Energy Simulation Design
Energy simulation
Energy simulation/modeling is indispensable for almost every project and especially during the early stages of the design. However, most engineering consultants rely on load calculation programs supplied by equipment manufactures which can not integrate some of the complex architecture features in the overall building performance. The growing demand for green building and the movement towards USGBC LEED certification have increased the trend to utilize energy simulation tools to analyze the energy performance. The most two common questions in dealing with energy modeling tools are: 1) What is the best energy model software? And 2) Is it approved by LEED?
LEED doesn't limit the designer to a cretin program as long as the simulation tool has the capability of performing the following requirements of ASHRAE 90.1 2004:
a. A minimum of 1400 hours per year
b. Hourly variations in occupancy, lighting power, miscellaneous equipment power, thermostat setpoints, and HVAC system operation, defined separately for each day of the week and holidays
c. Thermal mass effects
d. Ten or more thermal zones
e. Part-load performance curves for mechanical equipment
f. Capacity and efficiency correction curves for mechanical heating and cooling equipment
g. Air-side and water-side economizers with integrated control
h. The budget building design characteristics
LEED NC EA 1: Optimize energy performance requires 5 energy simulation runs to satisfy the requirements of option 1 - Whole Building Energy Simulation. Four runs will be identical for the baseline design-model except for the building orientation and the minimum ASHRAE 90.1 requirements for the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient. The fifth run will be for the proposed building model.
There have been lots of energy programs and software developed during the last fifty years. Majority of the energy modeling softwares contain engine that takes a simple text based input. This engine contains thermodynamic algorithms, which are used to calculate energy performance. These tools are made to use during the whole process of building life cycle. These tools are capable to predict the annual energy performance of the building. The software used in the building energy field is actually the full-fledged energy software. The importance of these building energy programs cannot be denied. These types of software provide users the real time information of building performance like use of energy, temperature, costs, humidity and demand of energy. Some of the softwares are IESVE, ECOTECT, HAP, EQUEST, ENERGYPLUS & PowerDomus.
ECOTECT is considered to be a whole environmental design software that has features for cost analysis, lighting, thermal, solar and interface for 3D modeling. ECOTECT has made the efficiency analysis more accurate and easy. It is based on the idea that environmental design ideology is most successfully addressed throughout the conceptual process of design. The tool provides necessary analytical and visual advice from the simple drawing model to more detailed model. The model is totally capable to handle effortless shading models to complete scaled cityscapes., ECOTECT is fine at coaching the beginner designers to design numerous significant concepts essential for competent building design. Broad assistance files and tutorials are also given with the ECOTECT. It has 3d CAD interface, which allows support of the simplest drawing design to extremely compound 3D models. It has the ability to import DXF and 3DS files. It can be run on Windows XP, 2000, 98 and 95. It can also execute on Visual PC or Mac. It permits the user to test the design ideas at the abstract phases by giving an important examination advice like whether the modeling geometry and data are used in a wrong way or which one is more important than the other. The build in help file tends to inform the users about the errors or important tasks to do. .
EnergyPlus is basically a modular tool that is designed by gathering the abilities DOE-2.1 and BLAST. It is actually used as a simulation engine. It takes simple text files as input and output. It is designed to predict the precise comfort and temperature in an integration simulation. It calculates cooling and heating and electrical response of a system. The step-by-step solution gives more precise temperature and electrical predictions. It is also very important for analyzing radiant, decoration building, inter-zone airflow and moisture absorption. Energy Plus has two parts building simulation module and mass and heat balance module. For energy plus a computer expert is not needed. Although a background of engineering is useful for study parts. It has been estimated that Energy Plus has been downloaded for more than 45000 times from its release in Apr 2001.It is widely used in research laboratories, universities for research, engineering firms etc. The only weakness of Energy Plus is that the input text is sometimes difficult to handle than graphical structures.
HAP basically provides an Explorer like GUI to offer rapid and well-organized access to task data. In order to describe modules of HVAC and building systems, a modular scheme is used. This approach gives highest ease to configure data to outfit a broad variety of applications. HAP provides a system based loom to devise calculations that modifies sizing measures and informs the particular kind of system being designed. This presents efficiency compensations over easy load calculation programs that need the engineer to be relevant with calculation outcomes to range components of system. Features of HAP are appropriate for systems like split systems, vertical units, rooftop units, air handlers of central station, etc. It offers features for rapid design fan coils and WSHP systems. Data is given for middle heating and cooling and boilers. It provides reports like psychometric charts, hourly loads and component load etc. HAP is best suited for retrofit and construction applications. HAP does per hour analysis. The energy expenditure data and efficacy tempo information is used to compute the energy price for each energy resource or energy type. It provides monthly simulation results, daily simulation results, and hourly simulations results. The results are available in graphical and tabular formats.
Equest is an easy energy-modeling tool. It provides great results by taking simple efforts. Gathering an enhanced DOE-2.1 with the energy efficiency and wizard of building creation does it. Equest has a creation wizard, which is designed to create a better building energy model. It has a lot of features and abilities to describe the aspects of your design and the impact of energy on it. It is suitable for designing area usage lighting systems, construction materials and HVAC materials etc. First of all it compiles a description of a building then it creates an overall simulation of the building. EQUEST provides a good range of graphical formats to view results of simulation. It can provide the comparisons of building energy on monthly or annual basis. EQUEST also makes you able to do various kinds of simulations and results in graphical format. It gives you implementation of energy efficiency and system control. In the latest version of EQUEST 3D building geometry view is also provided.
IES VE offers professional designers a variety of analysis of design oriented building in a very convincing environment. It uses 3D geometric explanation of building to which the data is attached to perform specific design tasks. One of the iconic features of IES is the possibility of importing REVIT model. IES can perform day lighting analysis and validate if the requirements of LEED EQC8.1 Daylight & view is met. IES can perform computational fluid dynamic analysis and provide the percentage of occupants who are dissatisfied with thermal comfort in the building. It is considered to be a dynamic simulation software tool, which is based on the principles of mathematical models of building energy transfer procedures. It offers a complete evaluation of system and building designs and provides yearly building energy simulation.
PowerDomus provide the user with the capability to view the path of sun and several shading effects. It also gives graphical reports of capacity, daily moisture, temperature content and thermal loads etc. The on and off control techniques can be used on heaters with one minute time interval. Conditions like adiabatic and impermeable surfaces or moisture conditions can also be visualized. It also offers a view of distribution of moisture and temperature in soil according to user given sample.
It is quite difficult to select the ultimate software because it doesn't exist. Energy Software selection depends on the designer's exact requirements where the designer needs first to identify his/her energy analyses methodology. Few of these softwares are quite expensive (20k USD/ year) but the majority are offered either for a reasonable price or for free.
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