Example Procedures for Developing Acceptance-Range Criteria for BESTEST-EX

Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX) Methodology: Preprint

“…These disagreements should not be cause for evaluating a tested software result as unsatisfactory. Judkoff et al (2010b) discuss additional details about development and example application of example acceptance criteria. Figure 3 shows only the results and acceptance ranges for the building physics test cases.…”

“…A given audit model is tested using specified inputs; resulting outputs are compared with reference results from three detailed simulation programs (EnergyPlus, DOE-2.1E, and SUNREL). Tested program results may also be compared with accompanying example acceptance criteria (Judkoff et al 2010b), or with other results generated using the test procedure.…”

“…Buildings Physics Heating Tests Case Gas Use or Savings (million Btu) Figure 3 Reference results and example acceptance criteria for building physics heating tests (Judkoff et al 2010b)  Scenarios with a large difference between utility bills and the energy consumption predicted using an uncalibrated model (where a greater degree of calibration was required)  Individual retrofit measures with robust energy savings (e.g., insulation in heating climate, windows in cooling climate)  Combinations of retrofit measures that maximize energy savings. The preliminary estimate of accuracy improvement attributable to calibration for combined retrofits in the 10 fully random selection scenarios ranged from $39-$234/y for heating and from $34-$61/y for cooling.…”

“…Consequently, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) began developing a process for testing the reliability of models that predict retrofit energy savings, including their associated calibration methods. NREL is conducting the work in phases; this paper summarizes the initial "Phase 1" test procedure and example acceptance criteria, which focus on building thermal fabric test cases (Judkoff et al 2010a(Judkoff et al , 2010b(Judkoff et al , 2011.…”

Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX); Phase 1 Test Procedure: Building Thermal Fabric Cases

“…A given audit model is tested using specified inputs; resulting outputs are compared with reference results from three detailed simulation programs (EnergyPlus version 3.1, DOE-2.1E version JJHirsch PC 2.1En136, and SUNREL version 1.14) presented in Appendix G. Tested program results may also be compared with example acceptance criteria (Judkoff et al 2010), or other results generated using this test procedure.…”