Energy simulation or modeling is indispensable for almost every project – especially during the early stages of the design. However, many engineering consultants rely on load calculation programs that are supplied by equipment manufacturers and cannot integrate some of the complex architectural features into the overall building performance.
The growing demand for sustainable construction in the Middle east and the movement towards the use of the US Green Building Council’s (US GBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system have increase the trend to utilize simulation tools to analyze the energy performance of the buildings.
The most three common questions that are posed today about energy modeling tools are:
1. Optimize energy performance requires five energy simulation runs to satisfy the requirement of the whole building energy simulation.
Four runs should be identical to enable a baseline design-model to be established, except for the building orientation and the minimum ASHRAE 90.1 requirement for the solar heat gain co-efficient. The fifth run will be use to assess the proposed building model.
SOFTWARE SELECTION
There have been many energy programs and software systems developed during the last fifty years. The majority of the energy modeling software features an engine that accepts a simple text-based input. This engine contains thermodynamic algorithms that are used to calculate energy performance.
Such tools have been developed for used during the whole process of the building life cycle. They are capable of predicting the annual energy performance of the building. The software used in the building energy field is actually fully fledged energy software and the importance of such programs cannot be denied.
These types of software provide users with real-time information of building performance such as energy demand, temperature, operating costs and humidity. Some of the software programs currently available are IES, VE, Ecotect, HAP, Trace, eQuest, EnergyPlus and PowerDomus.
AVAILABLE SOFTWARE FOR ENERGY MODELLING OF MEP SYSTEMS
IES VE
IES VE offers professional designers a variety of ways by which to analyze design- oriented building in a convincing environment. It uses a three dimensional (3D) geometric explanation of the building to which data is then attached in order to perform specific design tasks. One of the principal features of IES is the possibility of importing the REVIT model.
IES can be used to perform day lighting analysis and available if the requirements of LEED EQ c8.1 Daylight and view will be met. It can also perform o computational fluid dynamic analysis and predict the percentage of occupants that would be dissatisfied with thermal comfort in the proposed building.
It considered being a dynamic simulation software tool that is based on the principles of the mathematical models of building energy transfer procedures. It offers a complete evaluation of system and building design and can also be used provide yearly building energy simulation models.
ECOTECT
Ecotect is considered to be whole environmental design software. It includes features for cost analysis, lighting, thermal, solar and interfaces for three- dimensional (3D) modeling. It can make efficiency analysis more accurate and easy.
The software 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 a more detailed model. It is capable of utilizing shading models to complete scaled cityscapes.
Ecotect is suitable for use in coaching beginner designer, enabling them to design numerous significant concepts that are essential for competent building design. Broad assistance files and tutorials are also included and it has a 3D computer aided design (CAD) interface that allows support of the simplest drawing design to extremely compound 3D models.
It has the ability to import DXF and 3DS files. The programs also permits the user to test design ideas at the abstract phases by giving important examination advice such as whether the modeling geometry and data are being used in a wrong way or which data is the more important to the final design.
EnergyPlus
EnergyPlus is a modular tool that has been developed by combining the abilities of DOE-2 and BLAST. It is designed to predict the precise comfort and temperature in an integration simulation. It can be used to calculate the cooling, heating and electrical responses of a system.
The step-by-step solution provided by the software can give more precise temperature and electrical responses of a system.
Energy Plus has two parts: the building simulation module and the mass and heat balance module. Released in April 2001, it is currently widely used in research laboratories, universities for research, and in engineering firms. One of the weaknesses of Energy Plus is that the input text is sometimes more difficult to handle than graphical structures.
EQUEST
Equest is a user-friendly energy modeling tool that includes a creation wizard that is designed to form a building energy model. It includes several features and abilities to describe the design aspects and the impact of energy on it. It is suitable for designing area usage lighting systems, construction materials and hvac materials.
Initially it complies a description of a building, and then creates an overall building simulation. It can provide a wide range of graphical formats to view the simulation results. It can also be used to compare building energy on a monthly and annual basis. Equest enable users to carry out various simulations and presents results in a graphical format. It provides an implementation of energy efficiency and system control; the latest version also provides a 3D building geometry view.
HAP and Trace
HAP and, similarity, Trace provide an Explore- like graphical user interface (GUI) that offers users rapid and well organized access to task data. In order to describe components of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (hvac) and building systems, a modular scheme is used. This approach eases the configuration of data to meet a broad range of applications.
HAP provides a system – based loom to devise calculations that modify sizing measures and inform the particular kind of system being designed. This presents efficiency compensations over easy load calculation programs that require the engineer to produce calculation outcomes that are relevant to the range of components that are being used in the system.
Features of HAP are suitable for split systems, vertical units, rooftop units and central air handling units for example. It offers features for the rapid design of fan coil units and water source heat pump systems. Data is included for middle heating and cooling and boilers. It can provide reports in the form of psychometric charts, hourly loads and component load.
HAP is best suited for retro-fit and construction applications. The energy expenditure data and efficacy tempo information is used to compute the price for each energy resource or type. HAP can provide monthly, daily and hourly simulations results, which can be presented in graphical and tabular formats.
POWER DOMUS
PowerDomus enables the user to view the path of the sun and several shading effects. It provides graphical reports of capacity, daily moisture, temperature content and thermal loads etc. The on/off control techniques can be used on heaters with one minute time intervals. Conditions such as adiabatic and impermeable surfaces or the effects of moisture can also be visualized. In addition, the software offers a view of the distribution of moisture and temperature in soil according to a user-provided sample.
It is quite difficult to select he ultimate software because it doesn’t exist. Energy software selection depends on the designer’s exact requirements, where the designer need’s first to identify their energy analysis methodology. A few of these software solutions are quite expensive, costing around US $20,000/year (AED73,460) for example, but the majority are offered either for a reasonable price of free.
