EnergyPlus™ V 9.5.0 + 22.2

EnergyPlus™ is tested according to ASHRAE Standard 140 methodology. Read more.

There is no point in reinventing the wheel regarding thermal simulation and buildings. As such, Speckel utilises EnergyPlus™ (version 9.5.0 + and 22.2) for all our building simulation modelling.

For those unfamiliar, EnergyPlus™, it has been under development since 1997 and is an open-source whole-building energy modelling (BEM) engine. It is continuously maintained, thoroughly documented and fully supported.

Used by engineers, architects, and researchers to model energy consumption for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and plug and process loads in buildings, EnergyPlus™ implements detailed building physics calculations for air, moisture, and heat transfer.

Some of the notable features and capabilities of EnergyPlus™ include:

• Integrated, simultaneous solution of thermal zone conditions and HVAC system response that does not assume that the HVAC system can meet zone loads and can simulate un-conditioned and under-conditioned spaces.

• Heat balance-based solution of radiant and convective effects that produce surface temperatures thermal comfort and condensation calculations.

• Sub-hourly, user-definable time steps for interaction between thermal zones and the environment; with automatically varied time steps for interactions between thermal zones and HVAC systems. These allow EnergyPlus™ to model systems with fast dynamics while also trading off simulation speed for precision.

• Combined heat and mass transfer model that accounts for air movement between zones.

• Advanced fenestration models including controllable window blinds, electrochromic glazings, and layer-by-layer heat balances that calculate solar energy absorbed by window panes.

• Illuminance and glare calculations for reporting visual comfort and driving lighting controls.

• Component-based HVAC that supports both standard and novel system configurations.