DOE releases new version of energy modeling software

EnergyPlus v7.0 is designed to be 25% to 40% faster in calculating the energy required to heat, cool, and light a building.

December 19, 2011

The Dept. of Energy (DOE) has released the latest version of its building energy modeling software EnergyPlus, which calculates the energy required to heat, cool, ventilate, and light a building. EnergyPlus is used by architects and engineers to design more efficient buildings, by researchers to investigate new building and system designs, and by policymakers to develop energy codes and standards. Advanced physics calculations within EnergyPlus allow it to model a wide range of residential and commercial buildings and HVAC system types, including passive building designs and low-energy systems.

EnergyPlus v7.0 features many enhancements and has 25% to 40% faster execution speeds on a wide variety of models. EnergyPlus is a part of DOE’s strategy of Building Energy Modeling (BEM), a key technology that helps achieve DOE’s mission of significantly reducing energy consumption in new buildings and retrofits. In addition to helping architects and engineers find low-energy building designs, BEM is used in the development of building energy efficiency codes and standards, in the creation of energy design guides, in the certification of building energy performance, and other applications. EnergyPlus v7.0 is available free of charge for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Source code licenses are also available.

– Edited by Chris Vavra, Consulting-Specifying Engineer, www.csemag.com