Non-technical barriers to energy model sharing and reuse

Samuelson, Holly; Lantz, Andrew; Reinhart, Christoph

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.02.001

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, according to the literature there are still limitations or barriers which restrict the use of BPS in the industry. A survey study by [15] found that the BPS industry in the United States (US) is premature and needs to develop more. Furthermore, a survey study in China identified the time it The main principles to design energy-efficient buildings include designing sustainable solutions, applying energy efficiency measures and incorporating renewable energy technologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Building Performance Simulation to Design Energy-Efficient Homes: Case Study from Saudi Arabia

Ahmed

Asif

Alrashed³

2019

Sustainability

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The per capita energy usage in Saudi Arabia is almost three times higher than the global average. A major contributor is the residential sector which consumes almost 50% of the total national energy consumption every year. Environmental and economic pressures along with the Saudi Vision 2030 reform program advocate for an improvement in energy consumption patterns. For a sustainable residential sector, energy-efficient solutions should be adopted in the design process preferably based on building performance simulation (BPS). This study investigates the existing status and future prospects of BPS in the construction industry of Saudi Arabia. A survey has been carried out with building industry professionals to investigate the existing practices in terms of use of BPS. Energy and environmental savings achievable through application of BPS have been estimated by modelling a typical residential villa as a case study. The results indicate that presently BPS is not being adequately applied by the building industry and a number of barriers exist which need to be addressed. The case study simulation indicates that electricity consumption of a villa based on a BPS-based design process is 51.3% less than the existing typical residential villa.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Building Performance Simulation to Design Energy-Efficient Homes: Case Study from Saudi Arabia

Ahmed

Asif

Alrashed³

2019

Sustainability

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“…This practice diminishes the effectiveness of energy models, as there is a widely shared believe within the modeling community that the early use of simulation tools yields to more cost and energy effective design solutions (Samuelson et al 2011). However, even architects who are committed to 'building green' and who are thus commissioning energy simulations during schematic design, often face the impediment that they do not know how to read and act upon the outcomes of energy simulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning by playing – teaching energy simulation as a game

Reinhart

Dogan

Ibarra

et al. 2012

Journal of Building Performance Simulation

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Being able to read thermal simulation results and to adapt one's design accordingly has become an essential skill for graduating and practicing architects. This paper proposes and evaluates an innovative way of how this skill can be taught via a 90-minutes in-class exercise or 'game' based on DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus. The game was tested in a class of 47 architecture students who competed to generate the lowest Energy Use Intensity (EUI) for an office building in Boston. Design upgrades were associated with a cost premium and the overall upgrade budget was capped. The EUIs of the ten final submissions were 22 to 31% below the base variant. While student essays revealed a clear preference for game-based learning vis-a-vis conventional teaching methods, the authors further propose that the game nourishes the emergence of an energy modeling 'culture' within schools of architecture that may lead to enhanced communication between architects and energy modelers.

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“…Nonetheless, as Samuelson, Lantz, and Reinhart (2012) surveyed, a very few number of design offices, even firms having in-house environmental design teams, make early decisions such as layout planning based on performancebased feedback because of the slow pace and complicated nature of thermal modelling.…”

Section: Thermal Zoning and Architectural Space Layout 121 Space Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

User-driven automation for optimal thermal-zone layout during space programming phases

2015

Architectural Science Review

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Although environmental performance-based methodologies are increasingly considered in the early design stages due to their potential for improving the final building performance, few studies have scrutinized the interoperation of floor-plan design and thermal zoning for the purpose of optimized building energy use and indoor comfort. The absence of effective tools, which aid designers incorporate an environmentally adapted thermal zoning into the space arrangement process, invokes the strong necessity for a new space layout design methodology based on optimal thermal zoning. Thus, this paper presents a highly practical decision support tool named EASL (Environmental Architecture Space Layout) optimizer to bridge the gap between thermal and spatial zoning within architectural workflows. In this software, performance evaluation using the whole building simulation tool (Ecotect) and zone-based layout creation techniques is integrated for the automated generation of an optimal geometry of space and envelope glazing, employing a simulated annealing algorithm. As a beta version, EASL uses typical office building space programmes and adopts four major performance criteria for evaluation such as annual energy use intensity, Predicted Mean Vote, daylight level, and room shading. Utilizing the tool provides two major strengths: (1) by introducing performance indicators to floor planning with an easy-to-use computerized interface during early design stages, architects can maximize the potential use of other sustainable strategies and technologies for later design decisions and (2) a time-efficient thermal zoning optimization process is achieved by exploring various scenarios that users are interested in testing. To this end, a case study was conducted of an office building located in South Korea using the developed simulation tool. The existing plan was tested to be rearranged and compared with the optimal layout obtained from EASL. The experimental findings demonstrate that this software can be implemented in practical operations, advancing early processes of design work, and be extended to embrace broader future applications to promote innovative environmental buildings.

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Non-technical barriers to energy model sharing and reuse

Cited by 22 publications

References 5 publications

Application of Building Performance Simulation to Design Energy-Efficient Homes: Case Study from Saudi Arabia

Application of Building Performance Simulation to Design Energy-Efficient Homes: Case Study from Saudi Arabia

Learning by playing – teaching energy simulation as a game

User-driven automation for optimal thermal-zone layout during space programming phases

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