Co-simulation for buildings and smart energy systems — A taxonomic review

Modeling buildings and smart energy systems requires coupling a wide range of components into one unified simulation process, which can be difficult given the complexity of these systems. Hence, a large number of researchers integrate separate simulations for each of the individual components in a co-simulation instead. To systematically analyze techniques, standards, tools and applications of co-simulation in the field of buildings and smart energy systems, the publications on co-simulations in this field are reviewed by means of taxonomic analysis. Furthermore, the reproducibility as well as the validation approach of the respective papers are evaluated. Results show that Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) is the most prominent standard for co-simulation in modeling buildings and smart energy systems. Co-simulation is mostly used in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and occupancy analysis applications. Since nearly 70% of publications are not reproducible, we advocate that journals and funding agencies adopt stricter data and code-sharing policies.