Energy Stimulation Tools

Energy simulation is a computer-based analytical process that helps building owners and
designers to evaluate the energy performance of a building and make it more energy efficient by making
necessary modifications in the design before the building is constructed. Use of energy simulation
software is necessary to show compliance with Indian Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) via
“Whole Building Performance Method.” This Tip Sheet helps in understanding the basic concepts and
processes involved in carrying out building energy simulation.
Value for money, sustainable design and construction, etc. and this has propelled the adoption of
Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology, which transforms the paradigm of the construction
industry from 2D based drawing information systems to 3D object based information systems . It
changes the base documentation used in building design and construction to a new representations
which are machine readable for automation as opposed to human readable for manual conducts .
Therefore, BIM adoption is becoming an increasingly important matter for the construction industry that
has been facing barriers and challenges to increase productivity, efficiency, quality and for sustainable
development. A large number of commercial and free simulation applications are available on the
market. The use of building performance simulation in architectural design processes is hindered by
three key bottlenecks – the significant time and skill required to create building models for energy
simulations, the time required to compute accurate simulations for geometrically complex models, and
the difficulty of understanding and visualizing the results. Thus, the creation of models for building
energy simulations relies on model simplification in order to speed simulation time and reduce the effort
required to augment the geometric model with the additional meta-data necessary for simulation.
Conventional methods of producing thermal models through extrusion of prismatic building elements
are reinforced by currently available thermal modelling software interfaces such as Ecotect, eQuest, IES-
VE, DesignBuilder, OpenStudio, ArchiCad 16- Energy Evaluation etc. Furthermore, simulation engines
such as EnergyPlus and DOE2 exploit these simplified space volumes to decrease simulation time. This
software helps a person to understand a scenario with simulation without actually executing the
operation.

Simulation Tool Assessment Steps Criteria Descriptions

1. Software Proprietary Issue.

• Unexpected increase in cost
• Rapid version updates
• Certain user certifications requirements

2. Software Cost.
• Purchasing the simulation tool
• Catching up with updated versions

3. Market Acceptance.
How commonly the tool is used in the industry to continue and increase its user base
4. Preliminary Design Option.
Energy modeling based on a schematic design when the construction details are not
fully determined

5. Allow High-Level Specification.

Filling in the missing parts using default values defined by the software, typically based
on the most common industry practices/products

6. Easy and Fast Modification Capability.

Building design constantly/rapidly changes as it goes through the preliminary stages of
design. Updates should be easy to incorporate in the energy model

7. User-Friendly Interface.
To facilitate training/adapting the tool for the design team

8. Comprehensive and Up-to-Date Built-in Library.

To pick materials/equipment that are most commonly used in the market in the absence
of site-specific data especially during preliminary design stages

9. Reasonability of Generated Results with High-Level Parameter Specification.

Specifying High-level set of parameters should not introduce uncertainty factors above
and beyond their scale and jeopardize generating within-the-ball-park results.

10. Built-in Baseline Model.

Auto-generate appropriate and certified baseline models for Oregon’s relevant energy
code. To avoid creating a second model for baseline and minimize human errors.

11. Interaction with Design Tools.

• Talk with the most commonly-used architectural/design tools, AutoCAD and Revit.
• Skip the extra step of drawing the footprints of the building from scratch.

12. Automated Parametric Runs.

The tool is capable of generating automatic parametric runs for each measure type.

13. Capability of Transition into a Detailed Model.

From schematic design mode to detailed mode towards the end of the design process.

14. Net Zero Energy Building Design.

Capability to estimate demand per load type and produce very reliable and accurate
energy consumption estimates.

15. Can Model High Performance Technologies without workarounds.

Technologies like VFD, Chilled Beams, Radiant Heating/Cooling, etc. that are becoming
more and more common in high performance designs cannot be modeled by all simulation
 engines. When this is the case, either the technology cannot be considered, or the user must
have significant expertise to create workarounds to approximate the technology.

16. Long Term Simulation Engine Support.

Simulation engine development is very costly and requires very specific expertise. When
new technologies are created, the cost and time required to update the simulation engine
affects any Simulation Tools built on this engine.

17. Long Term Viability of Development Team.

People retire and change jobs. A product maintained by a small, aging, or
undercapitalized team can be a risky foundation to build on.

18. Training Availability.

New users typically need training on simulation tools.

19. Update/Bug Fix Frequency.

Software inevitably has issues. These issues can hamper users if they cannot be fixed
quickly.

20. Flexibility of Parametric Runs.

"What-If" parametric runs are critical to the design process. Being able to customize
these parametric runs is critical for high-performance buildings.

