Experimental application of a semi-parametric model for interpretable and accurate egression analysis of building energy consumption
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Regression analysis is a versatile tool with numerous applications across diverse domains. Its utility extends to several tasks, including forecasting, inverse modeling, anomaly detection, and pattern identification. Over the years, researchers have mainly focused on two regression categories: parametric and non-parametric analysis. In light of the benefits and drawbacks of both methods, this work introduces a semi-parametric approach, combining regression accuracy and interpretability. This is achieved by designing a hybrid model, that includes a physics-based sub-model and a neural network. The proposed data-driven pipeline is applied to a relevant case study from the energy sector, namely the analysis of building energy consumption, achieving high accuracy compared to the parametric approach. Results demonstrate an increase in the mean coefficient of determination, from 0.77 to 0.94, with a MAPE drop from 5.5 % to 2.2 %. Meanwhile, the semi-parametric model allows the assessment of the thermal behavior of the buildings, thereby offering an improvement over black-box approaches.
Date Issued
2025-12-15
Date Acceptance
2025-09-01
Citation
Energy and Buildings, 2025, 349
ISSN
0378-7788
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Energy and Buildings
Volume
349
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Subjects
Building consumption
Construction & Building Technology
Energy
Energy & Fuels
Engineering
Engineering, Civil
Hybrid models
Interpretable machine-learning
Regression analysis
Science & Technology
Semi-parametric models
Technology
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
116495
Date Publish Online
2025-09-25