Available energy assessment software - Wiley Online Library

SOFTWARE REVIEWS

Available Energy Assessment Software Kaushik K. Shandilyaa and Ashok Kumarb a C.Trade-BARD, Morrisville, PA b Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH; [email protected] (for correspondence) Published online 20 March 2013 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ep.11767 This article presents a summary of the available software for performing various aspects of energy assessments based on a review of the web and the literature. The software tools are broadly classified in four areas: residential building simulation software, regulatory application software, heating, ventilation and air conditioning related software, and life cycle/cost analysis software. The study found that the software development is moving at a rapid pace to meet the C 2013 growing demand for reducing energy consumption. V American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 170–175, 2013 Keywords: Energy assessment; sustainability; software; residential energy audits; HVAC; Life cycle analysis INTRODUCTION

Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability to meet the needs of the future [1]. Human existence depends on maintaining a sustainable society, but this is possible only if everyone cooperates to make such progress possible. One reason for this struggle is that many people lack detailed knowledge and experience about sustainability. Therefore, it is necessary to devise sustainability-related user-friendly software tools that can be easily used by the public and environmental professionals. Energy plays an important role in driving the economy of any country and is critical in attaining a sustainable society [2]. Therefore, this article presents the matrix of contemporary energy software tools that could supplement the traditional sustainability tools in achieving an acceptable level of sustainability. This article provides a general discussion on the energy software tools that were identified using web search, published reports, on-line databases of tools, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) web site, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) reference guide, and the Building Design guide based on a review performed in November 2012 [3–54]. This article does not provide evaluation, ranking, or user preference criteria associated with tools and resources listed herein. AVAILABLE ENERGY ASSESSMENT SOFTWARE

Different organizations have come up with many energy tools to assist in sustainable building construction throughout the world. The available energy tools varies from simple energy calculators and simulators composed of EXCEL-based software (e.g., Energy Assessment Spreadsheet 1.0 [45], Building Sustainability Tool 1.0 [46], Hybrid Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System Design Tool 1.0 [47] that were developed by the Air Pollution Research Group of the Civil Engineering Department at The University C 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers V

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of Toledo) to complex design software and initiatives developed by residential housing agencies, applied research organizations (e.g., VTT Technical Research Center), governmental agencies (e.g., SenterNovem), various laboratories, and the professional groups involved in energy codes and standards in combination with the HVAC applications that are associated with controlling indoor air quality. Energy software tools are used in planning the different energyrelated activities of buildings. They can be classified in many ways. A broad classification for energy tools is as follows: 1. Residential building simulation software: This class of software helps in conducting residential energy audits, analyzing energy in the whole building, using renewable energy sources, and computing the possible effects of energy savings. For example, the Energy Aide software calculates a range of energy-saving opportunities for a home. 2. Regulatory application software: The tools are used for satisfying the requirements of important governmental regulations and grants. 3. HVAC/IAQ software: This class of software is designed to improve the performance of HVAC systems and to meet indoor air quality guidelines. 4. Life cycle/cost analysis software: These tools help in the calculation of the impacts of energy/material usages and flows on the environment. The Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems is a life-cycle analysis software tool for energy, material, and transport systems. A summary of the tools is provided in Tables 1–3. Overall, the tools help us in improving the environment through improved efficiency, dematerialization, monitoring, modeling, administration, dissemination, and environmental damage analysis from manufacturing, transport, and operation. A comprehensive review of building energy software tools was carried out by the Department of Energy (DOE) [50]. Readers may want to browse the DOE website for more information about all the tools discussed in this article. Only the tools relevant to this article are described here. Energy analysis tools listed in Tables 1 and 2 enable the simulation of building energy use, analyze energy and cost savings for different design schemes, and enable other tools for addressing energy concerns. A few examples of these tools are DOE 2/DOE 2.1 E THERM, Designing Low-Energy Buildings with ENERGY-10 (DLEB/E-10), and Building Loads Analysis and System Thermodynamics. Lighting and Daylighting software tools are used to demonstrate compliance with LEED SS Credit 8 (light pollution reduction) and modeling and designing concepts. Software tools can help to optimize available resources for providing better indoor air quality to occupants of a building. The sustainability software research program

Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy (Vol.32, No.2) DOI 10.1002/ep

Software

Software Design tool

Building simulation software

LCA tool

Environmental assessment internet-based tool Building simulation software

Performance instrument software Calculator Calculator EXCEL-based software

CalSol

CASSIS CombiSun

DEROB-LTH

ECOTECT

EFFem

Energieperformance on Location Energy converter Energy demand Energy-saving measures in building Energy variations utility buildings EnergyAide

HOT2000 Optimizator of biofuel boiler capacity RES converter TAS TRNSYS (TRaNsient System Simulation Program)

EpvarW EPC and costs

EnergyPro

SenterNovem [15] Lithuania Renewable Energy Agency [16] Lithuania Renewable Energy agency [16] Housing Agency Lithuania [17]

Analyze fuel needs to generate certain amount of energy Annual demand of energy for number of households Calculation software tool for the heat savings when renovating the house