21. Extensible Capabilities.

Energy modelers often need capabilities beyond what is built into software, and create
their own tools to meet these needs.

22. Transparency.
In the long-term, lack of transparency can create serious issues. Seeing the algebra
behind the scenes allows disputes to be brought up and settled based on technical merit.

23. Attractiveness to new modelers.

People new to the industry may be less willing to learn a software that may be obsolete
in the near future.

24. Significant Adopters.

When a technology is adopted/used by many parties, these parties can combine efforts
and share costs to improve capabilities.

Energy Simulation Tools

1. NEO
2. EDAPT
3. Vasari
4. Sefaira
5. DesignBuilder
 6. Green Building Studio
7. Open Studio
8. ECOTECT
9. eQUEST/DOE-2.2
10. EnergyPlus
11. EnergyPro
12. IES VE
13. Trane Trace
14. Carrier Hap
15. Energy-10
16. Solar Shoebox
17. System Advisor Model (SAM)

OpenStudio
• Open Studio can be used for early design and keep going through detailed modeling
• Talks with Sketchup
• Interface for EnergyPlus
• Free of cost
• Highly adaptable
• 100% annual user increase for each of last 2 years.
• Building component library constantly growing and improving

EnergyPlus
• Most sophisticated and reliable calculation engine available in the market
• Free of cost
• Open source
• Customizable
• High performance technology capabilities
• Appropriate for net zero buildings
• Long term engine support

EDAPT: (OpenStudio + EnergyPlus)

High
• Model geometry visualization (via OpenStudio)
• EnergyPlus as engine (free, public, open)
• Accurate and reliable engine
• Schematic to detailed mode
• Expanding library
• High performance technology and net zero
• Parametric runs can be defined, customized and automatic
• Transparency
• Aggregation of results
 Low
Has only been used by Xcel Energy thus far. CPS Energy and Austin Energy have given verbal
commitment to adopt as of 9/17/2014.

eQUEST
Strengths
• DOE2.2 engine
• Schematic design option
• User friendly interface
• High market acceptance
Limitations
• Closed code source
• Low prospect of future updates (currently stagnated)
• Modelers moving towards EnergyPlus
 Implementation Of Computer Stimulation Program
From a physical point of view, a building is a very complex system, influenced by a wide
range of parameters. A simulation model is an abstraction of the real building which allows to
consider the influences on high level of detail and to analyze key performance indicators
without cost-intensive measurements. BPS (Building performance simulation) is a technology of
considerable potential that provides the ability to quantify and compare the relative cost and
performance attributes of a proposed design in a realistic manner and at relatively low effort
and cost. Energy demand, indoor environmental quality (incl. thermal and visual
comfort, indoor air quality and moisture phenomena), HVAC and renewable system
performance, urban level modeling, building automation, and operational optimization are
important aspects of BPS.
A typical building simulation model has inputs for local weather; building
geometry; building envelope characteristics; internal heat gains from lighting, occupants
and equipment loads; heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) system specifications; operation
schedules and control strategies. The ease of input and accessibility of output data varies widely
between BPS tools. Advanced whole-building simulation tools are able to consider almost all of
the following in some way with different approaches.
Computer simulation has both advantages and disadvantages. Some of these advantages are
listed as follows;
1. It provides the flexibility to evaluate different alternatives for the same model.
2. The system is dynamic with much better control over experimental conditions.
3. It can compare to other process support techniques.
4. A different performance indicator of a system can be observed and analyzed
5. It can be used to measure the performance of even a system that is nonexistence.

Some disadvantages of the application of computer simulation as a tool for performance

measurements are;
1. The data regarding the processing and demand information and operation rules are not
readily available in the design phase.
2. Simulation project can contain a risk factor in a model which cannot be fully anticipated at the
initial stage of the design.
3. Inaccurate result is eminent if data entered into the model are also inaccurate.
4. There are additional factors that can affect the simulation outcome since running it in a
monitored environment is not the same as a real world situation.

Computer simulation is necessary especially in buildings because of its numerous advantages.

Simulation is versatile enough to model any system in order to determine its behavior over time and to
present results that are easy to grasp and communicate. Simulation runs a real system that is less
expensive, less time consuming and also providing information on multiple performance measures
Simulation involves different stages that are necessary for modelling a system. And these are;
1. Problem identification and prioritization
2. Objective setting and project planning
3. Conceptual model design
4. Model life cycle design
5. Data collection methods
6. System modelling and development
7. Validation of the model
8. Experimental design and analysis
9. Production runs of any size
10. Analysis and outcome reporting