equation would then be:
Q_hvac, total = Q_load = m_dot x (H_in - H_out) for total energy
My question refers only to the terminology, not to the modeling itself. What I would like to know is how you would call the energy input for this ideal source of energy. I will try to explain myself with an example. Let's assume I have a thermal zone served by a radiator that has to meet the set-point temperature in the room. The radiatior is connected to a boiler that heat up return water from the room. The energy consumed by the boiler depends by the efficiency of the boiler. If the boiler has efficiency 0.9, a certain amount of energy will be consumed.
If the efficiency is 0.8, more energy will be consumed. But what if this boiler has an ideal efficiency of 1? This is basically what I modelled in my system. How would you call that energy? Ideal energy consumption?