by kc — December 12, 2011—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently released the latest version of its building energy modeling software EnergyPlus. Based on a user’s description of a building from the perspective of the building’s physical makeup and associated mechanical and other systems, EnergyPlus calculates the energy required to heat, cool, ventilate, and light a building.
This free, dynamic tool is used by architects and engineers to design more efficient buildings, by researchers to investigate new building and system designs, and by policymakers to develop energy codes and standards. According to the DOE, the advanced physics calculations within EnergyPlus allows it to model a wide range of residential and commercial buildings and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system types, including passive building designs and low-energy systems.
EnergyPlus v7.0 features many enhancements, including:
- 25%-40% faster execution speeds on a wide variety of models, with up to 500% improvement possible on models using airflow networks;
- Improved modeling of ventilation rate procedures and a new thermal comfort report, both based on ASHRAE Standard 62.1;
- New equipment performance data sets for packaged rooftop air-conditioners and heat pumps;
- New model for variable refrigerant flow heat pump air-conditioners;
- Extensions to the Energy Management System (EMS) and Runtime Language; and
- Updated utilities.
- Improved modeling of ventilation rate procedures and a new thermal comfort report, both based on ASHRAE Standard 62.1;
