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Other alternatives. Programs for building energy simulation
In this post we are going to carry out an analysis of some of the building energy simulation programs that exist in the market and that are not officially recognized to carry out the energy certificate, we find this analysis interesting considering that the majority of These programs allow a much more complete simulation to be carried out than the ones we usually use and they offer us more real and objective information regarding energy consumption and emissions.
OPENSTUDIO program:
This program is totally free and allows energy simulation from a model created in SketchUpIn a first step, the geometric model of the building is made and later it is exported to OpenStudio, which has the necessary tools to edit the model and carry out its simulation. This program is employed by the U.S. Department of Energy to perform the simulation and analysis of the energy behavior of buildings for heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation services and is based on the EnergyPlus calculation engine. It allows obtaining and analyzing meteorological data from anywhere in the world, to obtain bioclimatic diagrams and to be able to propose passive design strategies in buildings.
DESIGNBUILDER program:
It is a very practical program to optimize the efficient design of buildings, which allows dynamic simulations of their thermal behavior, either only with passive solutions or with certain air conditioning systems. It uses the EnergyPlus simulation engine, with a three-dimensional model generator and an easy-to-use interface.
It allows a detailed evaluation of the building's natural ventilation to assess its impact on comfort inside the building. Comparative analyzes of different architectural configuration proposals can be obtained, considering the location in the area, orientation, spatial distribution, etc.
Calculates the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the building, for specific air conditioning systems and for the use of luminaires and other equipment, as well as evaluating the thermal behavior of a specific configuration, studying the impact that certain obstruction elements would have. solar that may exist in the environment. Its versatility and ease of use make it a recommended program for a pre-study of bioclimatic behavior in efficient building design.
ECOTECT program:
It is a software that allows passive and efficient building design with a very intuitive interface that DesignBuilder has, allowing the model to be exported to other simulation programs that work with the Energyplus calculation engine. It allows obtaining and analyzing meteorological data from anywhere in the world, to obtain bioclimatic diagrams and to be able to propose passive design strategies in the building and later check and calculate any element previously applied to the building with said variables.
As a weak point, it lacks a calculation engine to study fluid dynamics, which is very useful for the study of natural and artificial ventilation, ventilated facades and wind shading.
To analyze energy consumption, you can only obtain an approximation to reality, the results cannot be considered absolute, so they are less exact than those obtained with DesignBuilder, because the latter allows a greater range of possibilities in relation to such calculation variables. as specifications that can be considered.
At the time, we already briefly named some of the present programs in the post of «Energy rating programs»Where we provided a glossary or compilation of different programs that combine that purpose to obtain the Energy Label, or at least an approach to the energy rating of the property through other software.
Access to ECOTECT … HERE.
Access to OPENSTUDIO … HERE.
Access to DESIGNBUILDER … HERE.
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Article prepared by Jose Luis Morote Salmeron (Technical Architect - Energy Manager - Google plus Profile) Access to their website HERE, in collaboration withOVACEN.