Auxiliary software for EPC calculation software Building simulation software Calculator

Energy converter between different renewable energy sources Software for the thermal analysis of buildings Energy simulation software whose modular system approach makes it one of the most flexible software available


BV2, BV2 Arch

Calculator Building simulation software Building simulation software


BUS11

Calculation software tool to determine energy performance of utility building and effects of energy-saving measures Comprehensive residential energy audit software. The EnergyAide software tool can estimate a range of energy-saving opportunities in the home Number of different analysis modules designed to analyze a wide range of issues in the building industry Calculation software to define energy performance of residential buildings and the effects of energy-saving measures, including their costs Easy-to-use energy analysis and design tool for residential buildings Conversion of a region heating plant from fossil to biofuel

LCC tool

Building Energy Analyzer PRO

Lithuania Renewable Energy Agency [16] EDSL [23] Solar Energy Laboratory, University of Wisconsin [24]

Natural Resources Canada [22] Lithuania Renewable Energy Agency [16]

SenterNovem [21]

EnergySoft [20]

EnergyAide [19]

SenterNovem [18]

SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden and others [13] mc2 Engineering Software [14]

Centre for Research in the Built Environment, Cardiff University [12]

IRAP-UPS/CNRS [9] International Energy Agency “Solar Combisystems” [10] Lund University [11]

INES Education [8]

CIT Energy Management AB [7]

VTT Building Technology [6]

Gas Technology Institute [5]

Danish Building and Urban Research [4]

National Research Council of Canada and Natural Resources Canada [3]

Organization

Software tool to analyze building envelope energy efficiency of wall and window combinations in commercial and multiunit residential buildings. Generates a report to be attached to the building permit application Evaluation of the indoor climate and energy conditions as well as the designing of the heating, cooling, and ventilation plants Provides economic analysis for commercial and industrial buildings of annual and monthly loads and costs associated with air-conditioning, heating, on-site power generation, thermal storage, and heat recovery systems for a given building and location Evaluation of the energy performance, ventilation, airflows, indoor air quality, and noise level Calculation of the total annual use of heating, cooling, and electricity. BV2 Arch special for early estimations by the architect Evaluation method for energy, economy, and environment for thermal solar, PV, and passive solar Simulation of the systems thermal function and energy costs Design tool for architects and engineers to compare solar combisystems and properly size according to specific requirements for use Building simulation of power and energy need as well as the thermal climate in the building Complete environmental design tool, which couples an intuitive 3D modeling interface with extensive solar, thermal, lighting, acoustic, and cost analysis functions Calculation of emissions from different energy sources and an estimation of influences of global warming, nitrification, and so forth. Estimation of monthly/yearly building energy consumption in commercial buildings; calculates return on investment and payout on estimated cost of equipment and construction changes Calculation method to achieve an optimum energy infrastructure

Description

Instrument for ambition and communication software Residential building simulation software Calculator


BSim2002

EN4M


Tool type

BILDTRAD

Tool

Table 1. Available energy analysis and assessment software.

Object-oriented simulation environment for construction and running models of complex systems Models HVAC, economics, utility costs for multiple building sizes, and geographic areas Hourly analysis program

Compliance with EA Credit 1


Design software

Compliance with EA Credit 1 Modeling software

Building Loads Analysis and System Thermodynamics (BLAST) Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel (SPARK); VisualSPARK Trane TRACE 700

Carrier Hourly Analysis Program (HAP) THERM

Energy analysis program based on graphical interface (architectural renderings) Economic estimation software for calculating benefits in financing a PV solar or wind electric-generating system The purpose of the programs are to aid in photovoltaic system design by providing accurate and in-depth information on likely system power output and load consumption, necessary backup power during the operation of the system, and the financial impacts of installing the proposed system Calculate electrical energy produced by grid-connected PV system Home energy analysis software Web-based energy analysis solution that incorporates current 3D-CAD/BIM applications Fast, user-friendly, and graphic energy analysis software

Code compliance and energy-rating software

Energy and LEED-related modeling

Compliance with EA Credit 1 Analysis software


Economic analysis

Forecasting electrical yield

Performance estimator

Design software Design software

Residential energy modeling software

Residential energy modeling software

Building Design Advisor

SUNREL Energy Scheming

eQuest

Clean Power Estimator

PV Design-Pro

PV Watts

REM Design Green Building Studio

Energy Design Tools: Home Energy Efficient Design (HEED), SOLAR, CLIMATE CONSULTANT Energy Gauge USA

Design tool using database of prototype buildings types/materials to guide decision makers through a project from design-specification—links to other software tools Energy simulation software, small buildings Energy analysis graphical interface (architectural renderings)

Analyzer for EA Credit 1

ENERGY-10

Simulation software that analyzes energy and cost savings for different design strategies

Model heat-transfer effects in building components

Energy simulation software, with addition of graphical interface Estimates building energy needs by simulation of air-handling systems and central plant equipment


VisualDOE

Description


DOE 2/DOE 2.1 E/DOE 2.2

Hourly energy usage and energy costs commercial or residential

Tool

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Tool type

Table 2. Energy analysis and assessment software involving regulatory applications.

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Organization

R

University of Central Florida [37]

University California, Los Angeles [36]

R

Architectural Energy Corporation [33] AutodeskV Green Building StudioV [35]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory [32]

Maui Solar Energy Software Corporation, Sandia National Labs Algorithms [31]

California Energy Commission [26]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory [32] Energy Studies, Buildings Lab, University of Oregon [30] US DOE [50]

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) [32] Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) and NREL, LBNL, Berkeley Solar Group [8] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) [32]

Carrier Corporation [29]

Trane [28]

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) (DoD originally developed) [52] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) [53]

Energy Science and Technology Software Center; DOE2.com; others—Original tool developed by LBNL [50] Architectural Energy Corporation [51]

Table 3. Tools for HVAC systems. Tool

Tool type

Carrier E20-II; HAP

Design tool

MOIST (Release 3)

Predictive tool

System Analyzer software

Design tool

Yorkworks HVAC design software

Design tool

Description Collection of HVAC System design software Predicts the 1D transfer of heat and moisture Select and design HVAC systems with the energy and economic analysis provided by this software Select and design HVAC systems with the energy and economic analysis provided by this software

intended to help indoor air quality and building energy optimization are being carried out by many organizations around the world. Table 3 lists the most popular software tools in the construction industry for ventilation purposes. One such tool is Skycalc, developed by the Energy Design Resources [38]. It is one of the most widely used software tools in construction technology. It determines the optimal sky lighting scheme to attain maximum lighting and HVAC energy savings for a building. It is also useful for developing design concepts, but not for demonstrating compliance. Air flow and ventilation software tools are used to demonstrate compliance with various indoor environmental quality credits for the certification of a building (e.g., LEED). One widely used mechanical/electric/plumbing software tool in the construction industry is Watergy software developed by the Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy division of the USDOE. It is a database model that uses water/energy relationship assumptions to evaluate the prospective water and energy savings. The research program for developing the software simulation tool DOCET is being carried out by the Institute for Construction Technologies [44]. It is for the energy certification of existing residential buildings and apartments, developed on the basis of Consumer Energy Network methodologies. The tool is characterized by the ease of data input and repeatability of analyses, with the accuracy of results still intact. Life-cycle analysis is an important activity that assesses the energy being generated by different sources. The Clean Power Estimator developed by the California Energy Commission [26] is an economic estimation tool that evaluates benefits in financing a photo voltaic solar or wind electric power system. eVALUator developed by Energy Design Resources [27] calculates the lifecycle benefits of investments that improve building design by reducing the energy budget, increasing worker efficiency, and improving tenant satisfaction. COMcheck was developed by the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Division (USDOE) to demonstrate compliance for commercial and high-rise buildings with the International Code Council International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) [25]. REScheck was also developed by the USDOE to demonstrate compliance with the Council of American Building Officials Model Energy Code (MEC) and IECC. It also checks compliance with a number of state and county codes and verifies residential code compliance [26]. The tools are being developed to manage energy use and production. Qurrent [25] optimizes energy use, turning things on and off when it is most efficient; it monitors energy use, giving customers clear insight into energy flows in the home, presented in a user-friendly fashion; it is a router for a Local Energy Network in someone’s neighborhood, connecting that customer to the grid and to his/her neighbors; it lowers certain barriers, including decentralized energy systems that are too expensive and complex; and it advises people on

Organization Carrier Corporation [39] Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute for Standards and Testing (NIST) [40] Trane [41] York [42]

how to set up their own energy production systems using alternative energy sources, such as wind and sunshine. Pollution prevention (P2) measurement tools comprising a P2 Cost Calculator and a P2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Calculator are designed in spreadsheets to help measure the environmental and economic performance results of P2 activities [54]. A web-based tool, EIO-LCA, helps in estimating the total emissions throughout the life cycle of a product or process from start (raw material) to end (scratch) [54]. A detailed study on the application of various P2 tools in the energy assessment of a facility was done by Kumar et al. [55]. A sample of energy assessments is given in Chapter 23 and the Appendix of the book by Spivak et al. [49]

CONCLUSIONS

Resource shortage and environmental restrictions to explicit energy demands must be considered for sustainable development. Using existing energy resources, many organizations and individuals are working to provide sustainable solutions in response to current changes. To handle projects in uncertain situations, these people need to build upon existing traditional tools or use some contemporary tools to achieve a successful, sustainable project execution. This article presents a summary of the available software that could be used for examining and achieving energy sustainability in the construction industry. The software discussion covers energy sustainability in building construction, codes and standards, energy credits, HVAC, and miscellaneous. It was found that software development in the public and private sectors is rapidly growing to meet the demands of sustainable construction.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The energy assessment work started as a result of the Pollution Prevention grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency awarded to The University of Toledo. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors. Any mention of the products should not be considered as an endorsement by the authors, the funding agency, or The University of Toledo.

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